Table of Contents
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Alexandria Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Legislative Reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, at The Alexandrian, 480 King St.
The evening is when the chamber unveils its legislative agenda for the coming year — the set of policy priorities that guides its advocacy with the City Council and the General Assembly. The 2027 agenda has not been released publicly.
The reception is the third of the chamber's annual legislative events. A General Assembly breakfast in March brings in Alexandria's delegation to discuss the session just ended, and a spring breakfast hosts the City Council on business issues. The September reception is the one built around mingling with elected officials, city staff and community leaders.
Seven officials had confirmed as of Thursday: Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va.; state Sen. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, D-39th; Mayor Alyia Gaskins; and City Council members John Taylor Chapman, Abdel-Rahman Elnoubi, Jacinta Greene and Sandy Marks. The same seven names appeared on the chamber's website as confirmed as of June 30.
Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley and Councilman Canek Aguirre are not on the list, nor are the city's delegates to the General Assembly. The chamber describes the roster as confirmations to date.
Bennett-Parker will attend in a role she has held only since February, when she won a special election for the 39th District Senate seat vacated by Adam Ebbin and was sworn in Feb. 18. She had represented Alexandria in the House of Delegates since 2022.
The reception is presented by Transurban, the company that operates the Interstate 495, 95 and 395 express lanes in Northern Virginia. Other sponsors are the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, Dominion Energy, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the Carlyle Council, AT&T, Family First Law Group, Kinneman Insurance, Virginia Tech and Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.
Dominion's sponsorship comes as the City Council is publicly opposing the utility's proposed Edsall Road substation, which would sit just across the Fairfax County line and power a data center campus. Mayor Alyia Gaskins wrote to the Fairfax County Planning Commission on Aug. 3 asking it to deny the application.
Additional sponsorships remain available; the chamber directs inquiries to Maria Ciarrocchi at mciarrocchi@thechamberalx.com.
Registration is $55 for chamber members and $75 for prospective members. Attire is described as "your version of business." Registration is available through the chamber's website.
