To the Editor:
For years Kerry Donelly has vainly attempted to balance out the city budget by touting commercial growth. While he was mayor between 1996 and 2003, he continually promised a boom in office construction was just around the corner. Except for the PTO complex on Eisenhower Avenue, there were no big office projects. Instead developers building residential got all the permits they needed. There is no reason to assume it would be any different in a new term, especially given today’s high number of commercial vacancies from the infamous sequester. Crystal City is a ghost town.
Where is the leadership with the attitude to manage what is an extraordinarily complex set of large-scale construction projects? Having watched the current city dais in action for the past four years, I’m dismayed to answer … not on the “bench.”
As a pragmatic and staunch Independent, and a registered Democrat, I have regularly voted across party lines, depending on what needs to get done and a candidate’s ability to deliver. Today, what our very angry citizenry needs is someone who equitably and transparently calls out all involved parties, and offers reasoned solutions. This means voting for the untainted Democratic mayoral candidate, Allison Silberberg.
Ms. Silberberg has a long history of government involvement; as a Senate aide, she learned first hand how federal systems operate … as vice mayor (by virtue of getting the highest number of votes) she has weighed in on contentious issues and had the courage to stand independently from a sycophantic council. In the case of food trucks, with the mayor out of town, she ably called on all expert parties to “make their case.” The result … an equitable decision that city residents could support.
As a smart, well reasoned, and unobligated leader, Allison Silberberg would ensure balanced city decisions.
Kathryn Papp
Alexandria