ALXnow will be running a series of City Council candidate interviews through the local election filing deadline on April 4.

(Updated 2/15) After the tumult of the pandemic, Alexandria City Councilman Canek Aguirre thought this term would be a breeze.

Turns out it’s been anything but, with the city’s controversial upending of its residential zoning policies and welcoming of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals to Potomac Yard.

Now running for a third three-year term, Aguirre is touting a number of successes and says that the $2 billion Potomac Yard arena deal is “fragile,” but that it’s a net positive for the city.

“We can’t be stuck holding a bag with a bunch of debt,” Aguirre said. “I think that’s there’s still some questions around that. I just want to say this deal is very fragile. There’s a lot of different pitfalls.”

Aguirre wants more city representation on the Virginia Stadium Authority board, which would own and finance the arena. He also says that new taxes created for and generated from the site will potentially help pay for city services and keep residential property rates steady.

“Transportation is the biggest portion of this that can completely fold the entire deal,”  Aguirre told ALXnow. “Not just funding but also making sure that we’re thinking outside the box to make adjustments to different modes across the region and across the area, because this isn’t just affecting Alexandria, it’s also Arlington and south Fairfax County. And honestly, because this potentially draws people from the entire region, how do we put protections in place for the community, for Del Ray and Arlandria, not just for parking, but also for housing.”

Like his colleagues, Aguirre was sworn in virtually after winning his second election in 2021. Now with nearly two terms under his belt, he is among the more senior members of Council, along with John Taylor Chapman (four terms), Vice Mayor Amy Jackson (two terms) and outgoing Mayor Justin Wilson (five terms).

“I was joking with Chapman and Wilson shortly after the 2021 election that this term was going to be easy,” Aguirre told ALXnow. “During the pandemic I didn’t take a day off for like a year-and-a-half, practically.”

Aguirre says that the city’s ARISE Guaranteed Income Pilot is his proudest achievement, providing $500 a month to 170 randomly selected participants for two years. He also said that the next mayor needs to be a communicator who can run a tight meeting.

“Definitely need a good communicator, someone who is collaborator, someone who’s willing to bring people together, who’s going to listen to everybody, try and bring all the ideas to the table,” said Aguirre, adding that he has not decided on whether to make an endorsement. “Personally, this is just my own thing, I like someone who knows how to run a tight meeting. You don’t want to be keeping people forever at meetings, and so being able to have a good meeting is as important to me as well.”

Aguirre announced that he’s running for reelection to the Alexandria Democratic Committee on Feb. 5.

“We’ve made some great strides together to meet collective bargaining agreements, Landmark Mall finally coming back to life, the first fare-free bus system in the region, and, oh, by the way, the largest electric bus fleet in the Commonwealth,” Aguirre told the ADC. “We opened a new metro station, we fully funded our schools and… all the while we still had time to do a guaranteed basic income pilot here in the city.”

He continued, “I don’t want to stop now. I want to keep on going. I want to keep on fighting for all you keep on fighting for our democratic values. So I’m humbly asking your support. I’m humbly asking for your vote.”

A first generation son of Mexican immigrants, Aguirre was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Latino studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For the last eight years has been chair of the Virginia Board of Social Work, and through City Council is the immediate past chair of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and is a member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board of directors. He lives in the West End with his wife.

Aguirre is also the lone Latino running in this year’s June 18 Democratic primary, and says he’s looking out for the interests of the city’s fastest growing demographic. There are nearly 30,000 Latino residents in the city today (about 18% of all residents), about triple the number in 1990, according to the city.

“Even though I represent Alexandria, there’s a larger burden, if you will, representing for the region in the state, a growing demographic,” Aguirre said. “That’s not lost on me.”

Aguirre said in his next term he wants DASH bus service to continue to be free for riders, and for it to expand into Arlandria.

“That’s very important to me,” Aguirre said. “A huge pet peeve of mine is that the bus doesn’t go all the way down Mount Vernon Avenue. It basically stops at E. Reed Avenue and then doesn’t service the rest of Arlandria.”

Alexandria has also experienced a crime surge since the pandemic, and Aguirre said that the city’s search for a new police chief will help reduce crime.

“With the Chief retiring, we’re gonna have an opportunity to try and find somebody new and I think that’ll definitely be not just a priority, but something that’s drilled home with the next person in charge,” Aguirre said.

Aguirre’s campaign kickoff will be held at El Cuscatleco Restaurant (3819 Mount Vernon Avenue) on Feb. 17 from 1 to 3 p.m. Alexandria’s Democratic primary is on June 18.

Alexandria City Council Member John Taylor Chapman wants to pursue making the 200 block of King Street into a pedestrian zone, and employees managing many of the businesses on that block have mixed feelings.

The move would mean having a pedestrian-only zone next door to City Hall’s Market Square (301 King Street) going all the way down to the waterfront.

Chapman told ALXnow that his plan is in its infancy, but that he will ask city staff about the feasibility of extending the pedestrian area that was permanently approved for the unit and 100 blocks of King Street in late 2022. The City closed the 100 block of King Street to car traffic in 2020 to help small businesses with outdoor seating during the pandemic, and the unit blocks of King Street and Strand Street were later added to the pilot.

Chapman is running for reelection and lists creating more pedestrian-only areas in his campaign platform.

“We’ve done the zero block and the 100 block (of King Street), and the 200 block is the next step,” Chapman told ALXnow. “Now I’m talking to those retailers to see if I can get their buy-in.”

Nearly half of the street parking on the eastern portion of the 200 block is taken up by a parklet rented for outdoor dining by The Warehouse restaurant at 214 King Street.

Ethan Wagner, manager of Old Virginia Tobacco (210 King Street), says a pedestrian zone will be a burden on his customers. He also said that the 200 block was shut down during the recent Scottish Christmas Walk Parade on Dec. 2, and that his employees had a hard time finding parking for work.

“There’s at least 15-to-20 parking spots right outside,” Wagner said. “I like the idea in theory, but I’m not a big fan of it because of the parking.”

Jaylen Walker, manager of Kilwins Chocolates and Ice Cream (212 King Street), said that the closure could be an issue for handicapped customers who need to be transported near the front door of the business.

“There’s a lot of parking garages nearby, and realistically, people are already down here to begin with,” he said. “The handicap issue is my only thing.”

A survey of community feedback on the closure of the unit and 100 blocks found that 91% (of 1,853 survey respondents) rated the pedestrian zone as very positive.

The city’s transportation division chief, however, said last year that extending the pedestrian zone to the 200 block could be problematic, as it has fewer restaurants that lend themselves to outdoor seating.

Clint Mansell, manager of the Principle Gallery (208 King Street), said that customers and clients like dropping off their art by parking directly in front of the gallery.

“There’s more retail and fewer restaurants on this block,” Mansell said. “There’s a European feeling to it, the walkability. I have mixed feelings. It would be nice to have some time to think about this.”

Todd Lippert, the longtime assistant manager at Comfort One Shoes (201 King Street), is all in favor of the idea.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Lippert said. It’s about time that people in Old Town forget their cars and begin to walk, enjoy their lives, enjoy their shoes and enjoy their walks.”

(Updated 4:15 p.m.) Alexandria experienced a 12.4%, or $440 million, drop in office property values this year, according to the city’s Office of Real Estate Assessments, and it could mean a reduction in city services.

Alexandria’s real estate tax base grew by just .33% this year, about $200 million, for a total of $48.49 billion, which is the smallest growth in 15 years, Mayor Justin Wilson tweeted. The city’s commercial property tax rate fell 4%, or $736.9 million.

The value of the city’s office properties fell 12.38%, from $3.58 billion in 2023 to $3.14 billion in 2024, according to a city report that City Council will receive in a legislative meeting on Tuesday night (Feb. 13). It’s the second year in a row that office properties dipped in value, dropping 10% last year.

The assessments also mean that the value of Alexandria’s total residential tax base has once again outpaced its commercial tax base, with the city’s residential tax base this year increasing by 3%, or $871.3 million. The average value of a single-family home value increased by 2.33% to $962,276, and the average value of a condo in the city is $423,765, an increase of roughly 4% over last year.

“Over 90% of that growth is from new development and the rest from appreciation,” Wilson wrote.

Wilson tweeted that the decrease was in spite of $237 million in commercial growth, along with $161 million in residential multi-family development.

City Council member John Taylor Chapman says that the reduction in revenue will mean a lean fiscal year 2025 budget for City Manager Jim Parajon. His draft budget will be presented to the City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 27.

“It means for this year’s budget that we’re gonna have to look at cuts around city services,” Chapman said. “We need to continue to press on how we deal with losses in the commercial, particularly the office building, sector. We’ve converted a number of old office buildings to residential, and I think that’s something that’s going to continue.”

A city report cited that the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic have made commercial real property a “considerable downside risk” for the city.

According to the report:

Commercial real estate is viewed as a more predictable investment asset, unlike stocks, bonds, and other paper assets which tend to be more volatile and react swiftly to economic sentiment. While commercial real estate performance is also sensitive to economic shifts, changes typically happen slowly. Since the pandemic, however, the commercial real property has demonstrated considerable downside risk. This is particularly evident in the office market where high vacancy, inflated tenant fit-up costs, and significant increases in capitalization rates have been detrimental to values.

Due to increased interest rates and continuing uncertainty in the market, there were few arm’s-length commercial sales transactions in 2023. However, those that did occur were adequate to judge market sentiment. Three large rental apartment projects, four office buildings, and approximately sixteen general commercial properties transferred in 2023. The transactions in all property classes were a mixture of performing assets, value-add, and buildings that involve a conversion in land use.

Parajon faced a $17 million budget shortfall when he started crafting last year’s budget, but it was wiped away by unexpectedly high real estate assessments and $4.6 million in citywide efficiency reductions.

This year, the city said that there were four sales of office buildings in 2023, and that many buildings are being repurposed into multi-family rental buildings or residential condominiums.

The following offices were converted to other uses in 2023:

• 801 N. Fairfax Street, converted into 54 condominium units
• 625 and 635 Slaters Lane, converted into 80 condominium units
• 4900 Seminary Road, converted into 212 multifamily rental units

The following office conversions have been proposed:

• 901 N Pitt Street
• Transpotomac Plaza, 1033 N. Fairfax Street
• 1101 King Street

More 2024 Alexandria Assessment Data:

Increases varied around the City

The average single-family home increased 2.33% to $962,276

The average condo home increased 3.96% to $423,765 pic.twitter.com/eVqnDzpQvo

— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) February 7, 2024

More 2024 Alexandria Assessment Data:

The commercial tax base decreased by $736M.

This net decrease was in spite of $237M of new commercial growth, of which $161M was residential multi-family development (rental housing). pic.twitter.com/vTSRngRt0Q

— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) February 7, 2024

Alexandria City Council members are crying foul over the proposed makeup of the Virginia Stadium Authority, which would finance construction of the $2 billion Potomac Yard arena and entertainment district.

Both the proposed Virginia House and Senate bills establishing the authority stipulate that the nine-member Virginia Stadium Authority board would be comprised of six members appointed by the governor and three from Alexandria.

That doesn’t sit well with the entire city Council, whose members say that the city needs a larger presence at the table.

Mayor Justin Wilson, Vice Mayor Amy Jackson and City Council Members Alyia Gaskins, Canek Aguirre, Kirk McPike, John Taylor Chapman, and Sarah Bagley all want more representation on the Virginia Stadium Authority. With North Potomac Yard poised to become the future home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, the development poses economic, transportation, public safety, housing and other challenges that directly impact the city.

“Given the bonds are backed 50/50 by the city and state, we believe the board composition should be even as well,” Wilson told ALXnow. “It’s the Authority that owns the arena, not the city.”

Wilson said that the city is conducting constant conversations with both houses of the state legislature regarding the bills. Virginia Senate Majority Leader Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36) introduced the senate version of the bill on Jan. 19, and is now pending in the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations. That same day, House of Delegates Appropriations Chair Del. Luke E. Torian (D-52) introduced the house version of the bill, and it is now pending in the House Committee on Appropriations.

Surovell told ALXnow that there is wiggle room to change the bills, and that the legislation at this point is “far from final.”

In the meantime, residents against the proposal will protest outside the Potomac Yard Target store at 6 a.m. on Friday before embarking on a “lobbying and rally day” outside the General Assembly building in Richmond.

Jackson, who is running for mayor, says that the governor’s office should have no more than two seats on the board and that Arlington should not be represented for the North Potomac Yard proposal.

“Whatever the number ends up being, I believe the percentages/seats should allow Alexandria to have more representation,” Jackson told ALXnow. “That the ratio of House and Senate seats would still have close to even cast. That the Governor should have only one-to-two, and that Arlington should not have a seat at this table.”

McPike said in a town hall meeting late last month that he doesn’t “love that breakdown.”

“I would like to see our delegation to Richmond push for a five-four split, maybe even a four-five split,” he said.

The town hall was part of a three-month public engagement process that the city is currently undertaking to inform residents on the development.

McPike continued, “We want to be the ones to make this decision, not Richmond, that if this is going to happen or not happen, it needs to be because it fits or doesn’t fit the needs of the city.”

Aguirre told ALXnow that the Potomac Yard arena deal is “very fragile,” and that many potential pitfalls spell trouble. He said that the Authority should be made up of representatives from the state legislature, the governor’s office and the city.

“That’s a non starter for me, the way it’s written right now,” Aguirre said of the bills. “I mean, six appointments for the governor, three for the city. That doesn’t fly with me.”

Aguirre spoke with us after announcing his reelection campaign to the Alexandria Democratic Committee on Monday. He said that the deal is an overall positive for the city, but that it has to make financial sense.

“We can’t be stuck holding a bag with a bunch of debt,” Aguirre said. “I think that’s there’s still some questions around that. I just want to say this deal is very fragile. There’s a lot of different pitfalls.”

Chapman said that there should be an evenly split board, and that council members should serve on it.

“I believe the composition of the Board should be even,” he told ALXnow.

Bagley says that Alexandria is a partner in the venture and “any potential authority composition should reflect that partnership.”

Gaskins, who is also running for mayor, said that the Virginia Stadium Authority board should have five members from Alexandria.

“Alexandrians will be the people most directly impacted by this project and it is important that it is reflected in the makeup of the board,” she told ALXnow. “I believe that Alexandria should have majority representation with five seats.”

Gaskins added that the city’s representatives on the board should reflect a diversity of opinions.

“As such, I think it would be helpful to have a combination of people, including community members, small business leaders and council or city government officials,” she said.

According to the legislation’s summary:

Establishes the Virginia Sports and Entertainment Authority as a political subdivision charged with financing the construction of a sports and entertainment campus. The Authority is composed of nine members, six of whom are appointed by the Governor and three of whom are appointed by the governing body of the City of Alexandria. Each appointed member is subject to specific criteria for appointment. The bill entitles the Authority to the following revenues: (i) sales tax revenues from construction and transactions on the campus, defined in the bill, but certain revenues that current law dedicates to transportation and education are excluded; (ii) all pass-through entity tax revenues and corporate income tax revenues from income generated by the company, defined in the bill, or any professional sports team or any affiliates as well as in the development and construction of the campus; and (iii) all personal income tax revenues from income generated through employment and business activity on the campus. It also authorizes the City of Alexandria to appropriate tax revenues to the Authority.

The revenues shall be deposited in the Virginia Sports and Entertainment Authority Financing Fund, created in the bill, from which the Authority will deposit revenues into priority accounts for Authority revenues, debt service, subordinate debt service, reserves, and capital expenditures and maintenance. If the Authority determines that all such accounts are sufficiently funded, the bill directs the Authority to issue the excess to the Commonwealth and the City of Alexandria if so provided for in any bond or financing agreements.

Construction of Inova Alexandria at Landmark is expected to be done in four years, and city staff are in favor of the hospital system’s comprehensive sign plan. Here’s what that looks like.

On Tuesday (Feb. 6), the Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on Inova’s sign plan for the 10.4-acre development on the 52-acre WestEnd property that was formerly home to Landmark Mall.

No electronic signs are allowed in the zoning districts, according to the city’s zoning ordinance.

According to the city:

The Comprehensive Sign Plan proposes to provide clear and consistent guidance on the quality, design, and materials for building, wayfinding, and open space signs in the site. Per §9-103(C), the applicant is requesting the Coordinated Sign SUP to encompass two blocks plus streets within West End Alexandria. Through the SUP, the applicant seeks to increase the number, type, and area of signage to align with the density, scale, and activity expected within the campus.

Inova’s signs at the site must be approved by a special use permit, and include:

1. Digital text or graphic signs, Parking ID, that would be up to 58.75 square feet, freestanding, and on approach to the garage entrances.
2. Two types of illuminated signs that may be located higher than 35 feet above the grade… only allowing one such sign per building.
3. Site identification and landscape signs up to 97.5 square feet and 65.25 square feet, respectively, with heights of 8.67 feet and 7.25 feet, respectively. § 9-202(A)iii.2 restricts these signs to no more than 24 SF and no taller than 6’ in CDD zoning districts.
4. The applicant requests window signage for a secondary building entrance
5. Freestanding wayfinding signs that exceed the city’s restriction of a maximum height of six feet, freestanding and parking identification signs that are 8.67-feet-tall, and outdoor recreation signs that are up to four-feet-tall.

Alexandria experienced a nearly 30% increase in Part 1 crime in 2023, and Mayor Justin Wilson says new initiatives will help stem the flow.

Part 1 crimes, or crimes against people, include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft. There were 4,410 total Part I incidents in 2023, an increase of 31% over the 3,361 incidents reported in 2022, according to the Alexandria Police Department Crime Dashboard.

Aggravated assaults are up 50%, with 258 incidents reported in 2023. Aggravated assaults jumped nearly 30%, robberies are up 31%, larcenies are up 30% and auto thefts rose 53%.

In his monthly newsletter, Wilson said that the increase in violent crime, in particular, is unacceptable.

“While the year ended with positive trendlines in several areas, the overall increase for 2023, and particularly the increase in violent crime, is unacceptable,” Wilson wrote. “Protecting the safety of our community is the most important obligation of local government. If our residents are not safe, nothing else matters.”

Last year, APD put mobile camera units in high crime areas after a number of shooting incidents in the city’s Braddock neighborhood. APD also told city council that it would combat the crime surge by increasing foot patrols.

Wilson’s comments follow the recent announcement that Police Chief Don Hayes is retiring this month and that the city will be conducting a search for his replacement.

Not all the Part 1 numbers increased, as there were four homicides in 2023, versus six homicides in 2022, and four rape incidents in 2023, down from eight rape incidents in 2022.

According to Wilson:

The underlying causes of the increases in violence (not just in Alexandria, but around the region and our nation) are so varied, that there is no single answer to this issue. However, the City is approaching this uptick in violence using multiple approaches:

• Restoring Police Staffing/Reducing Attrition
• Expanding “upstream” investments (family supports, mental/behavioral health, housing, re-entry programs, etc) proven to reduce violence
• Expanding community policing
• Continue advocacy for new laws in Washington and Richmond to slow the flow of dangerous firearms into our community

In recent budget decisions, we have included new funding for investigatory capacity focused on those responsible for homicides, felony sex offenses and crimes driven by weapons. We have continued to see mental health and behavioral health incidents driving emergency response. The City’s ACORP program, a co-response program pairing a sworn police officer with a mental health practitioner, has seen considerable success. The City Council chose to build on the success of this effort by expanding ACORP by adding two new ACORP pairs, for a total of 3.

The City has hired two of the largest classes of new police officers entering the Academy. As those officers conclude their training, we will make large progress on some of the staffing challenges the Police Department has experienced for the past few years.

Alexandria City Public Schools officials want to reach a collective bargaining agreement by the end of this year, and a resolution to approve the process will be presented to the School Board next week.

The draft collective bargaining resolution was reviewed last Thursday by the Board’s Collective Bargaining Committee, and Board Chair Michelle Rief said that the school system has a goal of coming to an agreement with staff by the end of this year. Such a deadline means that any major changes to staff benefits and compensation would be realized with next year’s passage of the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

“Just to be clear, we are looking and doing this, depending on how it goes, this year in 2024,” Rief said last Thursday night.

In October, the Education Association of Alexandria (EAA) formally started the process by sending the Board an employee certification submission on behalf of all licensed teachers. That submission gave the Board 120 days to adopt a collective bargaining resolution with a deadline of Feb. 13. The Board will be presented with the resolution for adoption at its upcoming meeting on Thursday, Feb. 8, and a full board action is expected at the March 21 school board meeting.

“This is something that can go really well or really not well,” said Board Member Meagan Alderton. “I think we are on the path of doing really well, and so we need to continue that path and be deliberate and intentional about everything we do.”

ACPS is looking for a three-year agreement that covers four topics, which have yet to be identified. Those topics could include wages, benefits and terms and conditions of employment, and every subsequent negotiation can include the addition of two additional topics, according to the draft resolution.

The school system is currently experiencing a staffing crisis, and the proposed $374 million fiscal year 2025 budget provides a full step increase and a 2% market rate adjustment for eligible staff. It does not, however, provide a cost of living increase.

ACPS middle school teacher David Paladin Fernandez has been vocal in asking the Board and city leaders for wage increases for staff.

“Educator retention and pay are serious issues, and I want to see ACPs leadership making bold choices,” he said.

Alexandria was first Northern Virginia jurisdiction to pass the measures for employee rights and wages in 2021, after former Governor Ralph Northam announced statewide implementation of the law in 2020. It took Alexandria nearly two years to negotiate collective bargaining for police and firefighters, who both saw increases in pay budgeted into the city’s fiscal year 2024 budget.

Dawn Lucas has been EAA president for nearly a decade and said that the organization will be tapping into its membership in the coming days to elect a bargaining representative and identify bargaining issues.

“I would have never thought this would happen, for us to have collective bargaining rights in the state of Virginia,” Lucas said. “When that happened, we knew
that we could possibly be on the path to come into this day.”

The draft resolution says the following:

Whereas, in April 2020, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation permitting local governing bodies, including school boards to enter into collective bargaining agreements with respect to any matter relating to employment provided by the public body adopts an ordinance or resolution authorizing as much; and

Whereas, pursuant to section 40.1 Dash five 7.2 C of Virginia code, any school board that has not adopted a resolution providing for collective bargaining may receive any employee certification was the federal majority of employees who self identify as a bargaining unit, and within 120 days of receipt of such employee certification shall take a vote on whether to adopt or not adopt a resolution to provide for collective bargaining; and

Whereas, the Code of Virginia does not require or any school board to adopt the resolution authorizing collective bargaining; and

Whereas, on October 16 2023, the school board clerk received an employee certification submission from the Education Association of Alexandria on behalf of all licensed teachers; and

Whereas, the school board has 120 days from the date, the certification was submitted, or until February 13, 2024, to take a vote to adopt or not adopt a resolution to provide for collective bargaining,

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Alexandria City School Board hereby agreed to adopt this resolution authorizing collective bargaining by licensed teachers and any other school board employees deemed appropriate by the Alexandria City School Board; and

Be it further resolved that the Alexandria City School Board shall adopt a collective bargaining resolution no later than 60 days after the adoption of this resolution; and

Be it further resolved, that the execution of this resolution is conclusive evidence of Alexandria School Board’s approval of this action.

Alexandria’s political scene is heating up, as a number of Democrat candidates formally launched their campaigns over the weekend.

City Council Member Alyia Gaskins held a packed kickoff at Indochen in Cameron Station on Sunday, following her opponent Vice Mayor Amy Jackson’s kickoff on Jan. 21 at Doyle’s Outpost in the West End. On Saturday, City Council Member Kirk McPike launched his campaign at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray and City Council Member John Taylor Chapman did the same at Port City Brewing Company.

In her speech, Gaskins didn’t get into her positions on large projects in the city, like the Potomac Yard arena or the massive WestEnd development, but said that she is devoted to the nitty gritty of policies that maintain a quality of life for residents.

“I am running to be your next mayor to make sure that your city, that my city, that our collective city is a place that is safe, affordable, accessible, and one that truly and finally works for all of us,” Gaskins said.

A third mayoral candidate, Steven Peterson, will announce his candidacy to the Alexandria Democratic Committee on Monday, Feb. 5, followed by his formal kickoff later in the month.

City Council Members Sarah Bagley and Canek Aguirre are also running for reelection and have not announced when their kickoffs will be held. Aguirre is finalizing details for an event in Arlandria next month, he told ALXnow. Candidate Charlotte Scherer, a former Alexandria magistrate, is holding her campaign kickoff on Feb. 21 at Mount Purrnon Cat Cafe & Wine Bar in Old Town.

Chapman has been on council since 2012, and is the most senior member running for reelection. An Alexandria native who grew up in public housing, he said at his kickoff that doing City Council work is a “labor of love.”

“We have a thriving city,” he said. “It takes good policy, it takes advocating for resources.”

The other candidates with intentions to run haven’t announced when their campaigns will formally launch. They include Alexandria School Board Members Jacinta Greene and Abdel Elnoubi, West End Business Association President James Lewis, Del Ray’s Jesse O’Connell and Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority Resident Association President Kevin Harris.

The Democratic primary is on June 18. No Republican candidates have entered the race.

Campaign finances

Gaskins is leading the money race so far, raising $46,000 with $34,000 on-hand as of Dec. 31, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Jackson has raised $16,900, and has $15,800 on-hand.

Longtime City Council Member Del Pepper endorsed Gaskins and donated $3,000 to her campaign.

“She has the ability to work with people she disagrees with,” Pepper said at the event. “You’ve got to have that if you want to be a good mayor.”

In the Council race, Chapman leads with fundraising, having raised $19,579 with $16,624 on-hand. McPike has raised $14,790, with $12,087 on-hand, followed by Aguirre, who raised $7,020 and has $10,716 on-hand. Bagley raised $3,320 and has $856 on-hand and Scherer is self-financing her campaign and contributed $900.

(Updated at 4 p.m. on Jan. 29) Critics contend that the proposed Alexandria City Public Schools budget shortchanges staff, but that’s not what the superintendent is saying.

Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt says that her proposed $374 million fiscal year 2025 budget focuses on retention with a full step increase and a 2% market rate adjustment for eligible staff. The school system is currently experiencing a staffing crisis, and the budget also increases bus driver salaries to $24 an hour for new drivers and more than $47 per hour for senior drivers with more than a decade experience with the school system. The budget also opens the door to the creation of a collective bargaining agreement with staff.

At Thursday night’s public hearing on Kay-Wyatt’s budget, Alexandria Middle School teacher David Paladin Fernandez said that the school system needs to come to a collective bargaining agreement. He also said that the budget does not provide a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for staff.

“If I asked everyone in this room if our educators deserved more, I have no doubt that every single one of us would say yes,” Fernandez told the School Board. “We’ve had a record exodus of top-tier educators to surrounding school districts with no plan to address it, and we have members of ACPS leadership suggesting the preposterous idea that a step (increase) is the same thing as a cost of living adjustment… A step is related to my experience and loyalty to the organization and a cost of living adjustment is related to larger economic realities we have no control over. They are not the same thing and they should be recognized in this budget.”

ACPS Chief Financial Officer Dominic Turner said in a Jan. 11 School Board retreat that the school system has seen a lot of turnover in school leadership over the past several years. An ACPS teacher with a bachelor’s degree makes about $58,000 and an ACPS teacher with a master’s degree makes an average of $90,000, and the majority of ACPS teachers are on a Master’s degree scale.

“In the past three years we’ve had 14 new principals and we’ve had 20 new members on the SLT (senior leadership team),” Turner told the Board.

Robin Benatti is the parent of an 8th grader and 6th grader at Francis C. Hammond Middle School, and said at the public hearing that she was “appalled that the budget does not include a COLA.

“This poor decision is going to hurt our students, and further damage our reputation,” Benatti told the Board Thursday. “Teachers in ACPS deserve to make reasonable compensation. This proposal falls short, big time. The struggle to hire qualified teachers for our extremely dense school district will only intensify if you don’t also include a COLA. Be bold. Be aggressive in your position to show the community that you believe in investing in our educational talent.”

Alicia Hosmer has children at Alexandria City High School and at Hammond, and said that a COLA will make the school system more attractive for staff.

“My 8th grader and his classmates have been without an Algebra teacher and their learning is suffering,” Hosmer told the Board. “We cannot recruit and keep top talent when surrounding districts such as Fairfax and Arlington are proposing to give teachers both a COLA and step increases. We will lose more teachers to surrounding districts which means more empty classrooms and more strain on the teachers who remain with ACPS.”

School Board Member Meagan Alderton said at the Jan. 11 retreat that a positive work environment is as important incentive as compensation for staff retention.

“I think pay is 100% essential,” Alderton said. “But we need to be thinking about the job environment we provide to make people want to stay in this profession. There are plenty of people who just love teaching, who love education, and I do believe that if people feel successful in this work, that will also make them stay.”

In the meantime, Board Chair Michelle Rief is concerned that the budget is asking for a 4% increase in the city’s appropriation ($258.69 million) and a 4.1% increase from the state (about $2.5 million), but that the Governor’s proposed budget would transfer only 2-to-3% of requested funding.

“If we don’t receive the state and the city funding that we need, we are not going to be able to pass this budget,” Rief said.

ACPS will hold a public meeting on collective bargaining on Jan. 25. The Board will adopt its budget on Feb. 16, and it will then be incorporated into City Manager Jim Parajon’s budget, which will be presented on March 14.

(Updated at 5 p.m.) One-on-one therapy, an art program and mental health first aid training are just a few of the new offerings in a proposed mental health program pilot at Alexandria recreation centers.

City Council will review the six-month, $75,000 pilot program with the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks, & Cultural Activities (RPCA) at its meeting Tuesday night. The program would run at three recreation centers — Charles Houston (901 Wythe Street), William Ramsay (5650 Sanger Avenue) and Patrick Henry (4650 Taney Avenue).

The city has been making concerted efforts toward access to mental health resources. Earlier this year, Alexandria City Public Schools expanded their virtual mental health services in a partnership with Hazel Health, prompting ACPS Executive Director of Student Support Teams to provide feedback on unmet needs.

“ACPS suggested that RPCA conduct focus groups with students and use the pilot to tie in supports to substance use education, suicide prevention, and community building activities at City recreation centers,” staff said in a memo to Council.

The program was developed after RPCA staff interviewed more than 50 children at the three recreation centers.

City Council Member Alyia Gaskins introduced the program into the current budget.

“I was proud to introduce the budget add for this pilot as a direct response to young people’s request to ‘meet them where they are’ and to ‘create more safe spaces,'” Gaskins said. “The staff proposal was shaped directly by and with our youth.”

The pilot would be funded from the city’s contingent reserves, with $65,000 going to “direct services and training,” with the remainder used for space modifications, according to the memo.

“Additional funding would be required to continue these services into future fiscal years and/or to additional recreation centers,” staff wrote.

According to the city, the program would contain the following:

1. Utilize contractor-based mental wellness programming: RPCA identified a contractor, that provides a variety of programs for youth that incorporate several activities that youth spoke about in our focus groups while establishing a platform to discuss challenging issues. All the instructors for the programs are licensed therapists, social workers, and/or counselors. In conjunction with the programs, they will follow up one-on-one with youth as needed and can help identify additional needs to provide specific referrals. RPCA used this contractor this fall to provide a mental health-based art program at Charles Houston and the teens consistently participated and looked forward to the program (and the class instructors) every week.

The three contracted programs proposed are:

• Art Program: The Arts offer an opportunity for teenagers to develop a positive sense of self-esteem and formulate healthy coping skills. Staff has taken note of the powerful impact the Arts can have on the overall well-being of teenagers. The Arts program consists of weekly lesson plans, workshops, and collaborative projects that focus on building self-esteem, coping skills, and goal setting.
• Wellness Club: The club is dedicated to promoting mental wellness, decompression, and self-care through a variety of activities such as art, music, and wellness practices. The main goal of the club is to support students in developing positive coping mechanisms to reduce stress, while also teaching relaxation techniques through leisure activities and mindfulness. These activities may include arts and crafts, puzzles, music, yoga, breathing techniques, and guest speakers such as therapists, life coaches, and yoga instructors.
• Scholars Program: The program applies mental health strategies to academics in the classroom. This program aims to teach students how to develop coping skills to manage anxiety and focus on successfully completing their assignments and exams. Mental health professionals will guide students through an overview of mental health awareness, mindfulness techniques, and provide guidance on when and how to apply coping strategies.

2. Provide Youth Mental Health First Aid and Question Persuade Refer (QPR) suicide prevention training to RPCA recreation center staff working with youth. Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 11-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. Youth mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a -step action plan for how to help young people both in crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders.

3. Provide Teen Mental Health First Aid training for teens participating in center activities. The program teaches teens in grades 10-12, or ages 15-18, how to identify, understand and respond to signs of a mental health or substance use challenge in their friends and peers. The training gives teens the skills to have supportive conversations with their friends and teaches them how to get help from a responsible and trusted adult.

4. Identify and utilize contracted therapists for speaking engagements with parents with a goal of reducing the stigma of seeking help for mental health challenges. Based on direct concerns or feedback from parents, contract therapists, CSB referrals and DCHS staff can provide additional resources.

5. Configure existing center spaces to support trauma-informed practices including, privacy, comfort, decompression, and one-on-one discussions with trusted adults, including licensed providers.