Meet The Candidate: Justin Wilson For Alexandria Mayor

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Mayor Justin Wilson, who has served in the position since 2019, is seeking another term in 2021 and faces a primary race.

On June 8, a Democratic primary will be held for Alexandria mayor and City Council, along with statewide races like governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and House of Delegates. In the mayoral primary election, Wilson faces former Mayor Allison Silberberg. Wilson defeated the incumbent Silberberg in the 2018 Democratic primary and went on to win the general election.

Wilson, also a senior director at Amtrak, served eight years on City Council before becoming mayor, including as vice mayor from 2016 to 2019. He lives in the Del Ray neighborhood with his wife and children.

For more information about the election in Alexandria, visit www.alexandriava.gov/Elections.

Learn more about Justin Wilson and why he is running for mayor in 2021:

Age (as of Election Day)

42

Position sought

Mayor

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

Wife and 2 children (16 & 13)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Not in local government

Education

BS Business Information Systems, Virginia Commonwealth University

Occupation

Mayor (2019-Present); Sr. Director, Amtrak (2006-Present)

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Alexandria City Council (2007-2009, 2013-2016) Vice Mayor (2017 - 2019)

Campaign website

www.justin.net

Why are you seeking elective office?

My singular focus is elected office is to ensure that the Alexandria we leave to the next generation is stronger and more resilient than the one that we found.

The single most pressing issue facing our (city) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Leading the region's recovery from the pandemic requires that we support our children, invest in our infrastructure and expand our economy.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My campaign is not about other candidates in the race, it is about our City's future. I believe that as we emerge from the pandemic, the decisions we make over the next three years will determine whether our community can simply survive, or thrive.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

I am proud of the work that we have done over the past year to bring our City through the pandemic. We have led the region in COVID testing, pursued one of the equitable and efficient vaccination efforts and adopted a mask ordinance that saved lives in our community.

We have built new partnerships that have addressed hunger, prevented evictions and kept our small businesses afloat.

Hindsight will allow us to review the work of the past year and determine how we should make our community more resilient in the future.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

While we have made great strides in addressing decades of under-investment in our basic infrastructure, specifically in schools, roads, sewers and municipal facilities, there is one area that still requires significant investment.

We have approved wonderful plans for our parks, open spaces and recreation centers. Now we must work to identify the funding to make these important investments in our quality of life.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I’m so proud of what the 7 members of the City Council, working together, have been able to accomplish over the past 2 years.

We will now build a modern Alexandria Hospital on the site of a redeveloped Landmark Mall. We are building 5 new schools over the next decade (including a new high school building) and we have made early-childhood education available for more children. We have begun redevelopment of the coal-fired powerplant on our waterfront and commenced construction of a municipal broadband network. We have created hundreds of units of new affordable housing and forged partnerships to preserve and expand housing affordability in the future. We added Freedom House to the City’s historic property inventory to better tell Alexandria’s history. The Potomac Yard Metro will open for service a year from now. We have reduced greenhouse gas emissions, raised the bar for “green” building, secured funding for new transit on our West End and commenced the largest-ever investment in our sewers.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Never waste a single moment.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

It has been an honor to serve the residents of our City. I have worked tirelessly to provide Alexandrians with the transparent, accountable and responsive government that they rightly expect. I ask for your vote for another term as your Mayor.