Alexandria Mayor-elect Alyia Gaskins says voters made the right decision in electing Democrats to City Council on Election Day, and that the city is committed to promoting its progressive values under the shadow of a Republican Trump administration in the White House.
“I can’t predict what the next four years will look like under such unpredictable leadership,” Gaskins told ALXnow. “What I can say is that I’m confident Alexandria elected the right people to lead us through.”
Alexandria City Council Member Alyia Gaskins made history tonight by becoming the first Black woman elected mayor of the city.
Gaskins was surrounded by her City Council colleagues and Democratic supporters as she accepted the results at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray.
Vote yet?
Thousands of Alexandrians cast their ballots today, and ALXnow visited multiple polling locations throughout the day.
Voting lines aren’t long in Alexandria, and more than 66% of the city’s registered voters have already cast their ballots in the 2024 general election.
As of noon, 17,813 ballots were cast across the city’s 32 precincts. There were also 47,967 voters who voted early. The city’s registrar predicts an 80% turnout.
About 80% of Alexandria voters are expected to turn out this Election Day, according to the city’s General Registrar and Director of Elections.
Registrar Angie Turner said that 80% of the city’s 99,369 registered voters are expected to vote.
After nearly a year of campaigning, City Council Member Alyia Gaskins said on election day that she’s ready to be the next mayor of Alexandria.
Gaskins won the three-way Democratic primary for mayor in June, and faces no opposition in the general election. She will be the first Black woman elected mayor of the city.
Update 10/30: Oct. 25 was a teacher work day, the students in the photo above were not in school.
Every day, countless Alexandria City High School students walk between campuses across one of the busiest intersections in the city, and city leaders said Alexandria’s been very lucky no one has been hurt yet.
Somebody must have said Beetlejuice’s name too many times, because he was all over the 28th annual Del Ray Halloween Parade on Sunday (Oct. 27).
Thousands of costumed heroes, villains and characters paraded down Mount Vernon Avenue. The weather was crisp — about 60 degrees in the sun, and like an early indication of the days to come felt considerably cooler in the shade.
During a heated City Council debate about plans to overhaul the Van Dorn Street/Eisenhower Interchange, part of the discussion was angst over nearby developer The Greenhill Companies’ opposition to the project.
The plan is to make a series of changes to Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue, including relocation of left-turn lanes on Van Dorn Street and the installation of a new bike lane on Eisenhower Avenue.
Alexandria School Board members sternly responded to recent criticism leveled at the Board and school system staff.
Without singling out the offending School Board member by name, Board Chair Michelle Rief, Vice Chair Kelly Carmichael Booz and Member Christopher Harris on Thursday night admonished Board Member Abdel Elnoubi for his comments at a City Council candidate debate on Oct. 16.
The overhaul of the Van Dorn Street/Eisenhower Interchange will move forward after the City Council struck down an appeal from nearby residents.
At the City Council meeting this week, the Council voted 5-2 in favor of a series of design changes on Eisenhower Avenue and nearby roads, denying an appeal from residents near the project of an earlier Traffic and Parking Board Decision.
