Alexandria City Council members and candidates are opening up about their positions on the city backing out of the Potomac Yard arena deal.
Mayor Justin Wilson said that the city will be spending a lot of time unpacking what led to the announcement that it was backing out of a plan to move the Washington Wizards and Capitals from D.C. to a new arena with an entertainment district in the city’s Potomac Yard neighborhood.
Alexandria School Board Members went all-in Wednesday night in asking City Council to fund its budget by approving a massive tax increase.
Mayor Justin Wilson told the Board at a budget work session on Wednesday night that its fiscal year 2025 $384.4 million combined funds budget request would result in a historic tax increase. The Board, in turn, said that the funding could stem the school system’s staffing crisis.
ALXnow will be running a series of City Council candidate interviews through the local election filing deadline on April 4.
City Councilman John Taylor Chapman says that he wants small businesses to come out on top, regardless of where the city lands with the $2 billion Potomac Yard arena deal.
Alexandria’s annual George Washington Birthday Parade brought the usual pomp and circumstance befitting the country’s first president.
This year’s parade marshals were the recipients of the prestigious Living Legends of Alexandria award. The theme of this year’s parade was “George Washington: Alexandria’s Living Legend.”
(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.
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.
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.
(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.
