To the editor,

Please allow me to address this letter to all small business owners in Alexandria.
As if small business owners in Alexandria werent having enough difficulties, imagine if we were to wake up after City Council Election Day and read the headline: Business Owners Big Losers.
I know thats not a headline I want to see.

Yet if the Democrat slate for City Council is elected, every small business owner in Alexandria will once again be without a voice.

To help remedy this, I urge all to vote for Frank Fannon for City Council.
The unfettered reign of a city council without a pro-business voice must come to an end.
Throughout the entire tenure of the current council, they have proven over and over again they are no friends of small business.

When it comes to voting for valuable small business tax cuts, relief from nonsensical regulations and other critical small business related measures that can boost our bottom lines, the current council has not been on our side.

The reality is that one-party rule equals no-party rule, and for too many years there has been no voice of accountability on the Council to speak for those that actually pull the wagon of commerce in our city.

I speak as the owner of a small business. I know first-hand of the rigmarole that we go through just to get the blessing of those who really dont appreciate us in the first place.
With each passing year, this council has gone from a group of political idealists to rank and file tax and spend politicians.

Witness the controversial ethanol off-loading facility, whereas the council members did not even take the time to inform themselves on the issue.

Witness the citys duplicity involved in running a tax-paying outdoor outfitter out of business, all because it didnt fit within some ambiguous ideal of political correctness.

And witness the numerous examples of the interests of small business being pushed aside in favor of mega-corporations and developers. If you are Comcast, you get a monopoly. If you build office buildings, heck, well abate your taxes for a period of time (and we might even try to build you a Metro stop!). But if you are Joe the Dry Cleanerput your head down, the city is gunning for you!
These are just a few illustrative examples, but believe me, there are hundreds of raw deal stories similar to these, and the current council is profoundly uninterested in them.

Thats why I again urge all voters, but especially business owners in Alexandria, to vote for Frank Fannon for City Council this May 5th.

I know Frank, what he and his family have done for this city, and I know that he respects the huge investment you have in your business. He understands the countless hours you put in to turn a profit and meet a payroll. And, he knows how determined you are to be successful and share in the American Dream.

Once elected, Frank will vigorously champion a small business agenda. He understands that without a robust small business tax base, the homeowner will continue to be used as an ATM for the Gang of Nine.

A city without a vibrant small business community is merely a shell; a suitcase town that is dormant save for business hours. Given their druthers, this is exactly where the Gang of Nine are leading us.

The bottom line is that as a small business owner you cannot afford to elect another Democrat slate that is anti-small business. That is why I urge you to vote for Frank Fannon on May 5th.

William O. Black
Alexandria, VA