Charles Sumpter is entering the special election race for Alexandria City Council after participating in last month’s Democratic firehouse primary, where he lost competing for a State Senate seat in the 39th District.
Sumpter, 40, is a senior executive at World Wildlife Fund and helped found Safe Space NOVA, where he served as a member of the board. He has updated his campaign website, though his platform of issues has stayed the same: affordable housing, community-based mental health care and expanding workforce pathways for students.
Sumpter placed third among four candidates in the Jan. 13 firehouse primary. He told ALXnow he is rested from the week-long campaign and ready to run again.
“I may never have this chance again,” Sumpter said. “My focus is now on what we can do at the local level to get after those things I advocated for in the State Senate race. Now, I’ll have to work through city infrastructure and advocate with state leadership to get what I want.”
On Jan. 20, City Councilman R. Kirk McPike won the Alexandria Democratic Committee’s firehouse primary for Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker’s 5th District seat in the House of Delegates, prompting McPike to announce his resignation from City Council. The spot opening has sparked yet another Democratic firehouse primary, set for Saturday, Feb. 21.
Sumpter now faces four opponents — former ADC Chair Sandy Marks, Del Ray Citizens Association President Tim Laderach, nonprofit leader Roberto Gomez and D.C. teacher and TikToker Cesar Madison Tapia.
“During the Senate race, I knew that I wasn’t the favorite and didn’t have a well of political support,” Sumpter said. “It was an uphill battle. Even during that election, a lot of people said I should think about City Council. That stuck in my mind.”
A native of New York City, Sumpter has lived in Alexandria’s West End since 2010. For the last four years, he’s been the Senior Director of Belonging and Employee Experience at WWF.
Sumpter is also a member and former chair of the city’s LGBTQIA+ Task Force and was chair of the city’s Commission on HIV/AIDS, as well as the Alexandria School Health Advisory Board.
His career includes stints as a communications manager for the Air National Guard, as a legislative and Congressional affairs advisor with the U.S. Department of Defense and manager at Deloitte. Sumpter has a bachelor’s degree in political science and government and East Asian studies from Union College, and a Master of Science in business from the Catholic University of America.
“The last campaign, it was basically just me,” Sumpter said. “There are more people who are helping me in this race. I’m going to give it my all.”
Photo 1 via Charles Sumpter/Facebook.
