Choice for Alexandria Voters: Insiders Versus Outsiders at City Hall
Growth, development, taxes and spending form dividing line between city candidates.
When they head into the voting booths on Election Day, Alexandria voters will be confronted with a choice: Do they like the recent direction of government at City Hall, where controversial planning decisions have divided the city and the average residential tax bill has nearly doubled in the last decade? Or are they looking for people who will work against the status quo?
Council Notebook
Private Virtue is a public good. That’s the result of a decision this week at the Alexandria Circuit Court, which is giving the green light to city officials who want to lease part of a public alley to a private restaurant known as Virtue.
Is Money Buying Influence in the Race for Alexandria City Council?
Candidates accept contributions from people with business at City Hall.
Campaign finance documents show candidates for mayor and City Council have taken hundreds of dollars from people with business at City Hall.
Council Notebook
The story about how the Potomac River Generating Station closed its doors this month is an Erin Brockovich story with an Old Town twist.
Working Together
U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) and former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-11) were luncheon speakers at successive meetings of the Rotary Club of Alexandria.
City Council Debate Heats Up Over Taxes and Spending
Candidates clash over budget issues at contentious candidates forum.
The high-water mark of Tuesday’s City Council candidates forum was a clash between former Councilman Justin Wilson and two incumbent members, Councilman Frank Fannon and Councilwoman Alicia Hughes, over taxes and spending, a key issue that hits voters in the pocketbook each year when property tax bills are issued.
City officials and Neighbors Look to Future After Coal-Fired Power Plant Shuts Down
Lines of communication are created to avoid mistakes of the waterfront plan.
Seeking to avoid the problems that emerged on the waterfront earlier this year, city officials have taken an early lead meeting with residents in North Old Town to start planning for the future of a now-shuttered coal-fired power plant.
Clash for Mayor: Bill Euille Squares Off with Andrew Macdonald
Candidates for mayor meet in the first of three debates.
In their first of three scheduled debates Tuesday night at George Washington Middle School, three-term incumbent Democrat Bill Euille and independent challenger Andrew Macdonald clashed over the waterfront plan, the Base Closure and Realignment Commission and the scale of development in Alexandria.
Council Notebook
Everything old is new again at City Hall, where former Councilman David Speck has been tapped by Alexandria Circuit Court Chief Judge Lisa Kemler to fill the unexpired term of former Councilman Rob Krupicka, who was recently elected to fill the unexpired term of former Del. David Englin (D-45).
On the Campaign Trail
With five weeks to go before Election Day, Republicans and Democrats have targeted a small number of jurisdictions as key battlegrounds, including Henrico County and Virginia Beach. Here in Northern Virginia, the key swing jurisdictions are Loudoun County and Prince William County, where Republican George W. Bush won in 2004 followed by Democrat Barack Obama in 2008 only to flip back the next year and vote fore Republican Bob McDonnell in 2009.
Two independents and a Libertarian Offer Variety for Voters in City Council Race
Three candidates hoping to land seats at City Hall without major party labels.
Alexandria politics has long been dominated by Democrats, although Republicans have been successful from time to time.
Incumbents and Former Incumbents Take Heat for BRAC Site Selection
Ghosts of 2008 haunt the BRAC five.
The ghosts of 2008 are haunting the campaign for mayor and City Council, as candidates clash over events leading up to the relocation of more than 6,000 daily commuters to the city’s West End.
Alexandria Cracks Down on Old Town Grocery
Two arrested for selling stolen goods; city officials say investigation is ongoing.
Don’t look for a sign announcing the Old Town Grocery. There isn’t one. But customers and investigators have been flocking to the business in the 800 block of Pendleton Street.
Letter: Getting ‘By Right’ Right
Once again we are hearing the myth, convenient for developers and City Council incumbents, past and present, that Small Area Plans like Beauregard and the one proposed for the Alexandria Waterfront, are necessary.
Letter: Intellectual Dishonesty
The city says it wants and values citizen input and goes to great lengths to involve citizens in its decisions. Never mind that the procedural and legal mechanisms for meaningful citizen input is being expunged from the city charter and our zoning law. At the very least, there is intellectual dishonesty here.
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