Alexandria Councilmember Del Pepper Will Not Seek Re-Election

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Councilmember Del Pepper, who was first elected to Alexandria City Council in 1985, will not seek re-election in 2021.

Pepper made the announcement during a Tuesday City Council meeting. She intends to complete her current term.

"It's my time," she said the reason for not seeking another term.

Pepper said the timing of her announcement would allow potential candidates to begin putting together campaign plans over the holidays. The next general election for mayor, City Council and Alexandria School Board will be on Nov. 2, 2021 with the filing deadline for candidate being June 8, 2021.

"You can be sure I will be focusing on the needs of our city and be working hard at that," Pepper told City Council.

Mayor Justin Wilson said there will be plenty of opportunities to recognize Pepper's "historic service" over the next year.

"Del has been an absolute icon for this city for really a lifetime of service," said Wilson. "There is nobody who has had more of a commitment to good government to exemplary services for our residents and a focus for the little guy than Del."

Pepper and her husband F. J. Pepper first moved to Alexandria in 1968, and they live in the West End. As a longtime councilmember, she has served as vice mayor from 1996 to 1997, from 2003 to 2006, and from 2007 to 2009. Pepper has c0-chaired the Beauregard Street Corridor Task Force, the Alexandria-Arlington Task Force on the Waste-To-Energy Plant and the Welfare Reform Committee. She is also involved with the Commission on Aging, Commission on Information Technology, Facilities Naming Committee, and the Council of Governments Air Quality Committee and Board of Directors. She is the former president of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Corporation.

Pepper also serves on the boards of YMCA Alexandria and the T.C. Williams PTSA, and she is former first vice president of the local NAACP and former board member of the City's Community Services Board. She has also been affiliated with the Urban League, the League of Women Voters, and the Sierra Club. Pepper's awards have included the Jaycees Appreciation Award, the Council of Senior Citizens Organization's Outstanding Women of Alexandria Award, Alexandria NAACP Outstanding Service Award, and the Commission for Women's Living Legend Award.

Pepper and her husband F. J. have one son, Murphy Pepper, who has five children with his wife Soo.