Alexandria City Councilman Mo Seifeldein has abandoned his recently announced campaign for mayor and will not seek reelection.
The news came out Monday night in a tweet from Seifeldein’s now-locked Twitter account.
“I have been fortunate in trying to fulfill my obligations to my community as a lawyer and a Councilman,” Seifeldein wrote. “I’d like to believe that I discharged my duties as a Councilman with an unfettered commitment to justice for all of Alexandria’s residents.”
The 37-year-old Seifeldein, who won office in 2019, announced his intention to run for mayor against incumbent Mayor Justin Wilson earlier this month, sparking the question as to whether he was eligible to hold the position. Seifeldein is a federal employee and began working as a trial lawyer for the U.S. Department of Labor in Jan. 2020.
The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from running in a partisan race.
Per the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, federal employees living in Alexandria are allowed to run for public office, but only as independent candidates. They can also conduct limited fundraising.
Seifeldein listed the following accomplishments during his tenure:
- Adding gender identity to the city’s Human Rights Code
- Led the renaming of Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day in the city
- Introduced Police review Board resolution
- Helped the city’s public transportation employees unionize
Seifeldein’s announcement leaves another vacancy on council for the June 8 democratic primary, leaving Councilors Amy Jackson, John Taylor Chapman and Canek Aguirre vying to retain their seats. Vice Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker is running for the House of Delegates 45th District seat currently held by Del. Mark Levine and longtime Councilwoman Del Pepper is retiring.
A number of new faces have entered the race for council, including:
No other candidates running for mayor have been announced.
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