Kerry J. Donley’s Remarks from the City Council Installation

Thank you very much to everyone who was able to attend last night’s Alexandria City Council Instillation ceremony. For all of you who help us in our amazing campaign we are sharing Kerry’s remarks in full below:

Remarks by Kerry J. Donley

City Council Installation

July 1, 2009

The campaign is over and it is now time for us to govern – for this Council to work together, to compromise, to coalesce, and to make decisions which will shape this community for decades to come. All of us come from different backgrounds and have had different experiences, but we now all share a common bond – we have been elected by our citizens to represent their interests, to provide for their common safety, and to make decisions on matters which come before the Council. I look forward to working with each on my colleagues over the next three years as we take up the public’s work here in such a great and historic city.

I have often said that Alexandria is big enough to solve our problems but not too big so that we lose our sense of community and civic pride. And it is this dynamic, this special quality which will enable us to meet the challenging times ahead.

The national recession has mired our commonwealth and our region in an economic slowdown we have not seen since the Great Depression, and while our City is much better off than the rest of the country, we will still face daunting times. Revenue is down, unemployment is up, and we face budget cuts from the state. Ironically all of this comes at a time when many of our citizens look to us for help and to ensure that essential services like public safety and public education are maintained. No doubt, economic and financial matters will dominate our agenda, most certainly in the short term.

However these challenging times also present unique opportunities and the Council must now seize those opportunities.

Robert Kennedy once said, “All of us might wish that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don’t. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.”

I am convinced that, despite our economic hardships, Alexandria has many opportunities to ensure our future fiscal health, to expand and diversify our revenues and thus provide the essential services our citizens expect and deserve. We cannot be idle and wait for better times. We must, however, establish clear priorities and action plans in order to be successful:

• Redevelopment of the Landmark Center must be our top priority as we seize the concept of new urbanism, combining mixed-use development and mass transit in order to transform a dying retail center into a vibrant neighborhood.

• Development at Potomac Yards is another opportunity. Zoning has been in place for a number of years and, in fact, the previous Council has made improvements. But the time has come for this project to take-off. We must move with haste to evaluate a new Metro-rail site and work with the owners to get the project going as our economy improves.

• The Old Town waterfront presents great opportunities to take advantage of a natural resource and bring fun, unique uses to Old Town which benefit residents and visitors alike.

Finally, I want to mention our dedicated and professional staff who ever day provide our public services. From policemen to firefighters to teachers to sanitation workers to the administrative staff at City Hall, these folks help make our City a great place to live and work. Much like our citizens, the tough economic times have confronted our workforce with stagnant salaries and in some cases reductions in staff. And our employees have faced these trying times with professionalism and dedication. We understand your plight, and we are grateful to you for your service each and every day. To each of you I say thank you on behalf of our residents.

I am grateful that the citizens of our great City have provided me with the opportunity to return to public service. It is great to be back and I look forward to the next three years with excitement. Now it is time to get to work.

Thank You and God Bless America and God Bless Alexandria.

Thank You List

Retiring Members

Campaign Staff
Scott Donley
Jim McIntyre
Judy Stack
Sandy Murphy
Dak and Mary Beth Hardwick
Diane Charles and Kevin Grim
David and Marcia Speck
Clare McIntyre
Brian Devine
Kellie and Brian Meehan
Sandra Troutman
Robert Burns
VCB
Peter Converse and Mike Anzilotti
Our Alexandria staff from Prince Street, King Street, Del Ray and Cameron Station

Family
Don and Grace Shamblin
Kristin, Jimmy & Jackson
Kaitlin, Colleen Cara, and Kelsey
Eva