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The man named as the Republican nominee for the April 21 Alexandria City Council special election may not appear on the ballot — because he is out of state and says he did not know about the Friday filing deadline when he put his name forward.
Gerry Chandler, whom the Alexandria Republican City Committee named as its nominee Monday, told the Alexandria Brief in a phone interview Wednesday that he is in Tampa, Florida, and does not plan to return to Alexandria until Saturday — the day after the 5 p.m. Friday deadline to file paperwork with the Alexandria Office of Voter Registration and Elections.
"I don't know whether I'm actually the candidate," Chandler said. "I was a candidate. As far as I understand the law, I have to sign some papers by Friday, and I'm in Tampa, Florida, and I'm not going to be back until Saturday."
Chandler said he was unaware of the filing deadline when he put his name forward, and only learned of it the day after the ARCC publicly announced his nomination. "I just learned that last night," he said. "I certainly didn't know so early. If it was next Monday, I would be in there signing and filing." "I might investigate tomorrow," he said.
The Alexandria Brief contacted the Alexandria Republican City Committee for comment on Monday and on Wednesday. They did not respond by publication time.
According to the official April 21 Special Election Candidate Bulletin published by the Virginia Department of Elections, both required forms — the Certificate of Candidate Qualification and the Statement of Economic Interests — are deemed filed by the deadline if mailed to the Alexandria general registrar's office postage prepaid by registered or certified mail, with a receipt showing the date mailed. Both forms require the candidate's personal signature, sworn before a notary.
Who is Gerry Chandler?
Chandler says he decided to run because he believes Republicans can offer Alexandria a better direction than the candidates currently in the race. "I'm a conservative libertarian Republican who thinks that the Republican Party can make Alexandria and Virginia and the USA better," he said. "The other people who are running are sincere, but they don't have the right ideas."
He said he entered the race after the ARCC solicited candidates, and no one else came forward. "I announced that I wanted to be the candidate. There was nobody else who wanted to be the candidate. And so I automatically became the candidate by their rules," he said. He added he would elaborate on his platform if confirmed as a candidate.
Chandler is an Alexandria resident who founded an IT consulting firm called iTech Consultants. Virginia Public Access Project lists him as retired. iTech Consultants' website lists him as a physicist and computer scientist who has consulted on military and civilian projects and taught computer science at international universities. According to his publicly available resume, Chandler holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor's degree in engineering from Caltech, and has worked for clients including AT&T, Lucent Technologies, Bank of America, and the U.S. Army, including on battlefield information systems and electronic countermeasures for the B-1 bomber.
Virginia Public Access Project records show Chandler contributed $350 to Republican candidates in 2025 — $185 to Winsome Earle-Sears's gubernatorial campaign and $165 to Jason Miyares's attorney general campaign.
Chandler has prior involvement in Alexandria-area Republican politics. In May 2016, he ran as a delegate candidate at the 8th Congressional District Republican convention at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, competing for one of three delegate slots to that year's Republican National Convention. At the time, he stated publicly that he favored John Kasich first, then Ted Cruz, and ranked Donald Trump last.
What's next
Chandler, if he files, will face Democrat Sandy Marks and independent Frank Fannon in the April 21 special election. Marks won the Alexandria Democratic firehouse primary on February 21 with 1,573 votes (39.6%). Fannon served on city council from 2009 to 2012 as a Republican and is now running without party affiliation.
The filing deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, February 27. The Alexandria Brief will update this story when Chandler's filing status is confirmed.
The Alexandria Brief attempted to reach the Alexandria Office of Voter Registration and Elections for comment on filing requirements. The office was closed at the time of publication.
