I am supporting Vice Mayor Amy Jackson for Mayor. I hope you will consider voting for her.
Amy is the definition of a Hometown Girl. Raised on Alexandria’s West End by her remarkable mother, Amy went to our public schools and then attended Virginia Tech and George Mason University for her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She and her husband are raising their two children and sending them to our public schools. She was a teacher prior to serving on the City Council as a councilmember and now as the vice mayor. Amy has served on numerous city boards and commissions and has been deeply involved with issues across our city for numerous years. She understands the long history of our city.
Amy is willing to listen to residents’ concerns and act accordingly. An excellent example of this is Amy’s courage during the fight over the arena proposal. I was deeply involved with the team effort called “Stop the Arena.” While Amy was supportive of the arena at the start like all the Council, only Amy changed her mind about the arena and said she would not support the proposal. She made a concerted effort to listen to the outcry of the residents and conducted a poll that showed 75% were opposed to the arena. In addition to the obvious traffic impacts, Amy went further and recognized the serious financial impacts and risks to the Commonwealth of Virginia and the City of Alexandria. Unlike the other Council members, Amy stood up against a lot of political pressure and voiced her opposition to the arena nine days before the surprise announcement that Ted Leonsis was killing the arena deal at Potomac Yard.
Giving a straightforward answer to stop this deal was what was called for, and Amy did that when others were going along.
Understanding finance is key to the job of every Council member, especially the mayor. Not understanding finance is a recipe for disaster. Leadership means reaching out and really listening. It means pausing and ensuring that the right decision is made. Amy gets that.
Amy also stood her ground and voted against the slaughterhouse off of Duke Street and the Seminary Road changes. She understands the importance of historic preservation, a crucial priority. I agree with Amy on these points.
While we may not agree with every position a candidate takes, it’s important to have a mayor who is open-minded, listens, and seeks common ground. These are good and necessary qualities to have in a mayor. Amy is that candidate.
With all due respect to the other mayoral candidates, I endorse Vice Mayor Amy Jackson for Mayor. Please vote for Amy.
Allison Silberberg
Allison Silberberg served as mayor of Alexandria 2016 to 2019.