Alexandria’s Commonwealth Attorney Bryan Porter isn’t facing opposition this November.
In fact, Porter has never faced opposition in any of his elections. He took office in 2014 and spent his first two years consumed with the prosecution of Alexandria serial killer Charles Severance. Porter later wrote a book about the experience.
“The upcoming election isn’t a referendum on my office,” Porter told ALXnow. “I think it’s a testament to the wonderful people I have working in my office.”
A 1989 graduate of Alexandria City High School, Porter got a degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University, and briefly served as an Alexandria Police Officer. He went to night school to earn a law degree from the George Mason University School of Law, and was hired as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in 2001.
This year, much of Porter’s time has been spent in Richmond as president of the Virginia Commonwealth Attorneys Association, which hasn’t taken extreme positions on either side in regard to the change in administrations. At the same time, he’s a Democrat and has endorsed Democrats Abigail Spanberger for governor, Levar Stoney for lieutenant governor, and Shannon Taylor for Attorney General.
“I think it’s really hard for a prosecutor,” Porter said. ” You’ve got to really kind of push back on that vibe, in my opinion, because we’re supposed to prosecute cases without fear or favor. You don’t want anybody in the community to say that you’re making decisions based on a political viewpoint. That’s really hard now, particularly with what’s going on over in D.C.”
Porter continued, “It’s really hard because offices are very politicized with all these accusations of lawfare on the both sides, right? It’s become more difficult. So, what I try to do, I am a Democrat, a member of the party. I participate in party politics, but what I really try to do is insulate my people from that and let them do their jobs.”
Porter has tried hundreds of cases as a prosecutor. He’s also credited with founding the Alexandria Mental Health Initiative and the Alexandria Treatment Court as alternatives to jail for people with mental health and substance abuse issues. He also wrote a children’s book in 2019.
The last case Porter tried was in 2023, on the rape and murder of a woman with Down syndrome.
“It’s not very frequent, and particularly when I now have the additional responsibility to be the president of our association,” Porter said. “But I do take my campaign very seriously. I put out the website, and I’m trying to make it clear that I’m not taking it for granted.”
Porter said he’s thinking about writing a new book about disgraced former Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney Bill Cowhig.
“He actually disbarred for supposedly trading sexual favors with the girlfriends of suspects,” Porter said. “He was also accused of taking money from bingo parlors that were a big deal in the city in the 1970s. I do know he was criminally charged. Basically, the CA (Commonwealth’s Attorney) was under this cloud of corruption and suspicion, and all of his assistant commonwealth’s attorneys in the office finally signed a letter and they said, ‘Look, if you don’t resign then we’ll resign and then you’ll be the only person here in a week.'”
In the end, Porter says he’s only a temporary steward of his chair.
“I was lucky enough to inherit a very well-run office due to the efforts of my predecessors,” he said. “I’m fortunate to be serving in the community I grew up in.”
