Alexandria City Council heads to Richmond Thursday for Lobby Day
Federal workforce impacts, housing, transit top city's agenda as General Assembly session enters third week
Most of Alexandria’s City Council will travel to Richmond on Thursday for the city’s annual Lobby Day, bringing a legislative agenda shaped by federal workforce cuts, a housing affordability crisis, and looming transit funding gaps.
The trip comes as the 60-day General Assembly session, which began Jan. 14, enters its third week. Thursday’s schedule includes committee meetings on several of the city’s priority areas, including House and Senate Transportation, Health and Human Services, Housing and Consumer Protection, and Public Safety-Firearms.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins said council members will testify on key bills and meet with delegates and senators.
“We’ll continue to fight for all of the priorities that we have listed in our legislative package,” Gaskins said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The city’s 2026 Legislative Package, adopted by council in December, frames Alexandria as a “vital economic engine” for Virginia — home to 157,000 residents, an estimated 13,000 federal employees, and $3.4 billion in government contracts. The city receives about 40 cents for every dollar it sends to the state.
But the package warns that federal policy shifts have hit Alexandria hard. Nearly 12,000 residents rely on SNAP, and approximately 30,000 depend on Medicaid. The city is seeking state support to backfill potential losses in federal funding and help displaced workers access training and benefits.
Housing and schools
Housing affordability is a central focus. Nearly 60% of Alexandria residents rent, and almost half of those households are cost-burdened. The average one-bedroom apartment rents for $2,200 per month, requiring an annual income of $88,000.
The city is pushing for new tools, including a right of first refusal when publicly supported affordable housing is sold, an extended grace period for evictions from five to 14 days, and local authority to enforce habitability standards.
On schools, Alexandria notes that middle schools operate at 120% capacity, and more than 60% of school facilities are over 50 years old. The city is asking the state to fully implement a 2023 legislative audit on K-12 funding and increase support for school construction.
Transit and public safety
Transit funding is another priority, with the legislative package warning of a “financial death spiral” without new investment. Virginia’s share of WMATA’s anticipated budget shortfall is $153 million in fiscal year 2027, with the regional gap rising to more than $400 million by fiscal year 2028.
The city supports $400 million in additional annual funding for Metro, DASH, VRE, and other regional systems — aligning with the DMVMoves regional transit plan that the council endorsed Tuesday night.
On public safety, Alexandria is seeking authority for automated speed enforcement, state funding to replace a $36 million federal cut to the Urban Area Security Initiative, and measures to address gun violence.
The package also notes that state funding formulas leave Alexandria covering nearly $40 million annually in “shared employee” costs for state-mandated positions in courts, the sheriff’s office, and other departments.
Constitutional amendments
Alexandria’s package explicitly supports proposed constitutional amendments protecting reproductive freedom and repealing the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. It also backs automatic restoration of voting rights for people with felony convictions upon release from incarceration.
Shifting delegation
Councilman R. Kirk McPike, who serves on the Legislative Subcommittee with Gaskins, said staff members Wendy Ginsburg and Sarah Taylor have been in Richmond representing the city as bills advance through committees.
“There’s been a great number of bills regarding many of our top priorities, including housing, transit, responses to the impacts on federal workers,” McPike said.
McPike’s participation in Thursday’s Lobby Day comes as he prepares to potentially join the delegation himself. He is the Democratic nominee in the Feb. 10 special election for House District 5, facing Republican Mason Butler. Early voting begins Saturday. McPike announced Tuesday night that he will resign from the council, effective Feb. 9 — one day before the election.
His departure will leave a council vacancy, with former Alexandria Democratic Committee chair Sandy Marks and Economic Opportunities Commission chair Tim Laderach already announced as candidates. A firehouse primary is expected in late February if the city aligns the council special election with a possible April 21 statewide redistricting referendum.
The bill-filing deadline passed earlier this week. Staff is finalizing recommendations on which bills to support, oppose, or watch, with the full package coming to council at its next meeting.
Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, meaning localities can only exercise powers expressly granted by the legislature — making state advocacy essential for cities seeking new tools.
The full 2026 Legislative Package is available at alexandriava.gov/Legislative.
