Comments from Krupicka Campaign Kick Off

Krupicka Kick-Off Comments

January 22, 2006

Thank you to Sheriff Lawhorne, Jim Gibson, Barbara Mason and the Mayor for those kind comments.

Could we get any more orange in this room?

Events like this don’t happen by themselves.  There are a lot of people to thank for this fantastic fun event. 

Thank you to Mimi, Amy, Julie, Sean, Gayle

Thank you to Elizabeth Jones, my aide, who makes my job so much easier and works tirelessly to serve the constituents of our city.

Thank you to my colleagues on Council.  I have learned from each of you and appreciate you being here.

Thank you to Lisa, Janelle and Gillian. 

Thanks to all of you here today.  You are my best friends, my confidants, my idea generators and my constructive criticizers.  I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.

I am proud of the work we have done over the last few years.  Three years ago I talked about four things -- improving our schools, making sure government was fair and efficient, ensuring the vitality of our neighborhoods, and helping small businesses.  I have worked to stay true to the promises I made to you.

I pushed, with school board member Schmalz, for a city school plan to expand pre-school access in our city and I worked with Governor Kaine to write his pre-school plan for Virginia.

Too many kids show up for kindergarten with limited readiness to learn.  Barbara Mason's Child and Family Network centers has a waiting list of families that want to ensure their kids are ready to learn, but who don't have access to pre-school because they make too much for head start, but not enough to pay for pre-school themselves.  I have watched the kids at Child and Family Networks and other pre-schools use the computer, draw pictures and read.  They are full of hope and optimism.  Every child deserves that same hope and optimism.  I am working to make sure that happens.

I have worked to lower taxes and to prioritize our needs.  I continue to work for better city-school collaboration to improve programs and saved us money.  I pushed with Councilman Smedberg for program audits of every city department. We all know families that are being stretched thin by rising property taxes.  Too many seniors are trying to decide if they can continue to live in our city on a fixed income.  We have many needs, from the sewers and roads and parks to schools and the retention of our city staff.  But we also know we can't do it all at once.  Rising health care costs, competitive salaries, rising fuel and construction costs, reduced federal support are all truths that we must face. Our city's financial base is overly reliant on property taxes. We need to find new approaches to protect the long term sustainability of our city. I am committed to working to address this over the next three years.

I pushed for a new program with Councilman Gaines to help city staff, police officers, teachers and other valuable employees buy homes in our city.  Thirty-five city employees have taken advantage of that program. We have set money aside for affordable and workforce housing. We have created new tax credits for senior, disabled and lower income residents.  These are all important actions for affordability, but I think we need to re-examine our approach. Five years ago 80% of the homes sold were affordable to the average Alexandrian.  Today, only 30% of the homes sold are affordable to the average resident of our city.  We have lost thousands of reasonably priced apartment units. The history and vitality of our city is tied to the people that have and can afford to live here.  We need to look hard at land-use and other tools to renew our commitment to affordability in our city. 

I worked, with Councilman Smedberg, to launch a Community Pathways program so that Alexandria is a safe city for walkers, bikers and anybody that wants to take a stroll through their neighborhood.  Just the other day, I saw a person in a wheel chair hesitant to cross at a marked cross walk because they didn't know if a car would stop for them.  Alexandria needs to be a city where everybody feels safe walking on neighborhood streets.

I pushed for new energy efficient, money saving and environmentally friendly approaches to new city buildings.  The new Duncan library, with its energy and water saving green roof, is just one example of the progress we have made.  Councilman Macondald and I have worked to ensure the city is taking care of the many trees that add character to our city and keep our energy bills down through their summer shade. I have been working with my colleagues on council to expand city parks and to ensure we have a world class waterfront that we can all be proud of. Alexandria should and can be a model of urban environmental stewardship.

And I have worked hard to help community based small businesses make Alexandria their home.  Outdoor dining on king street has brought new life and vitality to our city.  I have worked to ensure, new businesses, like Eclectic Nature on Mt. Vernon Avenue, have every opportunity to succeed.  Being a small business owner is hard.  Capital is tight.  Risk is high.  A three to six month city process to make changes to your business can be devastating to success.  I will continue to work to help small businesses navigate city hall and work with the community so they have the best opportunity to serve us.

We have made a lot of progress, but there is much more work to be done.

Our region is growing and is expected to add 2 million people over the next twenty years.  We need comprehensive, visionary, community based planning to ensure the long-term viability of our neighborhoods, our retail centers and the affordability of our community.

Transportation tie-ups continue to disrupt our quality of life.   I worked with Vice Mayor Pepper and the Council to establish a task force to develop a long-term transportation vision for our city. We need to strengthen our commitment to transit. We have to look towards innovative regional solutions and new approaches for moving around our community.

Crime continues to drop in our city, but there are still pockets of problems that we must address with progressive prevention and clear enforcement. 

We need vigorous debate and collaboration on these and many other issues and we need clear decisions, with a long term view.  I am optimistic that we will rise to these and many other challenges.

Our history and the people that made it are embedded in everything we do. I often think about the fact that George Washington called Alexandria home.  His advice and suggestions to the leaders of the community were well regarded and often followed. This was his home town. He celebrated his birthdays at Gadsby's Tavern.  I sometimes wonder what he would think of his city today.  I expect the traffic driving from Mt. Vernon would rattle his wooden teeth a bit. In his writings about the future of Virginia, he gives us something to think about as we look to our future. 

"Let prejudices, unreasonable jealousies, and local interest yield to reason and liberality. Let us look to our National (or perhaps in our case, Regional) character, and to things beyond the present period. No morn ever dawned more favorably than ours did"

By looking out for the whole of our community, we have the ability to ensure Alexandria remains a city of opportunity.

A city where every person is valued and has an opportunity to fulfill their goals;

A city where every child has the best possible opportunity for success in school, where they show up for kindergarten ready to learn and where the region recognizes Alexandria schools are launching pads to fantastic futures;

A city where everybody has the opportunity to use parks and fields and to enjoy clean water and air;

A city where children and adults and bikers and workers all have the opportunity to safely walk or ride bikes throughout the community, knowing that we have put people and neighborhoods first;

A city where young and old can afford to live and fulfill their dreams without fear that rising property values will push them out of their home; and,

A city where entrepreneurs can start their small business, provide us with great services, and strengthen our economy knowing the government and community are there to support them.

This is the Alexandria that I want to be a part of -- that I want to help us achieve. 

I need your help to make this happen.

I need your support and help at the Democratic Caucus on February 4^th.

And I need your support and help to ensure we turn out the vote on May 2^nd. 

Please take a moment today and fill out a volunteer card, agree to take a yard sign, grab a bumper sticker or make phone calls.

Please give us your help and please bring your friends.  Thank YOU.

9:04:30 AM