Pro-housing group ranks council candidates ahead of Saturday primary
YIMBYs of Northern Virginia releases scores as forum raises questions about two candidates' positions
A pro-housing advocacy group released rankings of Alexandria’s City Council candidates Wednesday, giving top marks to Tim Laderach and Sandy Marks two days before Saturday’s Democratic firehouse primary.
YIMBYs of Northern Virginia scored candidates on a 1-to-5 scale based on questionnaire responses and member feedback. According to the group, the scale should be read as “good to great” — its members found that all candidates who submitted responses showed a strong understanding of the city’s housing challenges. The rankings reflect relative strength among pro-housing candidates, not a divide between supporters and opponents.
Laderach led with a 4.6 out of 5, according to YIMBYs. The group cited his years of public advocacy in Alexandria, including as president of the Del Ray Citizens Association, and noted he called himself “probably the most YIMBY candidate” at a recent forum. In his written questionnaire responses, Laderach said Phase 2 of Zoning for Housing should start “as soon as possible” and called for pre-approved pattern books, more garden-style apartments, and zoning reforms to address childcare deserts. “That’s why I spoke in favor of Zoning for Housing/Housing for All, and why I still support these reforms today,” he wrote. According to YIMBYs, “Tim has been publicly pro-housing for years, showing our members we can trust him to show up for housing regardless of the audience.”
Marks finished second with a 4.3, according to YIMBYs. The group noted that as former chair of the Alexandria Democrats, she had been unable to take public positions on city policy until she stepped down to run. Since then, according to YIMBYs, she “has run an unabashedly pro-housing campaign from the start” and has “shown up and defended the need to add housing supply even with audiences where that isn’t a popular position.” In her questionnaire, Marks wrote that Phase 2 should begin “within this Council term” and called for expanding missing middle opportunities, easing development near transit and along commercial corridors, updating parking requirements, and reducing barriers to office-to-residential conversions.
Forum complicates picture for two candidates
Roberto Gomez and Charles Sumpter scored 3.1 and 3.0, respectively, according to YIMBYs. Both initially received higher rankings from the group’s members, but their scores fell after Tuesday night’s candidate forum hosted by the Alexandria Federation of Civic Associations, where their remarks appeared to contradict positions expressed in their written questionnaire responses, according to YIMBYs.
According to YIMBYs, Gomez hedged his support for Zoning for Housing at the forum and gave unclear responses on reducing parking mandates, Duke Street in Motion, and the Braddock Road safety project.
Gomez contacted The Alexandria Brief on Thursday to dispute the characterization of his remarks that we had quoted earlier that day regarding the Braddock Road safety project. The Alexandria Brief quoted a statement from the Alexandria Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee that said, “During the Alexandria Federation of Civic Associations candidate forum, Cesar Madison Tapia, Charles Sumpter, and Roberto Gomez withdrew their support from the Braddock Rd Complete Streets project. Sandy Marks and Tim Laderach affirmed their support for the project.”
The Alexandria Brief has invited Gomez to clarify his full position in writing by email. This story will be updated when and if a response is received.
In his written questionnaire — submitted before the forum — Gomez described Phase 2 as “a priority moving forward” and said he would prioritize simplifying residential zoning categories and revisiting the bonus height provision tabled during Phase 1.
According to YIMBYs, Sumpter told the AFCA audience he would have voted no on Zoning for Housing, Duke Street in Motion, and the Braddock Road safety project — positions at odds with his written questionnaire responses. Sumpter did say at the forum that he favors reducing parking mandates, according to YIMBYs. In his written responses, Sumpter had listed strengthening tenant rights, anti-displacement efforts, and legalizing missing-middle housing as his top Phase 2 priorities. The Alexandria Brief has reached out to Sumpter for comment.
YIMBYs acknowledged the difficulty of evaluating candidates in a compressed timeline. “It is perfectly legitimate for a candidate’s opinion to change over time as they learn more about the issues,” the group wrote, adding that differently phrased questions may also produce different answers without necessarily reflecting a change in underlying values.
The AFCA has not yet posted a recording of Tuesday’s forum. YIMBYs directed voters to alexafca.org once it is available.
Tapia did not respond
Cesar Madison Tapia did not submit responses to the YIMBYs questionnaire and was not scored by the group’s members. According to YIMBYs, his remarks at the AFCA forum included wanting “balance” on Zoning for Housing, opposing parking mandate reductions and Duke Street in Motion, and withdrawing support for the Braddock Road safety project.
What’s next
The firehouse primary is Saturday, Feb. 21, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Beatley Library and Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Recreation Center. Online voting is available for those who registered by Friday. The winner will face former Councilman Frank Fannon, running as an independent, in the April 21 special election.
Full rankings and questionnaire responses are available at yimbysofnova.org. For more on what the four responding candidates said in their questionnaires, see our Feb. 17 story below.
