Meet The Candidate: Kirk McPike For Alexandria City Council

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Kirk McPike, chief of staff for Congressman Mark Takano of California, 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.

McPike seeks to bring his legislative experience from Capitol Hill as well as from city boards and commissions. He is a member of Alexandria's Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee and previously served on the Alexandria Economic Opportunities Commission, including as chair. McPike lives with his husband, Jason, in the West End.

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

Learn more about Kirk McPike and why he is running for City Council in 2021:

Age (as of Election Day)

43

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

City Council

Party Affiliation

Democratic

Family

Cantor Jason Kaufman

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Yes, I am chief of staff to Congressman Mark Takano of California

Education

Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, Bachelors of Political Science, May 2005

Occupation

Chief of Staff, Congressman Mark Takano, January 2013 – Present

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

City of Alexandria Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee, 2017 to present
Alexandria Economic Opportunities Commission, 2013 to 2017 (Chair, 2016 to 2017)

Campaign website

Kirkmcpike.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I believe that Alexandria’s future can be brighter than its present. I am running for city council this year because of this simple belief. I also recognize we can only achieve a brighter future if we make the right choices as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, and elect leaders who are ready to do the job on day one.

The pandemic has reshaped the world, and our city. The global health crisis has shuttered many of our local businesses, challenged our students, cost many of our neighbors their jobs, and taken far too many lives. It has highlighted and exacerbated underlying inequalities within Alexandria. It has also offered us an opportunity to regroup, rebuild, and chart a course to a better, more resilient Alexandria, one that truly lives out its progressive values.

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

When the next Council is seated in January 2022, the virus itself will hopefully be behind us, but overcoming the effects of the pandemic will still dominate our city government’s work. The next Council must be ready to support our businesses as they recover, to protect critical investments in our social safety net, to help families that have lost jobs or income, and to give our schools the funding they will need to help our students bounce back from more than a year of remote instruction. Further, the next Council must use the recovery process as a means to address long term problems such as flooding, equity, housing affordability, and climate change.

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

One key difference between myself and the other candidates running for city council is my legislative experience, not just on city boards and commissions, but also on Capitol Hill. For the last eight years I have served as chief of staff to a member of Congress, and served in a volunteer capacity on city commissions related to housing affordability and the city budget. If elected, I will utilize my years of legislative experience and government connections to fight for Alexandrians and build a city that is prosperous for all residents, regardless of race, gender, faith, or nationality.

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

One of the things I like most about Alexandria’s city council elections system is that candidates are not running directly against one another, since voters can cast ballots for any combination of those seeking election. Because of that, I am running on my merits as a candidate, not as someone attempting to unseat a present incumbent. I believe that with my years of experience working on our city’s Budget Advisory and Fiscal Affairs Committee, advocating for affordable housing, early childhood nutrition, and equal employment opportunities have prepared me to better employ Alexandria’s resources to combat the many challenges facing residents today. The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted residents financially, physically, and even emotionally. To best support Alexandria’s population, the city needs a council who’s ready to jump into action on day one and begin the process of getting our city back on track and our students back in school. If elected, I plan to use my experience and local connections to do just that.

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

I think local officials have responded admirably, especially in the face of such an unprecedented global challenge. During a time when fear and misinformation were running rampant across the country, local officials in Alexandria (health department staff, T/ES, city council) worked around the clock to ensure that residents had reliable access to COVID testing, masks, city resources, and trustworthy information available in more than seven languages. In spite of such an unprecedented pandemic, Council, along with city staff, persevered and continued to work diligently to stop the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its impact on our local economy. Their commitment and devotion to protecting our city has allowed us to remain in the bottom echelons of COVID infectivity with Alexandria reporting less than 12,000 cases only a year after our first infection.

If I was on the council, I would push for more direct relief to Alexandrians and local businesses. Although we are close to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial impacts of this crisis will be felt for years to come and providing direct financial assistance to businesses and residents in Alexandria is crucial in rebuilding our community.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

My main priorities as a candidate are helping Alexandrians recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing long term challenges like school funding, classroom capacity, housing affordability and flooding, and improving communication between the city government and residents, including the unions that represent both public and private employees in Alexandria.
I believe that my first priority, making our families, businesses, and schools whole, is one through which we can make major strides to improve the lives of working people in Alexandria. With millions in federal funding coming towards Alexandria from the American Rescue Plan (and the potential for further Federal dollars to come down through the American Jobs Plan), the next council will be in a unique position to decide the direction of our growing city. If elected, I’ll seek to use our recovery as an opportunity to raise the standards we expect of city contractors and developers, to empower working Alexandrians and protect them from abuses such as wage theft. By prioritizing our residents and investing in our city, we can facilitate a faster return to normalcy for Alexandrians; students back in schools, parents back at work, and businesses no longer struggling to make ends meet.

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

As a member of the city's Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee, I've seen how difficult it was for Alexandria to recover from the Great Recession, and I will enter office ready to help us move past this pandemic. Additionally, I’ve spent years working with local businesses and working families on the Alexandria Economic Opportunities commission to increase employment opportunities and secure affordable housing. This experience, partnered with the vital connections I made as a longtime member of the Alexandria Democratic Committee, has prepared me to jump into action on day one and fight for a future where all Alexandrians can prosper.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

The best advice I have ever received was a quote from Mark Twain, “never let your schooling interfere with your education”. Oftentimes, political ideology, family connections, and education blinds us to new viewpoints and opposing opinions. My decade-long career in public service has taught me that a good idea can come from anywhere and anyone, especially in politics. If elected, I will ensure that I continue to learn, grow, and educate myself from a wide variety of sources; mainly our residents and local experts.

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

As a gay Alexandrian, ensuring that our city is a safe space for all, regardless of race, sex, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation, is integral in securing a prosperous future for Alexandrians. To that effect, I am ecstatic to see that our city has received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index for our policies protecting the LGBTQ community. If elected, I will continue to find ways to support equity and inclusion in our city. I will also make it a priority to work alongside city staff, like our Race and Social Equity Officer, to continue the important dialogue our city has started surrounding racism, financial insecurity, and Alexandria’s complicated history. By working to create a city where everyone is heard, embraced, and treated with dignity and respect, we can build an Alexandria that thrives for everyone.