Polls will be open until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18 Photo by Michael Lee Pope.
In recent years, Alexandria has been aggressively urbanist. Democrats who control all six seats on the City Council have supported increasing density and adding new transit options. That's created a backlash, and now the conflict will be resolved at the ballot box.
Democrats who vote in the June 18 primary have a choice between a slate of candidates who supports the current direction and a rival slate who says government is trying to do too much too fast without listening to opposing viewpoints. Eleven candidates are seeking six seats on the City Council. The six with the most votes will be the Democrats on the November ballot.
"Voters are really being offered a choice in this election, which is nice," said Clark Mercer, former Democratic Party chairman who is now executive director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. "The candidates in this election are offering a clear contrast."
On one side are the incumbents who voted in favor of Zoning for Housing, a controversial proposal to eliminate single-family only zoning and allow more units on suburban blocks. For the most part, they support bus-only lanes, and they say the pace of development in Alexandria is not fast enough. It's a group that has the support of former Mayor Bill Euille, who has endorsed Alyia Gaskins for Mayor as well as six council candidates: incumbents Kirk McPike, John Taylor Chapman, Canek Aguirre, Sarah Bagley as well as candidates Jesse O'Connell and Jacinta Greene.
"I've had the opportunity over the years to get to know them all and work with them," said Euille. "And I feel that this would be a solid group of folks who could continue the progress that's been made and manage future challenges."
The opposition is led by former Mayor Allison Silberburg, who is supporting a rival slate of candidates who opposed Zoning for Housing and the ill-fated arena proposal for Potomac Yard. For mayor Silberberg is supporting Vice Mayor Amy Jackson, who tried to delay changes to single-family zoning. For the City Council, she is supporting Charlotte Scherer because of her opposition to Zoning for Housing, bus lanes and the arena.
"We are at a crossroads," said Silberberg. "And we've got some important choices to make."
Jesse O'Connell
raised: $109,000
top contributors
$2,000 from Debra Humphreys at the Lumina Foundation
$2,000 from Jennifer Walker of Rehoboth Beach, Del.
$1,000 from Ryan Berni of Berni Consulting
$1,000 from Nancy Drane of the DC Access to Justice Commission
$1,000 from Kristen Gentile, federal government employee
Kirk McPike
raised: $104,000
top contributors
$7,500 from Reginald James Brown of Kirkland & Ellis law firm
$6,600 from Kirk McPike
$5,000 from NOVA Area Labor Federation
$3,000 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
$2,000 from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters
John Taylor Chapman
raised: $101,000
top contributors
$7,500 from Reginald James Brown of Kirkland & Ellis law firm
$5,000 from NOVA Area Labor Federation
$5,000 from Danielle Romanetti of fibre space
$3,000 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
$2,000 from Jack Taylor of Alexandria Toyota
Canek Aguirre
raised: $81,000
top contributors
$7,500 from Reginald James Brown of Kirkland & Ellis law firm
$5,000 from NOVA Area Labor Federation
$3,000 from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
$2,000 from Guadalupe Silva-Krause
$2,000 from United Brotherhood of Carpenters
Abdel Elnoubi
raised: $73,000
top contributors
$12,000 from Elnoubi for School Board
$5,000 from Farrukh Hameed of CWS
$2,500 from NOVA Area Labor Federation
$2,000 from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
$1,500 from Allam Al-Alami, DC government employee
Sarah Bagley
raised: $73,000
top contributors
$5,000 from NOVA Area Labor Federation
$2,000 from Searles Bagley of Chesapeake
$2,000 from Eastern Atlantic States Council
$1,000 from Bradley Beychok of Washington, D.C.
$1,000 from Lillian Pace of KnowledgeWorks
Jacinta Greene
raised: $51,000
top contributors
$15,000 from Earl Wardell Stafford of the Wentworth Group
$2,500 from NOVA Area Labor Federation
$2,100 from Robert Greene of Arlington
$1,750 from Nicole Johnson of Cober Johnson & Romney law firm
$1,500 from James McNeil of Alexandria
Jonathan Huskey
raised: $45,000
top contributors
$10,000 from Jonathan Huskey
$2,500 from Patricia Hoppey of the Pivot Group
$1,950 from Paula Huskey of Dallas
$1,000 from William Goodman of Applied Research Associates
$750 from Melissa Connolly of the Association of American Railroads
Charlotte Scherer
raised: $43,000
top contributors
$18,000 from Charlotte Scherer
$12,000 from Alma Scherer of St. Paul, Minn.
$2,500 from the National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund
$1,000 from Scott Corzine of CohnReznick
$1,000 from Bill Rossello for City Council
James Lewis
raised: $42,000
top contributors
$4,200 from Mark Williams of Mayer Brown
$2,500 from NOVA Area Labor Federation
$1,000 from Ira Lechner of Escondido, Calif.
$1,000 from Northern Virginia Association of Realtors
$1,000 from Bill Rossello for City Council
Kevin Harris
raised: $20,000
top contributors
$2,500 from the NOVA Area Labor Federation
$500 from Ollie Poindexter of Woodbridge
$480 from Alexandria Firefighters
$480 from Veronica Nolan of Alexandria
$480 from Art Witebsky of Seasons Culinary Service
Source: Virginia Public Access Project
City of Alexandria
Sample Ballots
https://www.alexandriava.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/sample_ballots_combined_with_24.2-530.pdf
Because voters in Virginia do not register by party, any voter can vote either the Democratic primary ballot or the Republican primary ballot but not both.
Democratic Primary Election
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Mayor
Vote for only one
Alyia Smith Parker Gaskins
Amy B. Jackson
Steven B. Peterson
Member City Council
Vote for not more than six
R. Kirk McPike
James C. "Jimmy" Lewis Jr.
Abdel S. Elnoubi
Sarah R. Bagley
Canek Aguirre
Jesse D. O'Connell
Kevin J. Harris
John Taylor Chapman
Jonathan P. Huskey
Jacinta E. Greene
Charlotte A. Scherer
Republican Primary Election
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Member United States Senate
Vote for only one
Hung Cao
Edward C. "Eddie" Garcia Jr.
Jonathan W. Emord
C.L. "Chuck" Smith, Jr.
Scott Thomas Parkinson