To the Editor:
Allison Silberberg is running for City Council and would be an outstanding new voice for this great city. From the very beginning when I met Allison in August, I was immediately struck with her energy, sincerity, and handle on the issues I see as important to Alexandria: fiscal responsibility, opposing the waterfront development plan, and school needs.
As a public defender, I value and see the impact of community service in my own work. I also appreciate the difficulties inherent in balancing such service with professional demands. Allison’s continuous service to her community has informed her entire career — and that is what solidified for me the desire to help her campaign as a volunteer.
Allison has demonstrated the rare capability of balancing professional success with sustained leadership in service to the community around her: from founding a film program for teens in Anacostia in the early ‘90s, to creating a monthly charitable event for nearly a decade to benefit local nonprofits, to chairing Alexandria’s Economic Opportunities Commission, advocating for Alexandria’s most vulnerable and initiating an annual public service day, “All Hands on Deck,” to make-over local nonprofits.
Allison Silberberg is the real thing, the kind of person any community should clamor to have representing it.
Her enthusiasm is matched by her smarts, her compassion and approachability. Following her through the Old Town Trader Joe’s as we both did last minute shopping before the hurricane, she was greeted by at least 10 people, including many employees — and these were not passing “hellos.” She knows everyone by name, and they stop to talk with her, just to catch up: this isn’t campaign politics; it is simple human contact with neighbors and friends.
Allison demonstrates the intelligent, reasoned thinking the city needs at this time. Hard-working and focused, she will bring to the table her experience in public policy, as well as her unbridled passion for this city, its people, and the issues that we are confronting. Given Allison’s admirable professional and community record, in electing her we can rest comfortably knowing that we will have a committed, energetic and intelligent new voice on the city council.
Suzanne Lachelier
Alexandria