Chris Militzer/Miliman 12 Photography
Justin Wilson, 39, is digging into a hearty breakfast at La Madeleine in Old Town Alexandria on a rainy Saturday morning, as he talks about his plans as the city’s future mayor.
He won a close election last year against fellow Democrat and incumbent Mayor Allison Silberberg.
He doesn’t sleep much and relaxes by running. He runs marathons when he can, but with his schedule lately he hasn’t had time; his last one was in 2017. But he has thought a lot about his vision for Alexandria.
Here’s what he sees.
Focusing on Continuity and the Economy
Wilson plans to build on some of Mayor Silberberg’s initiatives, he said. “She’s done a good job of galvanizing some of the clergy, that would be something I’d look to continue,” he said, referring to the Clergy Council Silberberg created.
“We obviously had disagreements on a variety of policy areas and in temperament and approach, but her commitment to the city is one I never questioned and that’s what I’d look to emulate,” Wilson said. “I can’t be everywhere she is, I do have a day job, but the accessibility is important.”
When Wilson takes over, it will be with new faces on the City Council. “It was disappointing to see two of my col-leagues (five-term Council Member Paul Smedberg and one-term Council Member Willie F. Bailey, Sr.) lose,” he said. “They were valued members of the council. We’ll have a new look on the council for sure, which will bring new ideas and energy. We’ll do our thing. This is my fourth council to be on and each one kind of inherits a way of approaching issues as a body. This one will as well.”
Wilson said his top priority will be the economy. “This region has relied on healthy federal spending growth for generations,” he said. “Regardless of who’s running Washington, that’s changing. It changed under Obama, and it’s changing under Trump.”
“The surest fire way we can protect the quality of life in the city long term is to reconstitute our economy,” he said. “So, I think those economic issues are going to be number one for us.”
As mayor, Wilson said he can move the city’s economy ahead by looking at “how we do land use in the city. It’s managing transition. We have a lot of vacant office space in the city. How can we work within our land use code and work with landowners to make a transition to more productive uses? Some of that is going to be adaptive reuse for residential. How can we introduce retail uses? It’s going to be smarter use of incentives. So, some of those core economic growth initiatives will be number one for the council.”
Giving a Helping Hand to Alexandria’s Children
Wilson grew up in the area with a single mom, Leslie, at the helm. He calls her his hero. A career federal employee, she “was always a good example for me and my sister,” he said. “She certainly has always been a hero of mine and now for my kids.”
Wilson and his wife, Alex, are parents to Eli and Lena who attend Alexandria public schools.
Another focus while he is mayor, Wilson said, will be on “kids’ issues” and on Alexandria’s performance gaps from preschool to high school. Expanding early childhood education is one of the most important goals for the city, he said.
About 20 percent of kids starting Kindergarten in Alexandria do not have any early childhood education, he said. Some parents will never send their kids no matter what, but for others it’s an economic issue. And he said he thinks the city can help close that gap.
The city is the number one provider of after-school services in the community. “We’re sitting in the catbird seat as far as making sure those kids are success-ful. It’s a challenge; we’ve done better over the last several years, but we’ve got a long way to go to narrow that achieve-ment gap.”
The city deploys a variety of different ways to provide early childhood education. Some parents receive city vouchers and there is some funding from the state or federal government. “I don’t think it would require much to get us to universal access,” Wilson said.
Money, space, more efficient use of resources and working with the private sector and non-profits to incentivize more seats are all key, he noted. “I think we know what needs to happen, it’s just getting there,” he said. “I think that’s the challenge. Some of it is the same as the capacity issues we’re dealing with on the K through 12 side.”
‘My Clarion Call: Infrastructure’
“My kind of clarion call throughout this stint on council and during the election has been around infrastructure investment,” Wilson said.
Is it an expensive proposal? Done properly, infrastructure investment can save money over time, Wilson said.
“We’re spending a fortune right now remediating mold” in the Mount Vernon Community School auditorium, he said.
And at George Washington Middle School, “The cafeteria’s been out of commission for a couple of months. We spend a lot just to keep things going,” he said. “In some cases, doing infrastructure investment actually saves us money.”
“I think the taxpayers have been skeptical in the past on how we prioritize capital investment, and I think it’s on us for the next three years to do that right,” he said.
Landmark Mall
Wilson said that he’s aware of the frustrations associated with the delay in the Landmark Mall project. “We’re as close as we’ve ever been right now,” he said. “Howard Hughes is now consolidating ownership on the property, which is great. Part of the challenges for decades was having three owners and no one could do anything without permission of the other two. Now we’re down to two.”
The mall suffered years of decline before closing. Howard Hughes Corp. purchased the main section of the mall years ago with plans to redevelop it, and the corporation later acquired the Macy’s portion of the mall when it closed. Sears is owned separately.
“Sears, whether through joint venture or actual purchase, will be a partner,” he said.
In the past year, the Carpenter’s Shelter moved into a portion of Macy’s while a permanent shelter for the homeless and transitional housing is built in North Old Town. The main section of the mall was used as a set for the next movie in the Wonder Woman series. That movie will come out in late 2019.
A community re-planning process is underway now, and Wilson said to expect movement on the project once Carpenter Shelter moves out of the former Macy’s, which is expected in about 18 months.
“The timeline will be a front-burner issue the next three years,” he said.
Alexandria Tourism
With the city landing on many “best of” lists, tourism is a big factor in Alexandria’s economy.
“It reduces our property taxes by a significant amount, and it does so at a low risk to our quality of life. In Old Town, you see the focus on visitors and it creates parking challenges but, big picture, some of the things that benefit our tourists benefit our residents.”
“I certainly love when folks come to town and love to show our city off,” he said. “It’s a real boon for the city.”
How Alexandria grows visitation is something the City will continue to look at, Wilson said. Tourism has increased significantly in the past five years, according to Visit Alexandria, but there’s always room for growth. “How do we partner with retailers and restaurants and hotels in Old Town to drive visitation? That is going to be a big issue for us.”
Wilson referred to “a pretty bruising conversation” about forming a Business Improvement District or BID in the Old Town area.
“Some form of public-private collective partnership will probably come forward again,” he said. “Whether it’s a BID or not I don’t know; we’re essentially doing what some call a ‘BID light’ right now, with some of the improvements to King Street and the programming we’re bringing to the waterfront, partnering with the private sector. It’s a concept we will keep coming back to in conversation. Last year was the second time we’ve talked about it; I imagine we’ll be back talking about it again.”
Much of Alexandria’s tourism has focused on its role as a historic city. As the new year begins, Jefferson Davis Highway will become Richmond Highway. “My focus has been how do we tell a broader story?” Wilson said.
“I think part of what folks are reacting to is we’ve only told one part of our history. We have an opportunity to tell a broader scope of our history.”
Affordable Commercial Rents
Alexandria’s success as a destination for travel, shopping and dining means higher commercial rents in some areas. “That is a tough one for us,” he said, “and it’s some of the same issues we’re dealing with on affordable housing.”
In some cases, Alexandria has become a “victim of our own success,” he said. “Overall, you’ll see for retailers on King Street our rents are still relatively low compared to other areas in the region. It doesn’t mean we don’t have retailers that struggle.”
And as for any vacant storefronts, some of it is “generational change, with longtime retailers closing and retiring,” Wilson said. “Some of that has gone on. We’re always going to try to maintain a mix [of Mom ‘n Pop and regional or national chains] there. If the city needs to take a greater role in that or not — we’ll have to see and take that on.”
Advice to Young People Considering Politics
Wilson said there are two types people: “Those who want to be something and those who want to do something. We get a lot of those who want to be something, unfortunately.”
“To do something, you have to do your homework and decide what you want to make change on,” he said. “You get a lot of pressure on a lot of different issues in elected office. If you don’t have core convictions, you’ll get thrown all over the place.”
Wilson noted that studying the issues, understanding them and seeing the different approaches “is the best way to go far in this business.”
“I’ve won and lost elections,” he said. “It’s certainly better to win, but if you approach it with a conviction, you never have regrets.”
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2019 print edition of Alexandria Living Magazine. To subscribe, click here.
