Alexandria resident Matt Lavoie has spent decades working as a policy expert and political operative in D.C., and now he has taken that experience to pen and paper.
Lavoie’s thriller novel “Main Street Fringe” will be released by Level Best Books on Sept. 1. This is Lavoie’s first novel, following the story of a Virginia State Police detective going “undercover” as himself to pursue a violent conspiracy group, putting his own family at risk.
Alexandria’s Rep. Don Beyer handily won his party’s nomination Tuesday night to run for his seventh term representing Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, and retired Army Maj. Gen. Bert Mizusawa won the Republican nomination to run against U.S. Sen. Mark Warner in the Nov. 3 general election.
After climbing through Alexandria’s political spheres, it’s almost as if R. Kirk McPike is starting over.
The new 5th House District delegate to Virginia’s General Assembly resigned his seat on the Alexandria City Council just before winning a special election in February to fill the seat vacated by now-state Sen. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-39). In order to comply with state law, the Democrat also had to quit his full-time job as chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA).
Sandy Marks, the former chair of the Alexandria Democratic Committee, was sworn in to City Council Tuesday night.
For the first time in the city’s history, Alexandria’s seven-member City Council now has a female majority, as Marks joins Mayor Alyia Gaskins, Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley and Councilwoman Jacinta Greene. Marks won her seat on council in the April 21 special election for the seat vacated by former Councilman R. Kirk McPike, who won his own special election to fill the vacant 5th District seat in the House of Delegates.
The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter-approved Democratic congressional redistricting plan, delivering another major setback to the party in a nationwide battle against Republicans for an edge in this year’s midterm elections.
The court ruled 4-3 that the state’s Democratic-led legislature violated procedural requirements when it placed the constitutional amendment on the ballot to authorize mid-decade redistricting. Voters narrowly approved the amendment on April 21, but the court’s ruling renders the vote’s result meaningless.
The three candidates running for an open seat on Alexandria City Council will meet in two forums this week.
For most voters, the upcoming appearances on Wednesday (April 8) and Saturday (April 11) are the last opportunity to see the candidates together before the special election on Tuesday, April 21. The candidates, who last appeared together at a forum on March 26, are Democratic candidate Sandy Marks and independent candidates Alison O’Connell and Frank Fannon.
Three candidates vying for an open seat on City Council will participate in a forum Wednesday (March 25) in Alexandria’s West End.
ALXnow is moderating the West End Business Association forum, which will be held at Feru Bar and Restaurant (512 S. Van Dorn Street, Unit D) from 5-7 p.m. The free event is open to the public and will feature Democratic candidate Sandy Marks and independent candidates Alison O’Connell and former City Councilman Frank Fannon.
Fresh from her recent Democratic firehouse primary win, City Council candidate Sandy Marks says there’s a lot on the line in the upcoming special election.
Marks is facing independent candidates Frank Fannon and Alison O’Connell in the race, which is slated to coincide with a proposed constitutional amendment to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts.
With today’s 5 p.m. deadline fast approaching, Alison O’Connell is working to submit 125 signatures needed to file an independent candidacy to run for Alexandria City Council.
O’Connell, a founding member of Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights, is hoping to run for City Council with platform issues that include affordable housing, ethical investment and anti-immigration enforcement measures. She and her team have been collecting signatures and turning them in throughout the day to the city’s registrar’s office, she told ALXnow this afternoon (Friday).
Former Alexandria Democratic Committee Chair Sandy Marks has won the Democratic firehouse primary for an open seat on City Council tonight (Saturday), beating four opponents to face independent candidate and former Republican councilman Frank Fannon in the special election.
Marks won with 1,573 votes (39.6%), against 947 votes for Tim Laderach (23.8%), 876 votes for Roberto Gomez (22%), 467 votes for Charles Sumpter (11.7%) and 112 votes for Cesar Madison Tapia (2.8%) out of the 3,975 ballots cast. From the time polls opened at 8:30 a.m. to closing at 7 p.m., the five candidates spent time at both polling locations: Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library (5005 Duke Street) and the Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Recreation Center (25 W. Reed Avenue).
Sparks flew last night (Tuesday) as City Council candidates debated topics like immigration enforcement and budgeting at the Departmental Progressive Club in Old Town.
The event was hosted by DPC and the Alexandria branch of the NAACP, and it was the second debate in two days for the five Alexandria Democrats vying for their party’s nomination in the upcoming Feb. 21 firehouse primary. Independent candidate Frank Fannon, a former Republican member of City Council, also participated and received significant pushback from several candidates for his opinions on governance, housing and immigration.
