This spring, Alexandria Living Magazine sent the following questions to every person running for City Council as of May 2024. The answers from Kevin Harris are below. See links to all other candidate questionnaires here.
Harris currently serves on the school board for Alexandria City Public Schools. His campaign website is at www.voteforkevinharris.com.
Have the current efforts to improve affordable housing been sufficient? Why or why not?
We have not. Though the City Council has made some steps to address our affordable housing crisis, we are still far behind where we need to be.
People who grew up in Alexandria, who are connected to our community, should be able to afford to live and raise a family of their own within the City. But, sadly, that’s not the case today. Too many of our neighbors, friends, and even City employees have already been priced out of Alexandria.
This housing crisis hurts everyone in our city, regardless of their income. Right now, only 4% of the City's frontline firefighters live in Alexandria. This leads to incredibly high turnover rates. We lose approximately 30 firefighters a year, many of whom leave to go work in other fire departments throughout the region. Since it costs taxpayers $170,000 to recruit and train each additional firefighter, this retention problem costs the city over $5 million annually.
We need to treat this like the crisis it is.
A crisis demands immediate action, which is where I believe Housing for All falls short. We cannot simply just wait for the market to organically add more units to our housing supply in the hopes that this increased supply decreases prices over the next twenty years.
We need to increase our supply of housing. We need to create new and innovative ways to build more home ownership opportunities.
What can be done to make sure the increasing population density in Alexandria doesn’t hurt quality of life
When I talk with community members, almost everyone says how much they like the “small town feel” of Alexandria. We have to be smart about how we increase density, including incorporating the following:
Prioritize green space: As density increases, preserving existing parks and creating new green spaces is crucial. This allows residents access to nature for recreation and mental well-being.
Invest in public transportation: A robust public transportation system reduces reliance on cars, leading to less traffic congestion and pollution. It also improves accessibility for residents who don't drive.
Develop mixed-use areas in transit areas: Zoning that encourages a mix of residential, commercial, and office spaces in the same area reduces commute times and creates vibrant, walkable neighborhoods.
Smart growth initiatives: Implementing smart growth principles like energy-efficient buildings and infrastructure development can improve sustainability and overall quality of life.
Community engagement: Encouraging resident participation in planning decisions ensures developments meet community needs and concerns regarding density are addressed.
By implementing a combination of these strategies, Alexandria can manage its growing population density while maintaining a high quality of life for our residents.
How can the city make public transportation a more viable and attractive option for residents?
Increase frequency and schedule adherence: More frequent buses, trains, etc., with on-time arrivals, make public transport a predictable and efficient way to get around.
Expand service coverage: Analyze resident needs and expand routes to reach more destinations, including under-served neighborhoods.
Invest in modern vehicles: Upgrade vehicles with features like air conditioning, Wi-Fi, and comfortable seating for a more pleasant riding experience.
Enhance convenience and accessibility:
Improve real-time information: Provide accurate arrival and departure times at stops through digital displays or mobile apps.
Prioritize accessibility: Ensure all stations and vehicles are accessible for people with disabilities, including ramps, elevators, and clear signage.
Integrate with micromobility: Allow easy connections with bike-sharing programs or designated areas for bringing personal bikes on public transport.
Make it a positive experience:
Improve station and stop infrastructure: Provide clean, well-lit shelters at stops with amenities like seating and trash cans.
Enhanced security: Implement measures to ensure passenger safety, especially during night hours.
Promote ridership: Launch campaigns highlighting the benefits of public transport, like environmental sustainability and cost savings.
By focusing on these areas, Alexandria can make public transportation a more attractive and viable option for our residents, encouraging them to choose it over personal vehicles. This can lead to reduced traffic congestion, improved air quality, and a more livable city for everyone.
What do you think is the most important factor in making the roads safer and more efficient for everyone?
There isn't a single most important factor, but rather a multi-pronged approach that considers several aspects. Two of those prongs are safe road designs / infrastructure, and using technology for traffic management.
Safer Road Design and Infrastructure: This focuses on creating an environment that inherently minimizes accidents and their severity. Some key elements include:
Speed Management: Roads designed for lower speeds in urban areas and clear signage to enforce them.
Separated infrastructure: Physical barriers like medians separating opposing traffic and dedicated lanes for cyclists and pedestrians reduce the risk of head-on collisions and conflicts.
Improved road features: Wider lanes, good lighting, clear signage, and well-maintained surfaces all contribute to a safer driving experience.
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS): These systems use sensors, cameras, and real-time data to monitor traffic flow, adjust traffic lights dynamically, and provide drivers with information about accidents, congestion, and alternate routes. This helps to minimize bottlenecks and improve overall traffic flow
By combining these elements, we can create a transportation network that prioritizes safety and efficiency. Safer road design reduces the likelihood of accidents, while smarter systems help manage traffic flow and minimize congestion. This benefits everyone who uses the roads, from drivers and cyclists to pedestrians and public transportation users.
What are the biggest challenges facing Alexandria’s smallest businesses and how can the city better support them?
As a small business owner, this is personal to me. In addition to the issues related to equity that were highlighted by the disbursement of COVID relief funds (which is why in response I founded the Alexandria Minority Business Association), I believe there are two large issues facing our small businesses.
First, we have a very high cost of living in the city. Alexandria's rent and property costs can be a significant burden for small businesses, making it difficult to find affordable storefronts or office space. Our housing costs also impact our small business’s ability to recruit and retain employees. Many of the employees who work at our small businesses don’t live in our city, so when employment opportunities arise closer to home, they stop working in Alexandria. Training new staff over and over again is a significant cost for many small businesses.
Second, I believe that the city can improve the way we work with small businesses. As the owner of Hoop Life, I have a contract with the city to provide summer basketball camps for a specific number of kids per week. However, if I have 25 kids sign up to attend my camp, and the city only budgeted for 20, I can’t add those additional 5 kids, even if I have enough coaches to handle that increased capacity, simply because the city calculates those additional kids as an additional cost, but doesn’t include their attendance as additional revenue. Requiring small businesses to turn away revenue, particularly when some of that revenue goes to the city, simply for bureaucratic reasons hinders not only our businesses, but the city’s overall budget.
Do you think Alexandria should return to ward representation? Why or why not?
I believe in a hybrid approach, similar to what Washington DC does. Ward systems ensure stronger representation from diverse communities, and that residents from different neighborhoods with unique concerns have a dedicated council member to represent their interests. This allows greater accessibility for voters, fosters better communication, and creates more accountability between the voters of a specific area and their elected officials. This also allows Councilmembers to be more familiar with the local issues and needs of their constituents, leading to more targeted policies that address. Another benefit of wards involves lowering the power threshold everyday citizens need to have an issue resolved, allowing people with limited resources and time to have their issues heard in a more efficient manner.
However, keeping some seats at large is important. A full ward system runs the risk of “neighborhoods fighting neighborhoods” over resources, preventing larger, City-wide initiatives from being fully realized. A hybrid approach would provide the benefits of a ward representation system, without the potential pitfall of increased focus on local issues at the expense of broader citywide concerns.
What is something you don’t like about Alexandria that you want to change?
No response given
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?
Relying on using taxpayer money for a sports arena that the majority of our community members didn’t want, was not a good idea.
That’s why I’m proposing that we use the proposed Monumental Arena site as a site for workforce housing, primarily for our City employees. It costs the City over $175,000 to recruit and train each new firefighter in Alexandria, and we’re losing approximately 30 firefighters per year. That’s over $5 million, annually, simply due to our inability to retain fire personnel. And with less than 5% of our entire fire department living in the City of Alexandria, it makes sense that our firefighters are leaving to work in jurisdictions closer to their home.
This is an issue we need to address. What would it look like if we were to use the proposed Monumental Arena site to build workforce housing for these employees? How much can we save, annually, by doing so? And what’s the magnitude of the other economic benefits of a proposal like this? By having our employees live in the City, their property taxes will be paid to the City. When they go to the grocery store, it’ll be in the City.
These are the types of potential solutions that I want to propose when elected to Council. Solutions that are real solutions, based on the concerns that our citizens have, that follow our City’s moral compass, and would benefit all members of our community.
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?
The City needs to hire more people in our core services. The Alexandria Fire Department has had at least one unit out of service, daily, since August 2021, due to their staffing crisis. For a good amount of that time, the Department’s Heavy Rescue Squad has been disbanded, or “cross-staffed”. This is a huge issue, since it’s this squad that responds to vehicular and building extractions, as well as incidents at construction sites. When our Rescue Squad isn’t staffed, we need to rely on mutual aid from our neighboring jurisdictions. But if there is a car crash in Arlington, and a construction site cave-in in Alexandria happening at the same time, where do we think Arlington will send their rescue squad?
Though I’m most well-versed in the staffing of our fire department due to my relationship with their frontline workforce, I believe we have similar issues in almost every department of our city. We won’t be able to be the best version of our city until we fix our staffing issues.
What would you tell a resident who doesn’t feel safe living in Alexandria?
As a member of the ARHA Board of Commissioners, a Minister at the Love of Christ Church in Del Ray, and as the President of the ARHA City Wide Resident Association, I have had this conversation with members of my community countless times. Typically, I would first ask the person why they don’t feel safe living in the city, and then work to address the issue. That could be through directing them to resources, such as our non-emergency line, or by working to alleviate their concern, particularly if it's part of a broader trend.
Overall, Alexandria is a safe city to visit or live in. But building relationships between our law enforcement officers and our community members is key. Without trust and transparency between these parties, we will never be the type of community we strive to be.
That’s why I launched the “Relational Policing Initiative” between the Alexandria Police Department and the Public Housing Resident Association, and served on the ACPS School Law Enforcement Partnership Committee. I wanted to ensure that our values as a community are used to build trust between our law enforcement personnel and community members. Otherwise, residents in need may be wary to get law enforcement involved in times of emergencies.
If you had to convince someone to vote for you in one sentence, what would that sentence be?
I believe that the role of a council member is to listen to community members, and then act in ways that match the community’s values to address the community’s needs.
