Matthew Hermerding
Canek Aguirre
This spring, Alexandria Living Magazine sent the following questions to every person running for City Council as of May 2024. The answers from Canek Aguirre are below. See links to all other candidate questionnaires here.
Aguirre currently serves on City Council in Alexandria. His campaign website is at www.canekforcouncil.com.
Have the current efforts to improve affordable housing been sufficient? Why or why not?
Increasing housing opportunities continues to be one of my top priorities. As a City, we have made progress with our limited tools and authority, but it does not meet the need. It’s important to note that the affordable housing crisis is not just an Alexandria or regional issue, we are experiencing a national housing crisis. It is critical that local, state, and the federal government work together to address this issue. The federal and state government needs to provide more funding to localities. Additionally, if the General Assembly would allow localities to increase renter protections, expand taxing authority, and allow more flexibility around development requirements it would help our efforts to address the housing crisis.
What can be done to make sure the increasing population density in Alexandria doesn’t hurt quality of life?
Quality of life is subjective. I chose to call Alexandria home thirteen years ago because of the walkability and sense of community. During my time on Council, I have worked to ensure that Alexandria is a city where all can thrive because it is: 1) a safe community, 2) a connected community where one can safely travel to and from activity centers via mode of choice, 3) there are housing opportunities for various income levels, 4) a thriving a business community, and 5) there is job connectivity and the transportation and broadband infrastructure to support it.
How can the city make public transportation a more viable and attractive option for residents?
As a City, we already have and I am proud to have led efforts, along with the mayor, to make DASH bus service fare-free. DASH is a clean, safe, frequent and efficient transportation option for residents and visitors. Since the launch of the new DASH network, 80 percent or more of seniors, individuals with disabilities, youth, low income, and minorities now have increased access to DASH service. On Council, I will continue to work to increase investments in a 21st century multimodal transportation system that works for all users and provides connectivity to WMATA, VRE, Amtrak, scooters, Capital bikeshare, and more.
What do you think is the most important factor in making the roads safer and more efficient for everyone?
As a baseline it is important that we all recognize and understand that for decades most of our transportation infrastructure has been built to move cars. This is why making changes to this infrastructure is very costly. When there is an opportunity to make improvements due to development or scheduled repavings, it is important
for the City to continue to look at how to make roads safer for all users. This can include a reduction in speed or lanes, putting in buffers, adding or improving sidewalks to ensure ADA compliance, narrowing or reducing lanes, adding bike
lanes, or planting trees. There isn’t one magic solution as every road is different and needs to be given the treatment that will work best while maintaining or building out connectivity with the rest of Alexandria’s transportation network.
What are the biggest challenges facing Alexandria’s smallest businesses and how can the city better support them?
The challenges facing Alexandria’s small businesses vary depending on the business. There are some businesses that need technical help or capacity building, while others are in need of access to capital. During my time on Council, I have worked to ensure businesses across the city can thrive and have helped businesses access capital, increase advertising/promotion, find staffing and navigate the permitting process. I am proud to have led efforts to ensure businesses in the West End and Arlandria/Chirilagua partnered with our tourism office, and added positions to our economic development office to ensure a dedicated multilingual, culturally competent staff, in addition to multilingual materials. I have worked to prevent displacement due to new development or increased rent prices. My office also created a small business resource guide to help businesses understand and better access available City services.
Do you think Alexandria should return to ward representation? Why or why not?
No. Alexandria is a small city of nearly 160,000 residents and the current at-large system pushes each member of Council to understand and work to address the issues impacting every neighborhood.
What is something you don’t like about Alexandria that you want to change?
Our tax imbalance. I wish we had a larger commercial base to pull from to assist us with our revenue shortfalls.
How do you feel about the fate of the Potomac Yard Arena development proposal and how do you think the city should go about developing that location?
The same thing that we have always envisioned: a destination site, a multimodal transportation hub that generates economic activity and revenue for the city.
Do you think the current city staff is able to effectively serve all the development that is happening or do you think the city needs to hire more people?
It is important to recognize that between 2010 and 2020 our population grew by nearly 20,000 residents, but City staffing levels essentially stayed the same which is why retaining and recruiting staff continues to be one of my priorities. The reality is we are understaffed in nearly every department and struggling to keep pace with competitive salaries. This is why during my first term I called for a special session where the Council publicly went line by line on both our community police review board and collective bargaining ordinances to maximize their potential and strength. We have now passed three historic collective bargaining agreements for City employees. I am also proud to have led efforts to provide staff with a bilingual pay stipend and to increase pay for our librarians to help address staffing issues.
What would you tell a resident who doesn’t feel safe living in Alexandria?
The City of Alexandria is one of the safest communities of our size in the country.
If you had to convince someone to vote for you in one sentence, what would that sentence be?
I have a proven track record of building coalitions to get things done and deliver results for all of Alexandria, and I hope to earn your vote.
