Candidate Profile: Mark Shiffer embarks on second council run

0
1865
Candidate Profile: Mark Shiffer embarks on second council run
Mark Shiffer with children, Andrei and Kira, and wife, Nadya. (Courtesy photo)
Facebooktwittermail

By Olivia Anderson | oanderson@alextimes.com

Mark Shiffer is a problem solver. It is a skill he has honed meticulously over the years, Shiffer said, and one he plans to bring to the City Council dais if given the opportunity.

A former computer science professor and technology executive with more than 20 years of experience, Shiffer said a councilor’s job is not so different from his own.

“Basically, I solve complex problems for a living and I’ve built teams to do so,” Shiffer said. “The City Council’s job is essentially an executive position. It’s not just coming up with good ideas; it’s also overseeing the city. And I think in order to do that job well, you actually need to have experience solving problems so that you can know if you’re being fed a line.”

The ability to troubleshoot is something Shiffer said he feels is integral to running a city yet is repeatedly tossed by the wayside.

Shiffer said that when it comes to city issues, the conversation on the dais is often led by recommendations from city staff, which overrides the digging and analysis necessary to solve difficult problems.

“If you think about it, when somebody without experience is [in] that kind of position, they’re basically relying on whatever they’re told as far as what the circumstances are, whether a problem can be solved, whether a solution is a good solution,” Shiffer said.

“And if they don’t have the experience or the background to actually solve problems themselves and to evaluate the solutions, they’re just not going to be good at their job. They’re only as good as the folks who are serving them.”

Born in New Orleans and raised in New Jersey, Shiffer earned degrees in mathematics from Cornell University, computer science from California State University at Long Beach and computational neuroscience from Boston University.

Shiffer previously led research and development programs at BAE Systems and worked as an executive in tech startups. He currently serves as the head of AI engineering at Redhorse Corporation, an Arlington-based consultant that provides technical support to government agencies.

Shiffer said this background has afforded him the valuable knowledge of discerning when to address concerns individually and when to engage others.

No matter how seasoned a problem solver one is on council, Shiffer acknowledged no one has an endless amount of time to pore over every complex detail. He asserted that “engaging more heads” always leads to a better solution.

“When we do things at work, I run large engineering teams, and it’s never just one person who’s coming up with the solution. We always brainstorm and problem solve as a team,” Shiffer said. “If we can do that in Alexandria, with the brainpower we have here, we would be kicking ass much more so than we already are.”

Shiffer noted that many of the city’s residents are educated and engaged with local issues, which creates a large pool from which City Council can easily crowdsource and draw input. But because this invaluable tool is not always applied, the responsibility is relegated to city staff members, thus “overburdening” them with an ever-accumulating amount of work.

“I’m not knocking on city staff when I say this … [but] they may not be doing the best job they can, and their solutions may not be the best they could be. And when the council doesn’t take that feedback and listen to what the community is telling them in terms of when [it’s] trying to help out, I think that’s a big disservice to both the community and themselves,” Shiffer said.

One particular area where Shiffer said council listened to residents was with its recent decision to pause the Taylor Run stream restoration project. Community members consistently vocalized opposition to the project, which made council’s choice the “absolute right decision,” Shiffer said.

Another topic of interest for Shiffer involves Alexandria’s ongoing flooding problem, which he said is due to a historical lack of infrastructure investment.

According to Shiffer, the answer lies in utilizing federal funding, engaging in smart development and planning for infrastructure preparedness, something that has grown more important as climate change contributes to increasingly frequent and intense storms.

“It’s not a very sexy way to spend money until things are going wrong, and as anybody who’s done any real planning knows: You can’t wait until things break before you try and fix them,” Shiffer said, adding that he wants to address the issue “quickly and decisively.”

Shiffer’s platform also includes an emphasis on education, affordable housing and integrity, but fundraising doesn’t sit as high on his list of priorities. Shiffer is the only candidate who did not raise any money during the first quarter of 2021, and he said does not currently have any plans to do so.

“To be honest, because I have money myself it’s just not where I put my time and effort,” Shiffer said. “I’ve got a full-time job, so getting my message out is more important than getting money at this point.”

For Shiffer, the most important point to get across in his campaign is his strong desire to truly engage with citizens. As a father to a Douglas MacArthur Elementary School first grader and a George Washington Middle School eighth grader, the nearly five-year Clover College Park resident said he deeply cares about the Alexandria community.

“We love the community, we love our neighborhood, the city as a whole and the people here,” Shiffer said. “It’s been a fantastic place to put down roots.”

Shiffer also said his diverse background and experiences have equipped him with an empathetic lens through which he operates on a day-to-day basis.

Having moved from Louisiana, Shiffer, who identifies as liberal, still has family in the Deep South — many of whom differ from him politically. His wife, Nadya, is an immigrant, and his grandmother came out as gay in a time and place where it “wasn’t okay” to do so.

“I’ve seen [and] lived with … a diverse set of experiences and people, and I’m able to understand many viewpoints,” Shiffer said. “Having been around so many different people and so many different viewpoints, even when I disagree – and obviously I very strongly disagree with some of my conservative relatives on political issues – I’m able to do so in a respectful way.”

If elected to council, Shiffer said this ability to empathize, understand and listen would serve as the foundation for his approach to local leadership.

“In situations … where the community is very divided over an issue, it’s important to be able to understand where both sides are coming from in order to reach a solution that meets everybody’s needs and desires,” Shiffer said.

instagram
Facebooktwittermail