Role model, history maker and mayor — being Mayor of Alexandria is more than just chairing meetings. On Wednesday (April 2), Mayor Alyia Gaskins was honored with a party by her peers as the first Black female mayor of the city.
The event, which wasn’t a fundraiser, was held at Junction Bakery & Bistro (1508 Mount Vernon Avenue) in Del Ray, and was organized by City Council Member Jacinta Greene, retired Sheriff Dana Lawhorne, and Monika Chapman.
It was a picturesque day in Old Town for Alexandria’s 42nd annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Temperatures were crisp in the 60s, as King Street near City Hall was awash in orange, green and white.
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins and the new City Council were sworn into office on Thursday (Jan. 2), ushering in a new era of city governance with the new year.
Gaskins is the first Black woman to be elected mayor of the city. She stood alongside her husband and two children and took the oath of office from Clerk of the Court Greg Parks onstage at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center (4915 E. Campus Drive) at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus.
It’s officially the holiday season in Del Ray.
On Sunday night, hundreds turned out for the lighting of the Del Ray Christmas tree and menorah at Pat Miller Square on Mount Vernon Avenue.
While thousands of mailed absentee ballots remain uncounted, Alexandria Democrats declared victory on election night.
Mayor-elect Alyia Gaskins said that when the provisional and mail-in absentee votes are tallied that the city’s Democratic candidates will make up the seven-person City Council.
The conduct and power of the Alexandria School Board was criticized by multiple City Council candidates on Wednesday night.
The hour-and-a-half-long debate was moderated by Washington Post reporter Teo Armus and hosted by the Potomac Yard and Taylor Run Civic Associations.
There’s 138 days until the Nov. 5 election, and there are just enough candidates running for an uncontested School Board election.
There are two vacancies in this election cycle after School Board Members Abdel Elnoubi and Jacinta Greene won their Democratic nominations for City Council on June 18. Additionally, two Board Members are not running for reelection, former Board Chair Meagan Alderton in District C, and Tammy Ignacio in District B.
With the June 18 primary for Alexandria mayor and City Council around the corner, candidates have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for what is anticipated to be a low-turnout election.
The only seats in contention for the Democrat primaries are Mayor and City Council, and there is also a single candidate running for Council in a Republican primary.
Jacinta Greene says that her two three-year terms on the Alexandria School Board have prepared her for City Council.
Greene faces 10 opponents for the six City Council spots in contention for the June 18 primary. She’s running against four incumbent City Council Members, against a fellow School Board Member, two candidates who are running for their second chance at the nomination after losing in 2021, and some newcomers. She’s raised about $50,000 for her campaign, and as of June 5 has about $31,000 in the bank, according to recently released quarterly finance reports.
A majority of Alexandria’s Democrat candidates for City Council rank climate action high on their priority lists.
A number of candidates recently expressed their opinions in a Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions and Build Our Future questionnaire.
Alexandria’s controversial zoning overhaul punctuated the final Democrat City Council candidate forum before the June 18 primary.
Anti-Potomac Yard arena candidate Jonathan Huskey didn’t mince words on his opinions against citywide Zoning for Housing/Housing for All overhaul that eliminated single family zoning and allows developers to build homes with up to four units on any property.
