Months of campaigning came to a head last night as Mayor Justin Wilson and three City Council incumbents held onto their seats despite opposition and the three new members of the City Council were among those most closely aligned with the incumbents.
The city also had relatively high levels of voter turnout for a non-Presidential election year, with 23% of registered voters showing up to the polls.
(Updated 11 p.m.) Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson defeated his political rival, former Mayor Allison Silberberg, in Tuesday night’s Democratic primary.
“Thank you Alexandria,” Wilson said at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray. “When the voters of Alexandrians get a choice between a list of things that they are against and a positive vision for the future for our city, they choose the positive vision of the future every single day of the week.”
Alexandria Police are investigating the destruction of several Pride flags that were thrown into the fountain at Market Square outside City Hall (301 King Street).
On Sunday evening, approximately half of the multicolored flags mostly erected on light posts around Market Square to commemorate Pride Month were thrown into the fountain, Alexandria Police told ALXnow.
The controversy over the Seminary Road Diet has been front and center this election season, with a majority of City Council candidates saying they will vote to reverse it if elected.
Council candidates have been peppered with questions on the road diet, in addition to their general philosophies on roadway development and community engagement.
As temperatures start to go up, Alexandria’s annual program aimed at helping residents without home cooling make it through the summer is coming back.
The Summer Cooling program allows residents to beat the heat at several recreation centers and libraries around the city. The program came in handy for residents last summer during a heat wave. Like last year, however, there are some capacity restrictions due to COVID-19.
The June 8 Democratic primary is next Tuesday, and the latest fundraising totals show that Mayor Justin Wilson has still outraised his opponent, former Mayor Allison Silberberg.
Kirk McPike is also continuing to lead financially among City Council candidates.
Alexandria reducing COVID-19 news release updates to twice a week — “With nearly 54% of Alexandrians ages 12 and up partially vaccinated and considerable progress in the past five months toward the state’s goal of 70% and Alexandria’s target of 80% of the eligible population fully vaccinated, the frequency of this COVID-19 news release will reduce to twice per week. Going forward, this news release will be published on Tuesdays and Fridays, unless there is a major announcement to share. Daily COVID-19 case, death and vaccination data will continue to be available at alexandriava.gov/Coronavirus. The seven-day moving average of cases in Alexandria is now at its lowest point since the start of the pandemic.” [City of Alexandria]
King Street-Old Town Metro station bus loop to open — “On June 6, DASH and Metrobus will move to the new bays in the Metro station’s bus loop off Diagonal Road. Bus bays and the station entrance kiosk will feature new digital screens with real-time bus arrival information. New crosswalks and redesigned station lighting have also been added to boost pedestrian visibility.” [Patch]
With no more mayoral debates, now it all boils down to the Democratic primary on June 8.
Like the main event at a boxing match, Mayor Justin Wilson and former Mayor Allison Silberberg on Thursday night maneuvered through a series of questions in the final of four Seminary Ridge Civic Association candidate forums.
The building blocks for what will become a sweeping mixed-use development replacing Landmark Mall are almost in place. A small discussion about street ownership could also have big implications for the future of the site’s identity.
The Eisenhower West Landmark Van Dorn Implementation Advisory Group met on Monday to put some of the finishing touches on some of the initial framework discussed over the last few months. One of the major points of discussion is over who will own the roads.
Some officials say that a last-minute proposal to add a pool to the Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard campus is long overdue.
While previously dismissed as prohibitively expensive, the total cost for the addition of the pool isn’t clear yet.
Sarah Bagley has four cell phones sitting on her desk, and promises not to buy a fifth if she’s elected to the Alexandria City Council this fall.
By day, Bagley is the executive director of D.C.-based nonprofit Chisom Housing Group and manages 20 affordable housing communities in 11 states across the country, although none are in the D.C. Metro area. One phone is personal, one is for work and the other two are resident service lines.
