It has been years since the City Council has been giddy during a meeting discussing its state legislative package.
For the first time in decades, there is a Democratic majority in the Virginia legislature, which is a boon to the city’s all-Democrat council.
It’s an early Christmas for Alexandria leadership, with Democrats taking control of the Virginia legislature opening the door for efforts to assert local control of several key policy questions.
Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, which means that localities like Alexandria can only exercise powers expressly granted by the state. In practice, Mayor Justin Wilson said this leaves localities forced to seek approval from the state for basic city policy questions, particularly on fiscal issues. Under a Republican majority, Alexandria struggled to have many of its legislative priorities addressed.
(Updated at 2:20 p.m.) Virginia’s election on Tuesday (Nov. 5) could shape the future of the Commonwealth as Republicans fight to hold onto a slim majority in the state legislature.
But don’t expect to see those fireworks in Alexandria. In all but one of the five state Senate and House of Delegates races, the incumbents are running unopposed.
