Alexandria has seven city council members, including the mayor, who are all at large. For a city of 160,000, this makes no sense to me. 70,000 residents can easily be ignored if all members receive enough votes from other parts of the city. An example of this dynamic is evident in the West End, where the city has dragged its feet in encouraging appropriate development and most residents there feel under served.
I’d like to change that in two ways. First, having pledged to serve full-time, I intend to honor my commitment to represent all of Alexandria’s residents, including those in traditionally under served areas. Second, I would like to start a conversation with residents about changing our system. My personal favorite is a mixed model, where the city is divided into five wards, each with their own council member, while we retain two at large members (one being the mayor). With city council members having 30,000 constituents rather than 160,000 I believe we would get much better representation for all neighborhoods and residents of the city.