By Caitlyn Meisner | cmeisner@alextimes.com and Wafir Salih | wsalih@alextimes.com

Despite a spirited campaign from challengers, Democrats perpetuated single-party rule in Alexandria by sweeping the six City Council seats, while current Councilor Alyia Gaskins ran unopposed and is now mayor-elect.

Current Councilor Sarah Bagley led the way with 42,291 votes, while long-time incumbent John Taylor Chapman tallied the second most Council votes with 41,627. Current School Board member Jacinta Greene finished third, garnering 40,554 votes, followed by incumbent Councilor Canek Aguirre with 37,157, School Board member Abdel Elnoubi with 37,083 and incumbent Councilor Kirk McPike with 34,960 votes, according to preliminary data from the Virginia Department of Elections.

This election is history-making, as the City of Alexandria has never had two women simultaneously elected as mayor and in the vice mayor’s role. While the mayor is a separate election, the vice mayor is generally the person who receives the most votes in the City Council election, which means Bagley should assume that role. The mayor and the six City Councilors each have one vote as members of Alexandria’s seven-person legislature.

Gaskins’ win also marks a first for the city: She is the first female Black mayor in Alexandria. The only other time in the city’s history that two women held more powerful positions was in the 1990s, when former Mayor Patsy Ticer served from 1991 to 1996 concurrently with long-time City Manager Vola Lawson.

Republican Celianna Gunderson and Independents Mason Butler and Roy Byrd fell short in their efforts to break Democratic hegemony on the dais. Byrd led the way among the challengers with 18,509 votes, Gunderson garnered 17,594 votes and Butler tallied 13,692 votes. In contrast, each Democrat received more than 34,000 votes to gain a spot on the dais.

In the city, 64% of the 119,388 registered voters cast ballots in this election.

Bagley will be the sixth woman to serve as vice mayor since the 1980s, following in the shoes of Patsy Ticer, Del Pepper, Allison Silberberg, Elizabeth Bennett-Parker and Amy Jackson.

“I’m really excited to come into this second term with more experience, with relationships with staff, with relationships with my colleagues, and I’m optimistic that that experience will make me a more successful and impactful City Council member,” Bagley said.

As for earning the most votes among the Council contenders, Bagley said she will continue to work hard for Alexandria.

“I’m humbled by each vote. I’ll continue to prepare and participate to the best of my abilities,” she said. “Every voter, for all candidates, demonstrated their love of the city and I look forward to working with my colleagues in service to all of those voters.”

Chapman received the second highest number of votes and 14.51% of ballots cast. While he was widely expected to earn the most votes among Council contenders as the longest-tenured councilor – having earned the largest share of votes in the June Democratic primary with 10,582 votes – Alexandria voters appeared to favor female candidates in this election, as three of the top four Council vote-getters were women.

“To have women leading the Council is absolutely a historic moment,” Chapman said. “It continues to show that we have people of all backgrounds and genders here in the city that continue to contribute to our city growing and thriving.”

Greene, who received 14.14% of votes, said she was excited that the city elected a diverse slate of councilors.

“I’m very excited that we have such a diverse and progressive City Council here in Alexandria. Very excited about our first Black female mayor, and looking forward to working with my colleagues so that we can move Alexandria forward,” she said.

Aguirre received 12.95% of the vote share, to secure reelection to Council, while McPike received 12.19% of the vote share; he received the lowest number of votes out of the incumbent candidates.

Elnoubi, winning a spot on the dais with 12.93% of the vote, said he looked forward to shifting from campaign mode to preparing to sit on Council.

“I’ve been in campaign mode for 11 months at different levels. … I’m finishing my service on the School Board. I’m gearing up and getting ready to hit the ground running for Council and try to learn as fast as I can,” Elnoubi said.

Byrd, who finished with 6.45% of the vote, said that despite the loss, he feels his campaign successfully brought attention to key issues affecting residents, and that he and Butler’s efforts encouraged incumbents to be more receptive to resident concerns.

“We heard from the other candidates that they [understand] that they need to listen. … If they do that, then this is a win. If they view this as a mandate to just do what they’ve been doing for the last term, then I think they’ve gotten the wrong message, and I think the city will suffer as a result. We’re hoping that they were sincere in that, and that they really will take in different perspectives,” Byrd said.

Republican Gunderson finished the race with 6.13% of the vote share, and Independent Butler received 4.77% of the vote share.

Alexandria Democratic Committee Chair Sandy Marks spoke to the crowd at Del Ray’s Pork Barrel BBQ, where the ADC held its election night watch party.

“I am proud not just that we follow the law, but that we know the law. That is very exciting,” Marks said. “I think we did our best. I watched all of us out there today with kindness and courtesy. … We led with happiness and optimism, and donuts and coffee.”

Following Marks was Gaskins’ remarks, in which she thanked dozens of people from her campaign, the ADC and her family. She expressed excitement at the Council results, stating the city just elected its “most progressive Council.”

“You are going to see a Council that is going to deliver for you on housing, on transportation, on climate change, on gun violence, issues that matter most to this community because of you,” Gaskins said. “Our city is the first tonight to break down barriers, to shatter glass ceilings and just show the rest of this country what happens when you believe in strong Democrats. …”

Gaskins also said she was excited to serve the City of Alexandria as its mayor.

“I am committed to making sure that these are not just campaign promises. We are going to hold ourselves accountable for delivering for you. You are going to see your progressive values continue to be lived out in our great city, in the way we develop, in the way we move, in the way we serve you, but most importantly, in the way we make sure that your voices are at the table, shaping every decision to move us forward,” she said.

Chapman, Elnoubi and McPike received their largest share of votes at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center precinct with 843, 722 and 699 votes, respectively. Bagley received her largest share of precinct votes from both the Mount Vernon Recreation Center and Cora Kelly precincts.

Aguirre, Greene and Gunderson received their largest share of votes from the Cora Kelly precinct with 783, 866 and 336 votes, respectively. Both Butler and Byrd received their largest share of precinct votes at the George Mason precinct with 292 and 474 votes, respectively.