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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The city opened a survey Friday asking residents which state legislative priorities matter most to them, part of the annual process of assembling Alexandria's request list for the Virginia General Assembly.
The survey runs through Friday, Aug. 28, and takes three to five minutes. Responses go to City Council's Legislative Subcommittee for consideration.
It works in two stages. Residents first select three of the seven policy areas in the 2026 package, then rank the individual positions within each area they chose — so someone who picks school infrastructure, for instance, is asked to order the specific asks the city made on that subject last year. That second step gives the Legislative Subcommittee a read not just on which subjects residents care about but which requests within them.
The seven areas carried over from 2026:
- Federal workforce impacts and funding reductions
- Housing affordability and economic opportunity
- Critical school infrastructure
- Mental health, public health and safety, and community well-being
- Opportunity for all Alexandrians
- Infrastructure, resilience, and clean energy transition
- Civic engagement and election integrity
A "What else?" section allows open-ended comment. The city notes that residents with specific proposals can also contact council members, boards or commissions directly, since those are where package items typically originate.
Why the package exists
Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, meaning localities hold only the powers the General Assembly expressly grants them through state law or a municipal charter. Cities that want authority they don't already have must ask for it, and Alexandria makes that request annually through its legislative package.
The 2027 session convenes Jan. 13 and is scheduled to end in early March. It will also produce a new two-year state budget, which raises the stakes on funding requests — the package covers both policy goals and money.
City Council adopted the 2026 package on Dec. 13, 2025, suggesting a similar timeline for the 2027 version. Packages back to 2019 are posted on the city's legislative page.
