Incoming City Councilwoman Sandy Marks’ swearing-in is scheduled next week, creating Alexandria’s first woman-majority council in the city’s 277-year history.
Marks will be sworn into office before City Council’s meeting on Tuesday, May 12, at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center (4850 Mark Center Drive), following her special election win on April 21. Marks’ entry will signal the seven-member council’s first-ever woman majority, which includes Mayor Alyia Gaskins, Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley and Councilwoman Jacinta Greene.
“I would like the community to be able to take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate the fact that this swearing-in initiates the first female-led government in Alexandria history,” Marks said.
After weeks of information packets and briefings with city department heads, Marks told ALXnow she is ready for everything to quiet down so she can get to work.
The incoming councilwoman defeated independent candidates Frank Fannon and Alison O’Connell in the special election to fulfill the seat left by now-Del. R. Kirk McPike (D-5). The Del Ray resident served as chair of the Alexandria Democratic Committee from 2021 to 2025.
As the mom of two teenage boys facing finals and AP exams, Marks says she’s been busy since the election. The day after she won the election, she said she turned off her phone.
“Your parents are there, and your kids just need to see your face, and everybody’s calling and texting,” Marks said. “It’s lovely and wonderful, but there are people who deserve your time and attention, who have just dropped everything and focused on you for weeks and weeks, and so that day for me was just focus on them.”
Since then, Marks has engaged in a packed schedule to prepare for the new role.
She has met with City Manager Jim Parajon and his chief of staff, City Clerk Gloria Sitton, City Attorney Cheran Ivery and all of the deputy city managers, as well as staff from the Department of Planning and Zoning. Next, she plans to meet with communications staff and Transportation and Environmental Services.
“It’s been lots and lots of meetings, and just getting to know people, which I love,” Marks said. “There’s a firehose of information coming at me.”
Marks said she doesn’t know yet what she’ll say in her swearing-in speech.
“I am the equivalent of an unexpected houseguest that’s coming in mid-term to a very welcoming and inclusive city staff and existing City Council, who are at the end of an incredible budget season,” Marks said.
While holding back from commenting on the recently passed Fiscal Year 2027 budget, Marks said that the city needs to focus on bringing economic development to popular tourist areas.
“We’ve got to bring more business to Old Town,” Marks said. “We’ve got to get creative, and got to get some things moving.”
Marks said that she needs to hire a legislative aide to help manage her outreach to the community, and that she’s still figuring out how she’ll conduct constituent services.
Looking ahead, she plans to focus her energy on housing affordability, climate equity, protecting the city’s LGBTQ+ population and pushing back against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city.
The swearing-in ceremony begins at 6 p.m. and will last until Council’s meeting at 7 p.m. It will include opening remarks by Mayor Gaskins and a reception for supporters and city staff.
Marks is slated to serve out the remainder of McPike’s term, which expires in January 2028. The next Democratic primary for City Council will be held in June 2027.
