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Former Arlington County board member dies after battle with brain cancer

Abigail Constantino | aconstantino@wtop.com

April 16, 2020, 11:54 PM

An Arlington County, Virginia, board member, who was diagnosed with brain cancer eight weeks ago, has died.

Erik Gutshall. (Courtesy Arlington County)

Erik Gutshall, 49, died Thursday. He announced his resignation on April 6, saying he had been undergoing treatment for brain cancer, The Associated Press reported.

He was elected to the five-member Arlington County Board in 2017. He is its former vice chair.

In his resignation announcement, Gutshall said he decided to run for elected office because he believed in the “power of community voices to make a difference in our County.”

Gutshall served as the vice chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee and director of the Virginia Association of Counties.

He was the chair of the county Planning Commission and served on the Transportation Commission. He was also the founder and president of his own business, Clarendon Home Services.

He is survived by his wife, Renee, and their daughters.

Abigail Constantino

Abigail Constantino started her journalism career writing for a local newspaper in Fairfax County, Virginia. She is a graduate of American University and The George Washington University.

aconstantino@wtop.com

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