To the Editor:
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your city councilman since July 2009. Unfortunately that will come to an end on Dec. 31, 2012 as the votes did not go my way in Tuesday's election.
While the outcome was not what we had hoped, I have been so fortunate over the past 3.5 years to serve the citizens of Alexandria. I have met so many kind and wonderful people from all walks of life in every part of our city over the past few years. I am grateful to the hundreds of campaign donors and volunteers who worked tirelessly on the campaign over the past 6 months.
Despite the ongoing enthusiasm and energetic campaign, the numbers were too much to overcome. The shift from the traditional 15 percent voter turnout for local elections to an 80 percent voter turnout for the presidential race had a heavy impact on the local results. In May 2009, 7,000 votes was enough to win a council seat and even though over 25,000 Alexandrians supported my candidacy on Tuesday, that was still 4,500 short of victory.
Alexandria is an incredible city and will always be my home. Even though I will not have a seat at City Hall next year, I will continue to work, as I have for the over the past 20 years, to make Alexandria a better place to call home.
Congratulations to Mayor Euille, Vice Mayor Silberberg, and the rest of the new City Council. My prayers and best wishes are with them as they make decisions that will shape our future.
Frank Fannon
Alexandria City Councilman