To the editor,

On Tuesday, May 5, 2009 Alexandrians will go to the polls to elect our Mayor and the six members of the Alexandria City Council. Both the Democratic and Republican parties want to ensure that all Alexandrians have the opportunity to interact with the candidates, to ask questions and to express their concerns about City Government.

Together, we have established five Candidates Forums, which will be held throughout the city during March and April.

The dates and venues are:

March 18 Social Issues/Nonprofit Organizations Forum Minnie Howard T.C. Williams Campus 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

March 26 Center City Forum Minnie Howard T.C. Williams Campus 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

April 2 Business Issues Forum The Westin Alexandria, Carlyle Center 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

April 16 West End City Forum Francis Hammond Middle School 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

April 22 East End City Forum George Washington Middle School 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Our hope is that by announcing these forums early and by giving them the widest publicity possible, we will be able to reach all Alexandrians who want to participate. Every citizen is invited to attend as many of the forums as they can the East, West and Center designations are only there to indicate where each forum is being held. Civic associations in those areas will be asked to take the lead in helping us to organize the forums, but everyone should feel welcome to attend any of these events.

We recognize that this is a departure from past election cycles when forums were sponsored by individual groups or civic associations. We believe that this new approach will enable more Alexandrians to feel as if they are included in the election process.

Though we will not schedule any additional forums, we will consider invitations for meet and greet events. Groups interested in having informal meetings with all of the candidates should contact both parties to check for available dates. We have agreed that only those events that have been cleared through both parties will be attended by any candidates.

Please let us know if you have any questions or if you wish to sponsor a meet and greet.
The Republican web site is www.alexgop.org and the telephone number is 703-823-1801.
The Democratic web site is www.alexdems.org and the telephone number is 703-549-3367.

Susan Kellom
Chair, Alexandria Democratic Committee

Chris Marston
Chair, Alexandria Republican City Committee