To the editor:

Leadership matters. Justin Wilson has been a strong steward for Alexandria during his tenure as mayor and deserves a second term. He has built coalition on City Council to effectively govern and move our city forward. The recent example was a unanimous vote in favor of a city budget that includes a property tax rate reduction – while still funding priorities, including flood mitigation.

Wilson has been extraordinarily responsive to my constituent service requests – a story shared by so many Alexandrians. His term as mayor has not been without controversial votes, but that is what the job requires. Each time, I have listened to his reasoning and found a thoughtful response that is rooted in law, community input and the need to govern.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the term of former Mayor Allison Silberberg. Too often she was the lone “No” vote on issues that matter to the future of our community, including the largest capital improvement budget for our schools in city history and multiple developments that included affordable housing.

Meetings dragged on into the night and too frequently perfect was the enemy of good. In the current campaign, she continues to raise issues that are red herrings and lacks specific details about topics when pressed. The campaign has been what she is against, rather than what she supports.

As the Times reported, significant financial backing for her campaign come from large donations from individuals supporting some of these grievances. We have too many important choices to entrust the mayoral position to a candidate that has not shown the ability to build coalitions and effectively govern. Before you make your selection, I encourage you to watch the debates between the candidates. For me, these debates make the decision clear.

-Ed Mills, Alexandria