On Nov. 30, Joshua D. Katcher ‘06 announced as a candidate for Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and Falls Church, Virginia. He faces a challenge for the nomination in the June 2023 Democratic primary.
Katcher served as Student Trustee at Cornell from 2004-06. In 2005, the Cornell Sun named him on its list of the 25 most influential undergraduates. He earned an AB in Government and Asian Studies in 2006 and graduated from the University of Virginia Law School in 2009. Since 2012, Katcher has served in the Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, rising to Deputy Commonwealth Attorney in 2021.
Katcher is running against the incumbent Democrat, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, who is completing her first term in the job. Tafti has received substantial donations from the Justice and Public Safety PAC, which is funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros.
However, Katcher promises a “people-powered” campaign. “I am running because my opponent Parisa Dehghani-Tafti has not only broken her promises on reform prosecution, she also has broken the office in the process,” he said in an email to supporters.
Property crimes in Arlington increased 7.4% over 2020, according to the 2021 Arlington County Police crime report, mostly driven by fraud and theft, but also increases in vandalism, robbery and burglary. In 2021, Arlington Police arrested several suspects who were “frequently responsible for multiple cases within Arlington or regionally.” The report also shows crimes against people increased 24%, driven by increases in simple and aggravated assaults, an upward trend since 2018. In response, Tafti denies that crime is growing.
Katcher was hired into the office by moderate Democrat Theo Stamos, who unsuccessfully sought re-election against Tafti in 2019.
This Commonwealth’s Attorney is particularly notable because Arlington is just across the Potomac River from Washington DC. Hence, many high-profile events may involve crimes that take place in Arlington in addition to day-to-day crimes. For example, sportscaster Marv Albert was prosecuted there for sexual assault.
Josh Katcher should serve as a worthy model of a Cornellian who started on a path of public service as an undergraduate and then built his career based upon his Cornell values.
This article was written by a member of the Cornell community who requested to stay anonymous.
