It was another busy week in Alexandria.
This week’s top stories focused on development projects all over the city, from Old Town North to Carlyle and in the West End. News of the mixed-use projects comes as affordable housing advocates are protesting against being priced out and are asking for greater assistance from the city.
Politics-wise, City Council Member Alyia Gaskins celebrated two recent victories in her Democratic primary race for mayor. Gaskins is leading with fundraising, having raised $149,107 with $69,425 on-hand, according to quarterly campaign finance reports released Monday. Her opponent Vice Mayor Amy Jackson has raised $59,984 and has $22,682 on-hand, while former real estate developer Steven Peterson has raised $44,700 with $14,019 on-hand.
Gaskins also handily won the recent Alexandria Democratic Committee’s Straw Poll by 81%, followed by 16% for Jackson and 3% for Peterson. The primary is on June 18.
On Tuesday, we reported on a new movement to return Alexandria’s City Council to ward/district representation. While the nine-member Alexandria School Board is divided into three districts, the seven members of City Council are at-large, representing the entire city. The Communities for Accountable City Council is a self-described non-partisan group of city residents “exasperated with the intransigent Alexandria City Council that is unaccountable to communities and neighborhoods because of Alexandria’s At-Large election system.”
In our poll this week we asked whether City Council should return to a ward system. Out of the more than 500 votes, 57% voted yes and 43% voted no.
The most-read stories this week were:
- Notes: Old Town North building sold for $15.4 million to be turned into mixed-use apartment building (8413 views)
- Alexandria considering big plans for properties next to Eisenhower Avenue Metro station (4987 views)
- Alexandria City Council approves new ‘neighborhood’ at former Vulcan Materials site (4603 views)
- CVS set to close in Taylor Run neighborhood on Duke Street (3611 views)
- Affordable housing advocates rally outside Alexandria City Hall (3559 views)
- No arrest after fistfight leads to gunfire in Lincolnia (3351 views)
- Notes: Fundraiser for motorcyclist killed on Duke Street raises thousands (2390 views)
- Local organization forms to push Alexandria back to district/ward elections (2303 views)
- Mystic BBQ & Grill opens on Lee Street in Old Town (2235 views)
Have a safe weekend!
Alexandria mayoral candidate Alyia Gaskins won the Alexandria Democratic Committee’s Straw Poll on Sunday night.
Gasksins defeated Vice Mayor Amy Jackson 117 votes to 23 votes, or 81% to Jackson’s 16%. A third mayoral candidate, Steven Peterson, did not show up for the event, and received 4 votes (3%).
City Council’s four incumbent members running for reelection also won, and so did two newcomers. The unofficial and unscientific contest is held before every Council primary at the Port City Brewing Company (3950 Wheeler Avenue).
“The results from the ADC straw poll show that a range of Democrats — some of who have been engaged in local politics for decades and others who are brand new — overwhelmingly agree that I’m the best candidate for mayor,” Gaskins said. “I’m excited to build on this momentum as I continue to spread my vision for a safer, more affordable, more accessible Alexandria.”
There are 11 Council candidates in the running in the June 18 primary for the six-seat Council, as well as three mayoral candidates.
Council Members John Taylor Chapman and Kirk McPike tied for the top spot among the City Council candidates. In the general election in November, the top vote-getter becomes the city’s vice mayor.
The Democrat and Republican primary is on June 18 and the general election is on Nov. 5.
The Results
- John Taylor Chapman — 98 votes (68%)
- Kirk McPike — 98 votes (68%)
- Sarah Bagley — 93 votes (65%)
- Canek Aguirre — 81 votes (56%)
- James Lewis — 78 votes (54%)
- Jesse O’Connell — 77 votes (53%)
- Jacinta Greene — 75 votes (52%)
- Kevin Harris — 50 votes (35%)
- Abdel Elnoubi — 47 votes (33%)
- Jonathan Huskey — 18 votes (13%)
- Charlotte Scherer — 15 votes (10%)
The ADC Straw Poll got it right in 2021 by correctly predicting the mayoral and council members elected that November. But the poll is not always accurate. In 2018, former City Councilor Willie Bailey received the most votes but lost reelection. Former City Councilwoman Del Pepper, Jackson and former Council Member Mo Seifeldein didn’t make the unofficial cut either, still winning in the June primary and the November general election.
Three years ago the @AlexVADems Straw Poll correctly predicted both the Mayoral and City Council Democratic nominees.
We’re back at @PortCityBrew to see what happens this time! pic.twitter.com/u3r5C6tmu3
— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) April 14, 2024
.@Alyia4ALX wins the @AlexVADems' straw poll for mayor https://t.co/IwEnS8rW6N pic.twitter.com/FX3mnQGugn
— Blue Virginia (@bluevirginia) April 14, 2024
Alexandria’s annual George Washington Birthday Parade brought the usual pomp and circumstance befitting the country’s first president.
This year’s parade marshals were the recipients of the prestigious Living Legends of Alexandria award. The theme of this year’s parade was “George Washington: Alexandria’s Living Legend.”
A number of political candidates marched (or rode) in the parade, including mayoral candidates Vice Mayor Amy Jackson and Alyia Gaskins, as well as Sheriff Sean Casey and Clerk of Court Greg Parks. City Manager Jim Parajon also marched, as did his counterpart in the school system, Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt. Former Mayor Allison Silberberg also marched in the parade with the “Coalition to Stop the Potomac Yard Arena.”
Alexandria’s next parade is the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Old Town on Saturday, March 2.
Steven Peterson, former president of the Peterson Companies real estate development firm, confirmed to ALXnow today that he is intending to run for mayor of Alexandria as a Democrat in the June 18 primary.
“It is my intention to run as a Democrat for mayor of Alexandria,” Peterson said.
Peterson’s family is known to be Republican, with his father, Milton, doubling his professional duties as the company’s founder and longtime chair of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. The Peterson Companies is regarded as one of the largest private developers in the region, and led the development of National Harbor. Steven Peterson, in fact, was the project manager behind that development.
“My father was a Republican, and as a company we were Republicans, but I have stayed out of politics,” Peterson said. “It’s not about making money anymore. It’s about making a difference.”
Peterson will join two other Democratic candidates in the race — Vice Mayor Amy Jackson and City Council Member Alyia Gaskins.
Peterson said he decided just before Christmas to run.
“I decided this three weeks ago in bed at 3 a.m.,” he said. “I whacked my wife on the head and woke her up and said, ‘I’m running for mayor,’ and then three hours later she whacked me on the head at 6:30 a.m. and said, ‘Did you just wake me up because you said that you’re running for mayor?'”
Peterson said that he is in favor of smart growth, and will unveil his platform when he launches his candidacy sometime next month. In the meantime, he has made the rounds by informing Alexandria Democratic Committee Chair Sandy Marks of his intention to run, and is putting together his campaign team.
(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) By the time this story is published, candidates will have just an hour-and-a-half to file the necessary paperwork to run in the Jan. 9 special election to fill the vacant seat on the Alexandria School Board.
The deadline is 5 p.m. to file the following with the city’s Office of Voter Registration & Elections:
- Declaration of Candidacy
- Candidate Petitions (with 125 signatures of qualified voters from School Board, District A)
- Certificate of Candidate Qualification
- Statement of Economic Interests
- Statement of Organization
So far, Gina Baum and Tim Beaty have filed paperwork to run for the open seat, according to Angie Turner, the city’s registrar of voters.
Baum is a managing broker with Keller Williams Metro Center, according to her LinkedIn page. As part of her filing, she submitted 150 signatures, a campaign email address and a campaign website, the latter of which hasn’t yet been set up.
Last month, District A School Board Member Willie Bailey abruptly resigned, prompting the Alexandria Circuit Court to order a special election for Jan. 9. The winner of the election will serve out the remaining 11 months of Bailey’s term before the next School Board is sworn into office in January 2025, following the November 2024 general election.
There are at least two other interested candidates collecting signatures — former School Board Member Bill Campbell and retired labor leader Tim Beaty.
Campbell was elected to the School Board in 2012 and reelected in 2015, but lost his reelection bid in 2018. He also lost a 2021 City Council bid, and while he said that he has collected enough signatures to run, Campbell told ALXnow that he’s weighing family obligations before taking the plunge and running for office again.
“I have a few hours left to make that decision,” Campbell said.
Beaty, the former global strategies director for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, addressed the Alexandria Democratic Committee at its monthly meeting on Monday night. He said that he’s been a city resident for nine years, and has been a precinct captain at Cora Kelly School, and that his main goal would be to help ACPS in its collective bargaining efforts with staff.
“I think the process of collective bargaining should be able to help us with retention of too many teachers that are leaving the system because the workers will be represented in the collective bargaining negotiation,” Beaty said, “And to be able to attract more folks with hopefully through collective bargaining process better wages, benefits and working conditions.”
Alexandria Democratic members of the Virginia’s General Assembly were swept back into office on election night.
There were no surprises from the unofficial election returns Tuesday night. Facing no opposition, Democratic incumbents Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (5th) was reelected to a second term with 21,622 votes, and Del. Charniele Herring (4th) was reelected to her eighth two-year term with 10,368 votes. Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3rd) was also reelected with 81% (16,837 votes) and defeated independent candidate Major Mike Webb.
State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-39) was reelected with 78% of votes cast (38,789 votes), soundly defeating Republican Sophia Moshasha who got 22% (10,706 votes).
Most of the Democratic candidates spoke after the unofficial results were announced at an Alexandria Democratic Committee watch party at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray.
“With the legislature that we hope to return to Richmond tonight, we’re going to have tell (Republican Governor) Glenn Yongkin that he can work with us or he can face a brick wall,” Ebbin said.
Statewide, Virginia Democrats campaigned on protecting abortion rights and retook control of both houses of the General Assembly, making Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin a lame duck for the remainder of his term.
Bennett-Parker said that she is one of a handful of Virginia legislators to have a child while in office.
“She inspires me every day to do this work,” Bennett-Parker said of her daughter. “I want her to grow up in Virginia where she has the right to make decisions about her own body.”
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine also stopped by to congratulate the winners.
“Times are tough in this country right now,” Kaine said. “Times are tough in this world right now. But when times are tough families pulled together and that’s what we’re doing… I always say I was born with a good compass, and I married a good anchor. And if you have a good compass and a good anchor, there is nothing that will ever stop good.”
Voter turnout in Alexandria exceeded expectations. About 35% (40,166 votes) of the city’s active registered voters cast ballots on Tuesday.
Old Town was packed on Saturday morning for Alexandria’s 40th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Thousands of visitors lined King Street to watch a procession of more than 2,000 participants, including Irish dancers, historic reenactors and the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums. The festivities also included a car show and a dog show at Market Square outside City Hall.
This year’s Grand Marshal was Charlotte Hall, managing director of Old Town Business. The parade was sponsored by the Ballyshaners, a nonprofit dedicated to Irish heritage. Ballyshaners is Gaelic for “Old Towners.”
Enjoy the photos!
It’s the 40th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in old town Alexandria. @wtop pic.twitter.com/GALWNTcrJE
— Dick Uliano (@DickUliano) March 4, 2023
Get out of the way!!
Today, the Woodridge Showtime Marching Eagles Performed at the 2023 Ballyshaners St. Patrick's Day Parade held in Old Town Alexandria Virginia. #woodridgeeaglessoar💙💛💙🦅 #FriendshipProud #fpcswoodridge #dccharterproud #marchingband pic.twitter.com/0jpJoQ4U4F— Friendship PCS (@FriendshipPCS) March 4, 2023
Some St. Patrick’s Day parade shots. #alexandriava #oldtownalexandria pic.twitter.com/l1Cx1kgLG2
— Old Town Dog Walks (@Oldtowndogwalks) March 4, 2023
Old Town was packed on Monday, as thousands of revelers and marchers celebrated the George Washington Birthday Parade.
More than 2,000 freemasons from all over the country marched in the 100th annual parade, which is the largest annual celebration of Washington in the world.
This year’s event saw a rare route change for the parade, which is traditionally held east of Washington Street near City Hall in the Old Town Historic District. This year, the parade made its way from Old Town North to King Street and near the George Washington Masonic National Memorial at King Street and Commonwealth Avenue.
This event commemorated the construction of the Memorial in 1923, which saw then-President Calvin Coolidge, Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Virginia Governor E. L.Trinkle lay the cornerstone.
Alexandria’s next parade is the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Old Town on Saturday, March 4.
Clarence Tong won’t seek reelection for a fifth two-year term as chair of the Alexandria Democratic Committee, he announced in a virtual meeting with the organization’s members on Monday (Dec. 6).
Tong says he didn’t know a single Alexandria Democrat when he went to his first ADC meeting a decade ago with the intent to do his part to reelect then-President Barack Obama.
“I can confidently say that I got much more than I bargained for,” Tong said. “This past election is a reminder that Virginia is still a ‘swing state‘ and we can’t take for granted the progress Democrats have made. We need to continue to fight for our values year after year.”
Tong said he was most proud of building an “unparalleled Democratic turnout operation here in the City of Alexandria,” but that serving as chair is like having a second full-time job.
Sandy Marks, the ADC vice chair for communications, announced last month that she would run for the position. Since then, she has gotten the endorsement of Mayor Justin Wilson and nearly all of the incoming City Council, as well as members of the school board and ADC leadership. At this point, Marks is running uncontested for the election as ADC chair, which, with the other officer elections, will be held virtually on January 10.
“I’ve worked with Sandy for years on many issues facing our community,” Wilson told ALXnow. “She’ll be a good leader for our party as we work to build the committee and work towards preparation for the upcoming election cycles.”
It will be two years until the next election in Alexandria — the House of Delegates and midterm Congressional elections — time Marks says will be spent reinvigorating the ADC’s membership.
Marks, a freelance political writer, said that she and other ADC officers are stewards of a party that will continue for generations.
“It is our job to keep it on course, and adjust when necessary to get us where we want to be in the future,” she said. “My true goal here is to try to pick up where Clarence left off. He’s done a lot of really good work bringing the party to where it is today. And now, post-Trump and with the challenges that COVID brought to the committee in terms of meeting and seeing each other in person, a huge goal of mine is to work to reconnect the relationships that have been disrupted by COVID.”
Photos via ADC and Jack Powers
What an interesting week in Alexandria. Here’s the rundown.
World champion sprinter Noah Lyles brought home his bronze medal from the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday. In a frank, TED Talk-like speech at Alexandria City High School, Lyles talked about the importance of mental health as he struggled to perform at the games.
“A lot of people will look at the Olympics this year like something was different with the athletes,” said Lyles. “Well, it was a lot of difference because we had so much weight that we had to hold onto — about two years. I was no different.”
On the COVID-19 front, while the transmission level remains high in Alexandria, this week the city tied with Arlington for the lowest seven-day positivity rate in Virginia. Large outdoor public events are still happening, too, and on Monday, a vast majority of local elected officials and candidates converged for the Alexandria Democratic Committee’s annual Labor Day Picnic, which included an appearance by gubernatorial candidate, former Governor Terry McAuliffe.
Important stories
- Alexandria Police say string of 7-Eleven robberies are connected
- West End trail project derailed by stalled development
- Mural Mania: Check out these three new murals in Old Town
- Mudhouse Coffee buys building in Old Town
Top stories
- Man arrested for spending spree after finding wallet in Bradlee Shopping Center parking lot
- COVID-19 Update: Alexandria ties with Arlington for lowest seven-day positivity rate in Virginia
- BREAKING: Pedestrian critically injured in Old Town car crash
- Mark Center development plans head to Planning Commission this week
- Alexandria Police union calls out years of executive mismanagement
- JUST IN: Suspects arrested after allegedly firing shots at Alexandria Police
- BREAKING: Video shows brawl at Alexandria City High School cafeteria just two days after school starts
- Mayor outlines upcoming plastic bag tax plans
- Village Brauhaus aims for rooftop expansion
- No injuries or arrests after shots fired in Old Town Sunday night
- Most expensive homes sold in Alexandria in August
Have a safe weekend!
