Arthur Purves

Arthur Purves graduated from Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia. He earned a high school diploma from the St. Albans School for Boys and a bachelor's degree and two master's degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. His previous career experience includes working as a computer programmer.

Purves has been affiliated with the following organizations:

Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance, president

Fairfax Committee of 100, treasurer

Fairfax County Meals Tax Task Force, member

Hunter Mill Citizen Budget Committee, committee member

Fairfax County Public Schools

League of Women Voters

NAACP, Fairfax branch

Order of the Arrow[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1953. I received a BA, MBA, and MS from the University of Pennsylvania. My late wife and I moved to Vienna 50 years ago. We have two children who attended Fairfax County Public Schools from grades K-12. I worked for 40 years as a computer programmer. I’ve been president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance for 30 years, treasurer of the Fairfax Committee of 100 for ten years, and a member of the 2014 Fairfax County Meals Tax Task Force. I am a member of the League of Women Voters and the Fairfax branch of the NAACP. I’ve been a Scoutmaster for my church, including for a Latino troop. Recently, I’ve been teaching ESL in Alexandria and at the Tysons-Pimmit Library.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

The federal government spends $2.1 trillion on medical care. Ninety percent is spent on the chronic disease epidemic caused by ultra-processed food and the old high-carb food pyramid, which was a prescription for diabetes. EAT REAL FOOD. Boycott the nutritionless "food" with artificial ingredients, which means you cannot buy 80% of what's in the grocery store. Eat eggs, full-fat dairy, red meat, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables to reverse chronic disease. Visit realfood.gov. This will improve your health, cut yours and the government's medical expenses, and slash $2 trillion federal deficits without cutting a program. Big Food and Big Med profit from chronic disease and are bankrupting the government.After exploding federal debt, the next biggest driver of inflation is high oil and gas prices. It is hypocritical of Democrats to criticize the Iran war for high oil prices because Democrats legislate high oil prices to combat a climate crisis for which they have no evidence. True, it is warming: Glaciers started melting 150 years ago. However, even Bill Gates now admits that warming is not an existential crisis. Virginia Democrats imposed carbon caps by rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. California, where carbon caps and regulation have closed refineries, has the highest gas prices in the nation. What Democrats have done in Virginia and California they will do to the nation if they win.The alternative to Big Government is self-sufficient families who provide their own childcare and care for elderly parents. Married households dropped from 66% in 1950 to 47% today. The birthrate is below the replacement rate. Our aging society is bankrupting Social Security. Forty percent of babies are born out of wedlock. Eighty-eight percent of abortions are for unmarried women. In 1969, 68% disapproved of premarital sex; now 65% approve. We abandoned morality when we banned the Ten Commandments in public schools. The proposed same-sex-marriage amendment puts into the Virginia constitution that marriage has nothing to do with children. The abortion amendment also normalizes conception outside of marriage. Vote no on both.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

If Democrats win,

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Iran will build atomic bombs and use them.

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Government spending will explode.

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Taxes will increase.

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Reopened borders will allow in gangs and traffickers.

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Deportation of criminal illegal aliens will end.

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Enforcement of immigration law will end.

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Crime will increase.

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The cleaned-up Washington, D.C. will revert to looking like a third-world city.

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The one million private-sector jobs Trump’s tariffs created will disappear.

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Gas prices, even without the Iran war, will be $6/gallon as they are in Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s California because of the Left’s war on fossil fuels.

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Funding will increase for public schools, which cannot teach reading, arithmetic, or history.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

National Women’s Prayer & Voting Army

Campaign websitePurves' campaign website stated the following:Ultra-processed food causes chronic disease, including mental illness.See Casey Means's book Good Energy for the connection between chronic disease and ultra-processed food. See Harvard psychiatrist Chris Palmer's book, Brain Energy, for the connection between diet and mental illness. Do not wait for Big Food to remove synthetic dyes; stop eating ultra-processed food now.Billions spent reducing carbon footprint has no impact on atmospheric CO2.The Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii is the gold standard for measuring atmospheric CO2.It is warming. It is not a crisis, but Democrats will still raise gas prices.Warmer? Yes. Glaciers started receding about 150 years ago.Crisis? No. Visit the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN IPCC) website. Search their documents for the word "crisis."If Democrats win, gas prices will go up again and so will inflation, to combat a global warming crisis for which they have no evidence. Virginia Democrats indexed the state gasoline tax to inflation, so gasoline taxes increase every July 1st. They also force Dominion Energy to buy "carbon credits" from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Inititative (RGGI), which will be a new $550 million tax on Virginia consumers. It's only purpose is to drive up the cost of fossil fuel.California governor, Gavin Newsom, a Democrat presidential frontrunner, has driven out California oil refineries through carbon credits, taxes, and regulations. "California has seen refinery closures, with sources in late 2025/early 2026 indicating a drop from around 11-18 refineries to potentially 7-9 operating facilities, with two major ones (Valero in Benicia, Phillips 66 in Los Angeles) shutting down ... California imports over 70% of its crude oil, mostly by tanker, from Ecuador, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates." (Google AI Overview)California gas prices are the highest in the nation ($5.71 per gallon of regular compared to Virginia's $3.79 as of 6/17/26). What Newsom has done to California and Democrats have done to Virginia is what Democrats will do to the nation if they win Congress.(Full Disclosure: My retirement income includes significant income from oil.)Mail-in ballots enable election fraud."France banned absentee voting in 1975 because of massive fraud in Corsica, where postal ballots were stolen or bought and voters cast multiple votes. " Source.Vet immigrants before they enter.Do not let in the drug- and sex-traffickers and gang members from whom other immigrants are trying to flee.Poverty and mental illness cause gun violence.That complex gun laws reduce crime is debatable. What's not debatable is that these laws turn law-abiding citizens into inadvertent felons.To end gun violence, fix schools and clean up food.Public schools perpetuate poverty (see below) and as already noted ultra-processed food causes mental illness.Abortion: Life begins at conception.Abortion always takes a life. Abortion advocates dwell on the rare abortions to save the mother's life. Keep abortion legal for those rare cases but encourage marriage. Ninety percent of abortions are performed on healthy mothers with healthy babies. Calling abortion the "Fundamental Right to Reproductive Freedom" is Orwellian. Abortion cancels reproduction. Call legal abortion what it is: "Permission to take a life."Public schools perpetuate poverty.Students that have not mastered reading and arithmetic by third grade rarely catch up and graduate unable to compete in the information age. The high school minority student achievement gap first appears in third grade. For a century public schools have embraced "progressive education", which was anti-phonics and anti-drill, so students depending on classroom instruction do not master the basics. Those who do are tutored at home.Competition will improve schools more than money.Public school curricula are picked by administrators who feel no consequences when students do not learn. Higher school spending subsidizes the problem rather than solving it. Losing students to competition would provide consequences. School districts should give vouchers to students who attend for at least a year and then leave for private or home-schooling. The value of the voucher would not increase unless the student returns to public school for another year.Put the Ten Commandments in public schools.How do you determine what is ethical if you don't have God-given commandments? George Washington's Farewell Address states, "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports." While the First Amendment prohibits a state church, the Founders expected government to foster Christianity. See Abraham Lincoln's proclamation for a national day of fasting and prayer. High ideals are difficult to live. We need God to help us live them and forgive and give second chances when we fall short.The alternative to big government is self-sufficient families.Tax hikes make families less self-sufficient. Bring back good jobs. Have schools that actually teach reading and arithmetic. Stop chronic disease: Eat real food. End the war on fossil fuels to reduce gas and food prices.— Arthur Purves' campaign website (July 10, 2026)Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

1. End mediocrity and racial inequality in Virginia public schools.

2. Bring down medical costs using free market forces instead of subsidies.

3. End gun violence by returning the Ten Commandments to public schools.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm passionate about ending racial inequality. l believe that a major cause is the public schools' use of "whole word" instruction instead of intensive phonics to teach reading, the schools' opposition to arithmetic drill, and the subordination of history to "social studies." Low-income children's futures are ruined by fourth grade because schools haven't taught them reading and arithmetic. What schools have done is persuade most people that low-income Hispanics and African-Americans cannot learn. This is false. They can learn; they just haven't been taught.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my father, who knew more history than any other person I've met, Abraham Lincoln, and Jesus Christ.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

"The Gods of the Copybook Headings" by Rudyard Kipling

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Putting what's right ahead of getting elected.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I always try to hear both sides of an issue.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Listen to all viewpoints. Recognize accountability to God.

What legacy would you like to leave?

He ended racial inequality in public schools. He brought down health care costs. He made it possible to not live paycheck-to-paycheck but to actually save and help others.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Eisenhower running against Adlai Stevenson in 1956. I was seven.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Paper boy. About three years.

What happened on your most awkward date?

I broke up with the girl who became my wife.

What is your favorite holiday? Why?

Christmas. Christmas shopping challenges me to think of others.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Timothy Ferris. Riveting history of physics and astronomy, and without a single equation.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

None come to mind.

What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?

My leaf blower. I like it more than my Mac. It makes things clean, quickly. It is useful all year. I even use it to clear snow.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Just a Closer Walk with Thee - Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson version

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Posture

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

Senators serve longer terms than delegates and therefore don't have to demagogue as much as delegates.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

The governor should consult often with General Assembly members.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Of course, to learn alternate viewpoints, benefit from their experience, and to build coalitions for good legislation.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Districts should be geographic and not political. I don't know of a process that can guarantee that.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

No.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

Not at as freshman.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

No.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

Maybe. This is my eighth run. In five of those races if I had not run the Democrat would not have had a Republican opponent. For 24 years I've been campaigning to end mediocrity and racial inequality in public schools by throwing out the John Dewey (different from the Dewey decimal system) "progressive education," which replaced phonics with whole word, called arithmetic drill evil, crowded out history with social studies, and removed the Judeo-Christian faith from public schools. Dewey created a nation with over 14 million dyslexics, a new industry called "remedial reading", unnecessarily stigmatized children as "Learning Disabled," and fostered an epidemic of ADHD and ADD, which are often associated with reading disabilities. Also, we didn't have school shootings before the Supreme Court removed the Lord's Prayer from public schools.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

A friend of mine got a phone call from the school psychiatrist saying that their teenage daughter had emotional problems and needed treatment. The mother discovered that her daughter did not know how to read. The daughter was then given phonics instruction, learned how to read, and became a successful, well-adjusted student. The mother later won a seat on the school board and tried, successfully, but over intense opposition, to get a phonics-based reading series approved for the school system.