To the Editor:
As we kick off another New Year, let us abandon some of the negative practices of the Old Year regarding the interactions of the mayor and City Council. Start with a return to civility. Every member deserves the courtesy of a second for their motions, so they can be openly discussed. Go ahead and later vote against them, but don’t deny the airing of the idea. Secondly, it is childish when some members continually visit among themselves while residents are testifying, or another council member has the floor. Your job is to listen.
Next, focus on the growing deficit and the high price tag for essential sewer updates. If you don’t have money to fund the necessary amenities and services, declare a moratorium on the endless stream of proposed condominiums, without any attention to the schools those occupants will need for their children. Remember, only one person gets to be mayor at a time, so some of the future wannabees need to hold their rhetoric as they position themselves for the 2018 campaigns.
Finally, all council members need to be clear they are elected solely by Alexandria residents, not by the lobbyists, whose financial motives spur them on. There was a deaf ear shown by several council members toward genuine opposition by neighbors to the Woodbine and Old Colony expansions, and the lot rezoning in the Clover-College Park area, where 24 taxpayers spoke out, and their concerns got short shrift. Staff members have an advisory role in this process, but they aren’t elected and aren’t held accountable for their decisions, as council members are. The council’s job isn’t to rubber stamp items before it, but to debate the pros and cons. Don’t be afraid to defer something where there is not enough solid information on the long-term impacts. Drill down on the details and costs before you decide.
Like our moms told us when we headed off to school, be nice to one another. That’s good advice for a council that has had a reputation in the past for housing warring factions. It’s time to start over.
Kathleen Burns
Alexandria