To the Editor:
To hear Mayor Bill Euille tell it, Alexandria will be just fine if we have more development. His vision for Alexandria is to sell historic City Hall to a developer to put up more condos for the very wealthy. That way, we can erect the Taj Mahal of city halls in Eisenhower Valley to showcase our rise from historic seaport to generic urban center.
But what do we have to show for all this rapid, thoughtless growth? Less traffic? No. A more pedestrian-friendly town? No. Lower property taxes? Ha, Ha. Better recreational facilities? No. More ball fields in places like Potomac Yards? No. A waterfront plan that respects the river, our environment, and our history? Sorry, no. A community empowered to be a part of the civic process down at City Hall? No. A town that cares about economic and racial diversity? No, not really.
So, who is Mayor Euiile and most on council beholden to? Who are they listening to as they give the green light, with the help of the inaptly named “Planning Commission,” to one bad project after another? The answer is simple: they are listening to developers and the banks that provide developers with loans.
There a number of good candidates running to fill Congressman Moran’s seat this November, but I think that Don Beyer will be the most effective legislator of the bunch.
But if you want to elect a politician who thinks that it’s OK to gut an historic community for short-term gain and thinks its might be OK for the U.S. to help extract a form of oil in Canada that is wreaking havoc on waterways, wetlands, boreal habitat, and Native American lands, then cast a vote for Mayor Bill Euille.
Andrew Macdonald
Alexandria