In a collaboration between the Alexandria Brief and the Liberally Social Podcast, Sandy Marks sat down for an interview ahead of Saturday's Democratic firehouse primary — a surreal experience for the candidate, who is normally a co-host of the Liberally Social Podcast but this time found herself on the other side of the mic.
Why she’s running
Marks said she decided to run after Kirk McPike won his delegate seat and people began asking her who could fill his role on the council. Her 13-year-old encouraged her to run herself.
“There’s a short runway here,” she said. “We need somebody with a network who knows who to call, who can really get going immediately and build coalitions.”
If elected, Marks said she would be the second ACPS parent on the seven-member council — she has had children in the school system for 10 years — and is the only woman among the five Democratic candidates. Her election would create the first female-majority city council in Alexandria’s 276-year history.
Four policy priorities
Marks outlined four main issues:
Education funding: With a third of the city budget going to schools, Marks said she wants to pursue more state funding for education. “Northern Virginia has a reputation for having a ton of money and not needing resources. But I think anybody who lives here knows it’s actually false.”
Housing affordability: “The issue in my life is housing affordability,” she said. She supports building housing at all price points, market-rate and affordable, calling them complementary strategies. “Eighty percent of the kids in Alexandria live in aging apartment buildings. That was me as a kid.”
Equity and climate: Marks said she wants to be the “second sure thing vote on climate” after Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley, filling the role McPike held. She emphasized access to city programs as a key to equity.
Defending democracy: Marks said she is “absolutely and unequivocally committed to protecting our immigrant neighbors and our LGBTQ neighbors and kids from abuse by the federal government, in loud ways when we need to be loud and in quiet ways when we need to not draw fire from the man across the river.”
What separates her
Asked what distinguishes her from the other four Democratic candidates, Marks pointed to being the only parent and only woman in the race. She also cited her two terms as Alexandria Democratic Committee chair and relationships with coalition organizations like Moms Demand Action, the NAACP, and the Sierra Club.
“Nobody is going to know what this job is until they actually get into it,” she said. “What I will say is I do know what I don’t know. And I feel really comfortable and confident asking those questions.”
Leadership style
Marks described herself as data-driven and collaborative. “I need things to be true and accurate and factual and cited and data-driven in order to get behind them,” she said. “Once I’m behind them, that’s fine. I’m happy to lead with empathy and communicate well about that.”
Endorsements
Marks listed endorsements from Vote Pro-Choice, Virginia’s List, Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley, Del. Alfonso Lopez, Clerk of Court Greg Parks, School Board members Abdulahi Abdalla, Kelly Carmichael Booz and Ryan Reyna, former Councilwoman Del Pepper, and former Council member Lonnie Rich.
Getting to know Sandy
In a rapid-fire personal segment, Marks shared that she owns “a loud, very mean cat,” prefers walking as her mode of transportation, is reading the Mistborn fantasy series, and watches Star Trek with her oldest son for stress relief. Her favorite Alexandria spots include the Majestic and Cheesetique.
She has never sung karaoke — “I can speak in front of a crowd all day, but I’m a little nervous to sing” — though she has a vision of someday performing Taylor Swift’s “Calm Down.”
Learn more at sandyforthecity.com.
Listen to the entire conversation as a podcast above or wherever you get your podcasts, and/or watch the conversation below.
