To the Editor:
After plowing through David Speck’s nearly full-page defense of Alexandria politics status quo, I put down the Gazette Packet, closed my eyes and dared to dream of the day when citizens can elect a person because they share our goals and have the talent to achieve them; not because they cloak themselves in the robes of a political party.
If this were the case, Republicans would never need to decry the dominance of the Democratic Party in Alexandria. And David Speck, who switched to the Democratic Party rather than fight as a Republican, would never need to lambaste his former political party for being unable to get him elected.
Think about it: By demanding in Alexandria local elections that candidates’ political party affiliations must be kept discreet as a sneeze in church and as confidential as medical records, we garden variety citizens would be able to elect individuals because they possess a laudable record of community activism, proven ability to heal divisiveness, dogged capacity to get things done, genuine respect for our history and astute fiscal management, among other qualities.
We would not be electing them because they have a political party imprimatur, or have sworn fealty to it, or are otherwise beholden to it. Instead, they would gain elected office because they swayed us by their ambitions for our city and by their abilities to realize them.
Change the status quo: Elect the person; not the party.
Jim Roberts
Alexandria