To the editor:

“You’re good enough to work in Alexandria but not good enough to live here.”

Is that the message that Mayor Bill Euille and City Councilors John Chapman, Tim Lovain, Del Pepper, Paul Smedberg and Justin Wilson wanted to send us when they voted to allow JBG and other developers to demolish the homes of 2,500 families in the Beauregard neighborhood?

They want us to keep cleaning offices, cooking food in restaurants, driving taxis, being nannies and caring for seniors in retirement homes. But will they ask developers to save homes for more than one-third of our families? Will they invest in making sure those homes are all available sooner than 21 years?

We hope the mayor and his colleagues will join Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg in working to ensure that all families in our community can enjoy the benefits of the Beauregard redevelopment.
– Hector Pined