Where are the wards?

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Where are the wards?
(Graphic/Jessica Kim)
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To the editor: 

Alexandria is a city of nearly 152,000 people. We are represented by a mayor and a City Council that consists of less than 10 individuals. The majority of which are from the West End. So, where did the at-large system come from? Well, it’s been a century-long fight.

In 1930, Del Ray was annexed into Alexandria from Arlington, and there were very stark differences in the two areas. Old Town, at the time, was a very modern, diverse and progressive city. Del Ray, on the other hand, was more like a southern small town. But when Del Ray joined Alexandria, Del Ray citizens were no longer bound with the laws they had in place prior to annexation in which they built their lives around. The at-large City Council in Alexandria was made up of only Old Town residents, setting the two neighborhoods on a collision course for conflict.

On March 29, 1932, a citywide referendum was held on the issue of creating a ward system. The ward system was ushered in with over 65% of the vote. This created six City Council seats through wards, and three atlarge seats in city hall.

After World War II, struggles for power in Alexandria and fiscal irresponsibility led to resignations that left our city in chaos. City Council was trying to take power from the mayor, causing issues and making the people of our city lose confidence in the system in place at the time. There was a referendum, and the at-large system was back in place.

Now, in 2024, we have the same system that was installed in a city that then had around only 50,000 people. As David Norcross, in a June 20 letter to the editor titled “Large cities need wards” submitted to the Alexandria Times wrote: “A city of 150,000 citizens cannot be effectively governed by a structure suitable for a town of 5,000. An election with the entire council at-large, without wards, cannot be representative.” So, where do we stand now with the at-large system?

In the current system, members can be elected from anywhere in the city, even if all are from the same neighborhood. But that leaves some neighborhoods underrepresented. If all council members are from the same neighborhood, the others are left unrepresented. George Mason Elementary School plans to expand, taking up the majority of the neighborhood green space. The neighborhood, which is highly against this, is underrepresented, so our voices are not heard. If there was a councilor in our neighborhood, our concerns would be heard. If the entire nation was set in this system, every representative could be from the West Coast, and if there was an issue on the East Coast, there would be no adequate representation to solve said issues.

So what does Council think of the wards? Obviously, if they’re all from the same neighborhood, they would be against all having to compete for the same seat in city hall.

During a Sept. 23, 2023, town hall meeting, Councilor Kirk McPike said : “I would not be supportive of returning to wards. Wards tend to foster competition and division between parts of our city. A lot of challenges we face need to be a whole city effort to address them, not one part or another bearing more of the weight. Under the current system, we can take a broad view on issues such as some of the flooding issues that affect a small geographic area but are incredibly expensive to address.”

While what McPike said about competition is true, this in fact would be good for the city. Without competition, you cannot adequately provide the necessities needed for specific neighborhoods.

I’m in the eighth grade, and I am the student body president of Alexandria Country Day School. If I made decisions without the help of grade level representatives, I would not know exactly what each and every grade needs. However, with representation from different ages and areas in the school, we are more prepared to adequately represent every student.

Alexandria needs wards. We need competition in order to thrive. When I am able to vote one day, I want to be able to vote for someone who knows me and understands what I and the people around me need. We need to be represented by those near to us and who understand us so that we can make Alexandria better.

-Smith Spivey, Alexandria

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