After 30 years, Beverly Steele is retiring from city service…and doing it in style.
The invitation said “no speeches and no presents” and most people listened. Nearly 200 friends, colleagues and sometimes adversaries, came to Steele’s home to say goodbye and wish her well as she enters a new phase in her life.
“Bev epitomizes what a true public servant should be,” said Vola Lawson, Alexandria’s former city manager and Steele’s former boss. “She has served Alexandria with dedication and dignity and she will be missed.”
Steele came to Alexandria from New Hampshire in 1970 and entered city service in 1973. “I was a Council aide to Beverly Bidler before there really were Council aides,” she said. “I was hired in 1973 and in April of 1974, the General Assembly finally approved aides for Council members.”
As an aide to one of the first two women ever to be elected to Council, Steele learned a lot. “It gave me an excellent opportunity to learn about the way that city government and City Council worked,” she said.
In 1977, she accepted a job with the Community Development Block Grant office, which later became the Office of Housing. “I think I was called a planning analyst,” she said. “Whatever it was, it was an entry level position.”
She remained at the Office of Housing until 1991, becoming the director in 1986. In 1991, she became deputy city manager under Lawson, a position that she held until 2000, when Lawson retired. From 2000 until today, she served as director of special projects. During this period, she served as interim director of the troubled Department of Human Services and shepherded the work of the joint task force on the redevelopment of The Berg.
DURING THE PAST 30 years, Steele has seen many changes. “The biggest change, I guess, has been the amount of development in the city,” she said. “It is often hard to balance the needs of neighborhoods and quality of life issues with the need for economic development to support the growing need for revenue to support city services,” Steele said.
“Alexandria is not insulated from the rest of the region. Much of our traffic comes from commuters who drive from border to border to other destinations. As the region grows, there is an impact on the city.”
Some things have remained constant, however. “Alexandria had a progressive government 30 years ago and has one today,” she said. “Women, for instance, have served at all levels of government — as city manager, as mayor, as representatives to the General Assembly.
“Also, we have always encouraged dialogue with residents about all local issues. Unfortunately, over the years, this dialogue has become less civil. We need to continue to have dialogue but we need to return to that civility that was present in the not too distant past,” she said.
Would she encourage young people to enter public service? “Most definitely because it has been very rewarding for me,” she said. “I would tell them, though, that the most important part of being in public service is a willingness to work with, and listen to, other people with different ideas. That is the key to formulating good public policy.”
Steele will begin retirement by working in her extensive garden, staining her deck and traveling more.
“I also intend to read the newspaper every morning when it comes,” she said.