Mary Hughes Hynes (born 17 June 1955, Ames, Iowa[1]) is an American politician from Arlington, Virginia.
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Hynes graduated from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph.[2] In 1978 she married Patrick Hynes (born 11 February 1944[1]), a widower with two daughters. The couple went on to have a son and two more daughters of their own, and settled in Arlington in 1983. As a result of parenting five children through various Arlington public schools, Hynes became interested in student advocacy and parlayed that experience into community service. In 1991 she chaired the Arlington Schools Futures Committee, a year-long project involving 150 citizens and public-school staff which gave its recommendations for meeting educational needs in light of rapidly increasing enrollment and student diversity.[2]
In 1993, following the decision of the Virginia General Assembly to allow localities to elect rather than appoint their own school boards, Hynes was the consensus candidate to run against the incumbent, appointed school board chairperson and won the election. She served on the Arlington School Board from 1995 to 2006. She was chair for three of those years.[2]
In November 2007, Hynes was elected to the Arlington County Board as a Democrat. As vice chair of the county board, she is seeking reelection in 2011.[3]
Hynes also represents Arlington on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. That group, in turn, appointed Hynes to represent Arlington County as a voting member on the Board of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Hynes joined the WMATA board on January 27, 2011,[4] and was appointed that day to chair its Governance Committee, which is seeking to modernize the board as a policy-makng body.[5] Since Hynes' family has one car, she will ride the Metrorail to all her WMATA meetings.[6]
Hynes participates in the Metropolitan Development Policy Committee of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and was appointed by its Board as its Aviation Policy Liaison. She is represents Arlington in the Virginia Municipal League, serving as the Chair of its Urban Section and a member of its Executive Committee.
Hynes has been employed as a classroom teacher, a preschool director, and a music teacher. She has played bass for the choir of Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church since 1977. Beginning in 2007, Hynes has served as Executive Director of the Bowen McCauley Dance, an Arlington-based contemporary dance company.[2]
The College of St. Benedict honored Hynes as a distinguished alumna in 2007. In 2006, the Arlington Commission on the Status of Women gave her its Person of Vision Award. In 1993, Hynes was awarded the Arlington Jaycees Outstanding Community Service Award.[2]
| Arlington County Board Election, 2007 (2 seats)[7] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Democratic | J. Walter Tejada | 18,766 | % | |
| Democratic | Mary H. Hynes | 18,203 | % | |
| Republican | Michael T. McMenamin | 11,426 | % | |
| Republican | Joseph J. Warren | 6,464 | % | |
| Independent | Joshua F. Ruebner | 3,275 | % | |
| Independent | Write-in candidates | 198 | % | |