In the News: Making the Case
Via Michael Lee Pope at the Alexandria Gazette Packet:
Vice Mayor Kerry Donley knows a good argument when he hears one. After serving on the City Council from 1988 to 1996 and then as mayor from 1996 to 2003, Donley has heard it all. So when speakers arrive at City Hall for a public hearing, Donley wants to hear a solid case. And he’s not afraid to make suggestions.
When a contractor asked for an exemption from fire-code regulations because Alexandria was the only jurisdiction to enforce fire-code regulation, Donley didn’t hesitate to offer his advice for a better argument.
“Be careful,” warned the vice mayor. “I don’t think you want to say it’s not being enforced in other jurisdictions. It’s just being enforced in a different manner.”
Later that afternoon, when a resident of the Carlyle neighborhood announced that he would file an application for a concealed weapon permit as a result of City Council’s decision to approve a special-use permit application for a 7-Eleven on John Carlyle Street, Donley didn’t like what he was hearing. The vice mayor said he was willing to hear the case against noise, loitering and alcohol sales. But he didn’t think concealed weapons should be part of the discussion.
“I just don’t buy the hyperbolic argument of you feeling the need to arm yourself because a 7-Eleven is coming in there,” Donley told the speaker. “I think that line of reasoning isn’t helping your argument one bit.”
