Oral History with Jay Fisette

Jay Fisette discusses his path to political office and his experience as the first openly gay politician in Virginia. Jay first came to Washington D.C. after graduate school for a job with the federal government. While Jay mostly focuses on his political career, he also talks about gay life in Arlington and Northern Virginia. He got involved with the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance in the 1980s. In the 1980s Jay began volunteering at the Whitman-Wlaker Clinic and would later become the director of the Northern Virginia clinic.

Jay ran for the Arlington County Board in 1993 where he ran a close but unsuccessful campaign. In 1997 he ran again and became the first openly gay elected official in Virginia. Jay discusses how he ran his campaigns, including postcards and flyers that were distributed. Jay’s political career focused on environmental sustainability and economic development. Jay helped introduce the Capital Bikeshare program to Arlington; many of the facets of this program would later be adopted by Washington D.C. Jay decided not to run for Arlington County Board in 2017 and instead started a consulting firm with Roger Berliner called DMV Strategic Advisors. This consulting firm provided services to the private sector, nonprofits, and local governments in the region. In December 2025, Jay Fisette retired from DMV Strategic Advisors.


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Jay was also interviewed by Arlington County Public Library 

The library also has a collection of his personal papers.

Delaney Resweber

Available

Audio, mp3

1:18:40