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Three candidates have filed for the April 21 Alexandria City Council special election, General Registrar Angie Maniglia Turner confirmed Friday afternoon. Democratic nominee Sandy Marks, independent Frank Fannon, and independent Alison Virginia O'Connell all submitted required paperwork before the 5 p.m. deadline.
Marks won the Alexandria Democratic firehouse primary on February 21 with 1,573 votes in a five-candidate field. She is an advocacy communications specialist and two-term former chair of the Alexandria Democratic Committee.
Fannon, a fourth-generation Alexandrian, served on city council from 2009 to 2012 as a Republican and is now running without party affiliation.
O'Connell is a newcomer to electoral politics whose candidacy emerged Thursday, the day before the filing deadline. A regular presence at Alexandria City Council public hearings, she has spoken repeatedly about the city's investments in defense contractors, according to past Alexandria Brief coverage. She has served on the city's Commission on Persons with Disabilities and the Alexandria Housing Affordability Advisory Committee, according to her campaign website, which lists a platform centered on ethical investment, abolishing ICE, affordable housing, and what she describes as "Trump-proofing Alexandria."
The three-way race takes shape one day after the Alexandria Republican City Committee's nominee, Gerry Chandler, withdrew from the race citing the financial disclosure requirements all candidates must file. The ARCC announced it would not name a replacement nominee, leaving the April 21 ballot without a Republican party candidate.
The special election was called after Kirk McPike resigned from the city council in January to serve in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Early voting begins Friday, March 6, at the Office of Voter Registration and Elections, 132 North Royal Street. Election Day is April 21.
Ryan Belmore
