To the Editor:
I have lived in Alexandria most of my adult life. My family moved to Alexandria in 1964 when we bought our home in Old Town, where my husband and I now reside. I went to T.C. Williams High School and was a member of its second graduating class along with Bill Euille, with whom I have remained friendly over the years.
It is with a lot of thought that I am writing this letter in support of Allison Silberberg as the next mayor of Alexandria. I first came to know Allison in the early spring of this year. In talking with her, I was immediately impressed with her intelligence, her devotion to our city and all of its citizens, her capability and desire to be a steward of historic Alexandria, and her listening skills. As we became friends I have only grown more impressed. My top ten list of words or phrases that describe why people should vote for Allison as our next mayor are:
Integrity
Transparency
Leadership
Can Do Attitude
Intelligence
Keeping and Honoring Promises
Listening Skills
Fiscal Responsibility and Support for Business
Support for Historic Preservation
Support of Rational Development
This is a crucial election and time in Alexandria’s history, with very important decisions at stake. How do we implement the development of the Waterfront in a rational way that is in keeping with one of the most historic cities in the United States? How do we encourage small and big business to come to Alexandria so that it helps balance the commercial tax base with the residential tax base and improves our economy? How do we make decisions in a transparent way that respects and encourages citizen input? How do we restore trust in our city government and management? How do we deal with improving public education for our children?
I believe that we are very lucky to have someone with Allison’s ability running for mayor. As Julia Hall, one of our neighbors said upon meeting Allison: “I have been looking forward for years to having a candidate like Allison Silberberg run for mayor.” I have been very impressed watching Allison during this campaign with her positive attitude, even when under attack, and her desire to always take the high road. I am impressed with her incredible knowledge and caring for all parts of our city and her capability to deal with its challenges. I truly believe our city needs her skills in addressing in a positive way the myriad of challenges that Alexandria is currently facing. I ask you — if you care about the same things that I do — to please cast your vote for Allison Silberberg for mayor on Nov. 3.
Nancy Kegan Smith
Alexandria