Meet The Candidate: Bill Rossello For Alexandria City Council

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Bill Rossello, a management consultant who has advised governments and companies, is one of 13 candidates seeking election to the Alexandria City Council in the 2021 primary.

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. Voters will choose up to six candidates in the City Council race, determining who will be on the ballot for the November general election.

Rossello has worked as a management consultant for 35 years, serving Fortune 500 companies and government at all levels, including 20 cities and counties around the U.S. He is one of two Latino candidates running for City Council and has experiences on various committees and associations. Rossello served on the Alexandria Budget & Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee for seven years, is on the Alexandria Mobility Plan Advisory Committee and Commonwealth Attorney's Community Advisory Committee, is a delegate on the Alexandria Federation of Civic Associations, is on the Seminary Hill Association board, was a George Mason Elementary School PTA officer, and was a vice president, board member and travel program commissioner for the Alexandria Soccer Association.

Originally from Baltimore, he has lived in Alexandria for 33 years, is married, and has two sons who attended Alexandria City Public Schools.

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

Learn more about Bill Rossello and why he is running for Alexandria City Council in 2021:

Age (as of Election Day)

62

Position sought (mayor, city council, school board, etc.)

City Council

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

Married 33 years, two adult sons who attended Alexandria public schools

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Baltimore County Public Schools; BA, Duke University; MBA, College of William & Mary

Occupation

Management Consultant, Business Executive, Business Owner

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

City Budget Committee (BFAAC) - 7 years; Alexandria Soccer Association Vice President, Board Member, and Travel Program Commissioner - 5 years; Alexandria Mobility Plan Advisory Committee (current); Commonwealth Attorney's Community Advisory Committee (current); Alexandria Federation of Civic Associations - delegate (current); Seminary Hill Association board member (current); George Mason Elementary School PTA officer.

Campaign website

www.billforalexandria.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I feel called out to serve on the City Council to change the culture at City Hall to be responsive to the residents once again. The events and council decisions of the last three years clearly indicate that we need greater integrity and transparency in City government. Unlike many candidates in recent years, I am not seeking office to start a long career in politics or to simply use City Council as a stepping stone for higher office. I am running to serve this community - and only this community - once again.

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

See the question above. That's the issue from which all other issues emanate.

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

First, I am one of only two Latino candidates in the race. Second, there's experience. I have been a management consultant for 35 years, serving Fortune 500 companies and government at all levels, most notably 20 cities and counties across the country. That professional experience working on issues of management, operations and budget for those clients, along with my 7 years on the City's Budget Committee, reflect experience that is unmatched among the field of candidates. I have also been in the City for 33 years, so I have lived the recent history of the City for longer than even the native Alexandrian candidates have been adults. I am one of just two or three candidates who had a child go through our public schools from K-12, so I know the schools very well. I have been working on issues facing this City in volunteer roles since 1992, so unlike many of the candidates, I didn't have to ask what the issues are. I already knew the issues and, in many cases, I knew the history of the issue as well. And I've spoken out on some of those issues publicly long before this election season.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

I see in many of our elected and appointed officials an unwillingness to really hear the residents and neighborhoods on the issues most important to them. I have witnessed several examples of breaches of integrity over the past three years that, while not illegal, led to decisions that were not in the best interests of residents, or even desired by them. These are issues that go right to the core of forthright and upright public service. We need a higher bar for ethical behavior from elected and appointed officials than "it's not illegal."

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

Fine. When I received the first written information about Covid risks from the City in the mail 56 days after the state of emergency was declared, it was clear they were caught flat-footed. The City should have been more transparent earlier and throughout about where the outbreaks were most prevalent. We received better and more accurate information through social media. Finally, both the State and the City should have given greater priority to people 50-64 after the 65+ group had been vaccinated. 93% of Covid deaths occurred with people over 50. Fellow Democrats in other places did it better, e.g., the State of Connecticut comes to mind. Otherwise, I thought the state-funded City health department did a great job with administering vaccines -- really good!

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Pursue much more reasonable approaches to development and affordable housing (a challenge we must address) that do not result in challenges that will be difficult to address, particularly for the four primary pillars of infrastructure -- schools, roads, sewers and the stormwater system. We added 20,000 people over the past decade and this group of City officials wants to add 60,000 more. It's not clear we can accommodate that level of growth.

Accelerate school construction (without colocation with housing) and address our other infrastructure needs through better financial planning. This has been a particularly weak area for the City for three decades. We are finally seeing the ramifications of poor long-term financial planning as our schools burst at the seems and some of our oldest neighborhoods are flooded repeatedly.

Get traffic moving again. We need to move peak traffic throughout the City more expeditiously, so we should not be taking away any more traffic lanes from the arterial roads that residents and workers depend on to commute, shuttle kids around, and get to the grocery store or the carry out.
Live up to our Eco-City pledge once and for all. After learning that City officials annually allowed 11 million gallons of sewage to spew into the Potomac for decades, and more recently, seeing how they have handled the stream restoration projects at Taylor Run and Strawberry Run, it is clear that the City continues to simply pay lip service to environmental stewardship.

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

Successful service to nearly 100 consulting clients across North America addressing problems of strategy, operations, people management, and finance. Those clients include some of our nation's largest companies, a number of Federal agencies, 20 city and county governments, several school districts, and 5 national scientific research laboratories.

Experience as a senior executive in a number of key roles at major professional services firms, where I led up to 500 people. Successful advocacy for building and upgrading playing fields for our city's youth, tripling our capacity and improving safety for both kids and adults. Participation on a number of City and civic boards, not to build my resume, but to serve the community.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

When you hear the call to serve, answer it.

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

Growing up in a multi-generational Puerto Rican household, as the son of two parents who were each the first in their family to graduate from college and enter a profession, I learned so much about the value of family, education, hard work, tolerance, humility, and diversity. It was the perfect set of foundational values for what I hope to do next - serve this wonderfully diverse city as a member of your next City Council.