It's no surprise that when you don't pay law enforcement or our firefighters, that they will find higher paying work elsewhere. I intend to fight for higher pay for both and I support collective bargaining. We need to keep our police and fire living locally and I will advocate for keeping their salaries in line or above our region’s standard.

Rent in Alexandria is one of the highest in the region and so is the price of a house or condo today. I believe in preserving our affordable and workforce housing budget and protecting Alexandrians from predatory development and unreasonable landlords. I believe in "Smart Growth" and that means we continue density near our metro stations, but we exclude large multi-family structures in neighborhoods where the norm is the single family home or townhouses. I would advocate for federal low-income tax credits (LITC) so we can partner with nonprofit developers to create more affordable housing.

Facts show that Alexandria is building at a record pace, and I want to ensure that new development is thoughtful, appropriate, and fits in. I would not have voted to eliminate the zoning for single family housing.

I never would have voted for bus rapid transit on Route 1. I don't support Duke Street in Motion. I believe what we did on Seminary Road and the potential projects on Eisenhower Avenue and Pickett Street is a solution looking for a problem. I believe in pilot programs and I'd like to see a roundabout pilot. Cyclists should feel safe to ride, but we need to have the roads to keep our cars moving in support of the Vision Zero program.

I come from a family rooted deeply in education. My mother-in-law and aunt were both teachers in the Alexandria Public School System in the 1990s. Our kids need a safe place to excel, and we need to raise the bar on exceeding the standards of learning. If we are to grow stronger, we need institutions of excellence and scores to prove our success.

Beautification is a top priority. Alexandria has to increase our tree canopy and I applaud the work of the Tree Stewards and we need to continue to partner with them. We also need to do a better job maintaining our tree canopy and that means careful pruning. In addition, we need to increase our street repaving, that is sorely needed and the Transportation and Environmental Services (TES) needs to have to monitoring the work of our contractors. I fully support Alexandria’s plan to fix our flooding problem across the city. From paving to trash pickup to careful pruning, and paving, we need to make every effort to make Alexandria as beautiful as possible.