Of all the breakfasts a mayor is expected to attend, the Chamber of Commerce's gathering last week will be best remembered as Kerry's last hurrah.
Alexandria mayor Kerry J. Donley gave his eighth and final State of the City address and proclaimed the state of the city "is good."
Donley looked at changes that have occurred since he took office in 1996 and glanced into the future, as well.
"Between 1996 and 2002, violent crime was down by 36 percent," he said. "Violent crimes [Part 1] are down by 17 percent. During a time when the city's population increased from 117,300 to 135,000, the most serious offenses dramatically declined."
The mayor said that Part 1 crime, per 1,000 residents, was down from 60 per 1,000 residents to 44 per 1,000 residents. This was due to the fact that "we have the best police department in the country and because City Council has kept public safety at the core of our mission and duty as a government."
Public education, another core mission of local government, has also seen vast improvements, according to the mayor.
"Eleven of our 17 city public schools are fully accredited. In 1996, 79 percent of Alexandria's public high-school graduates went on to postsecondary education. Last year, that figure reached 86 percent. ... Today, every classroom in every city public school has high-speed Internet connection and a student-to-computer ratio of 3-1, which exceeds the Virginia ratio of 6-1," Donley said.
Affordable housing is another area in which Donley sees progress. "The number of assisted rental housing units has increased by 17 percent over the past eight years, from 4,266 to 4,970. Our affordable housing stock has increased from 31,940 units to 36,098 units. The number of households receiving assistance to purchase housing increased 181 percent since 1996, from 361 to 1,015. Attention needs to be paid to not only expanding our affordable housing stock but also to preserving the affordable housing which presently exists," Donley said.
"Affordable housing remains a regional issue that Alexandria cannot confront alone," the mayor said. "While we must do more, so must other jurisdictions if we are to keep this region affordable, and it is in our best economic interests to do so."
THE ECONOMIC PICTURE is mixed. "Like the rest of the country, Alexandria has had its ups and downs over the past eight years, but it could be a lot worse," Donley said. "The city's unemployment rate in November 1996 was 3.2 percent compared to 2.5 percent in September 2002, and during this period we achieved all-time lows in unemployment, which actually dipped below 2 percent prior to Sept. 11.
"Real estate continues to be a great investment and a true indicator of Alexandria's attractiveness as a place to live and work. Your view of assessments depends on which side of the "For Sale" sign you are standing.
"Perhaps the most significant piece of real estate in Alexandria may be the headquarters of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office [PTO, now under construction in the Eisenhower Valley]. We made a full-court press in 1996 to entice PTO to locate its headquarters here, and we achieved this important goal.
"It is the largest federal lease of real estate in American history," said Donley. "PTO and its 7,000 employees will generate $6.4 million per year in new revenues. It is also a prestigious project. Alexandria will be the world's home to innovative ideas and intellectual property through the PTO," he said.
WHILE DONLEY PAINTED an optimistic picture of the city's well-being, he added a note of caution to future officeholders. "Local government cannot be all things to all men and women," he said. "As state programs continue to be slashed and revenues reduced, we must realize that we cannot fill every gap.
"As the federal government shifts attention to international strife, we must realize that we cannot meet those needs which are truly national in nature.
"We need to represent our interests and provide new ideas on meaningful tax reform, ensuring state financial woes are not balanced on the backs of local governments.
"As the nation's economy continues to falter, we must look to how we can ensure our financial stability is strengthened to meet our local challenges like public education and public safety. In some cases, the Council must make tough, even unpopular decisions and be confident they are in the city's best interest. That is the difference between governing and politics," he said.
COUNCILMAN DAVID SPECK attended his last State of the City address as an elected official. "I have enjoyed serving with my good friend Kerry Donley and think that all of you should be aware of the high regard in which he is held by other officials throughout the region and even nationally," Speck said. "Any time that there is a question about affordable housing throughout the region, people want to know what Kerry thinks about it. The same is true for transportation. You should know that he has served you well," Speck said.
Chamber of Commerce chairman John Redmon honored both Speck and Donley and presented them with clocks. "I wish I could break this clock and make time stand still," Redmon said. "We are going to miss both Kerry’s and David's leadership."
While Speck says he does not intend to run for elected office again, Donley has not ruled that out. "I believe that 15 years as a member of the Council is long enough," he said. "However, I certainly will consider running for office at some future time. In the meantime, I just want to spend more time with my family."