(Updated at 11:30 a.m.) The field of candidates is getting crowded in Alexandria’s Democratic primary for City Council.
The list of nine candidates includes four incumbents, two School Board Members, two community leaders and a former magistrate, who, if elected would be the first transgender City Council member.
(Updated at 11:45 p.m.) The race for the next mayor of Alexandria has officially begun, sort of.
Last night, Vice Mayor Amy Jackson formally announced her candidacy to the Alexandria Democratic Committee (ADC), a rite of passage in Alexandria elected politics since the city has only ever elected a Republican mayor once, in 1872. Jackson’s opponent, City Council Member Alyia Gaskins, made her own announcement to the ADC on Dec. 2, and used the opportunity last night to announce her latest endorsements.
A task force recommended to the City Council at a meeting last week that the Torpedo Factory Art Center (TFAC) be converted (item 9) to a “quasi-public entity.”
According to a presentation, the task force said:
With two City Council members throwing their hats into the ring to become Alexandria’s next mayor, there will be at least two new faces on the Council next year: James Lewis wants to be one of them.
Lewis, chair of the Traffic and Parking Board, previously ran for City Council in 2021.
Updated 3/27/2024 — The Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards are not, in fact, coming to Potomac Yard
It’s official: the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards are moving to Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood.
The wait for early voting should be a little shorter next year.
The City of Alexandria is working to expand its Office of Voter Registration and Elections in Old Town (421 King Street) to accommodate a surge in early voting.
Alexandria has identified dozens of racially restrictive zoning covenants, many of which have been on the books for more than 100 years.
Next Tuesday, City Council will review a report on racially restrictive covenants that, during much of the 20th century, prohibited non-white residents from moving into subdivisions and neighborhoods throughout the city. City staff are also asking Council to review a process for a property owner to get the illegal covenant by filing for a certificate of release from the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Mutual respect, growth, and an ability to be vulnerable: That’s the kind of relationship retiring Alexandria Fire Chief Corey Smedley wants with his next job, wherever that might be.
Smedley says he wants purpose, not a position, and that he’d like for the right opportunity to find him.
Among the results of a settled lawsuit between the City of Alexandria and the Potomac Riverkeeper Network is a project to add thousands of freshwater mussels to the Potomac River.
City Council member Sarah Bagley gave the Council an update last week from the Waterfront Commission where she said the mussels — which are filter feeders and help clean the water –would be added to the river as part of the city’s remediation efforts.
(Updated 9:35 p.m.) It was overcast and cool — the perfect weather for the Campagna Center’s 52nd Scottish Christmas Walk Parade.
The parade is one of the most popular events in the city, bringing thousands of participants, including Irish dancers, historic reenactors and the City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums. It is considered the highlight of a weekend full of events.
Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson will not seek a third term in office.
Wilson made the announcement in his monthly newsletter on Friday.
