Chris Militzer/Miliman 12 Photography
It’s just before Amazon’s announcement to locate part of its second headquarters in Arlington’s Crystal City. One of the clinchers? Virginia Tech building a $1 billion campus in Alexandria, plus millions of dollars in state funding for more transportation infrastructure.
“This is a game changer,” Silberberg said. While Alexandria is “known for its history” and the “founding of our country, it’s also known for being an innovation hub. It’s a huge win for us, for generations to come.”
Local politics was a natural path for Silberberg, a Texan whose mother helped elect the first woman mayor of Dallas. As a double major (international relations and history) at American University, she headed up the College Democrats as a member of the class of ‘84, and she interned for Sen. Edward Kennedy.
After graduate school at UCLA, she moved back to the DC area. “I just knew it was the right choice for me,” she said. “I wanted to combine my writing and public policy interests and that’s why I had come back to the DC area.” Silberberg decided to live in Alexandria. “One of the main reasons was the strong appreciation for historic preservation that’s really so present here and that I feel so strongly about as well,” she said. “It’s so beautiful, it has a great sense of community, great neighbor-hoods. It’s safe, it’s fun. I just love it.”
After her move to Alexandria, she went to work for fellow Texan, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas). She also served on Alexandria’s Economic Opportunity Commission, advocating for the most vulnerable. “Every year we pushed for increasing the minimum wage and we focused on affordable housing,” she said.
Her community involvement and measured take on waterfront development politics led her down a path to local politics, running for city council in 2012 (and becoming vice mayor, as the member with the most votes) and then mayor in 2015. In June 2015, Silberberg surprised political pundits when she ousted four-term incumbent Mayor Bill Euille. She beat him again in the November general election after he campaigned as a write-in candidate.
Last year, Silberberg lost the primary to Vice Mayor Justin Wilson, garnering 46.6 percent of the vote. Wilson went on, unopposed, to win the general election. Now, Silberberg is looking back on a term she recalls as a time of “getting things done.”
In addition to helping bring Amazon to the area, she is also proud of helping open three new schools in Alexandria. “There were years — many years — when there was no school approved,” she said. “It’s remarkable.” In addition to education, Silberberg also noted her work to help the environment. “We’ve pushed full steam ahead on the fix of the sewage outfalls,” she noted. “Finally, after two decades of no movement.” The cost, she noted, will be four times that of the $100 million spent on the new T.C. Williams building several years ago.
The city’s tree canopy is another feather in Silberberg’s cap. “We’ve more than tripled the number of trees planted a year, to about 900,” she said. “I call it Greening Up Alexandria. We’ve focused on native plants, of course.” There’s also been a focus on the renewal of the city’s parks, with help from local non-profits.
During Silberberg’s term as mayor, the city has also tripled the amount of money dedicated to the Affordable Housing Fund and more than doubled the number of lane miles that have been repaved each year. Two of the city’s four libraries have also gotten “a real facelift” during her term.
Silberberg is also proud that the city, under her leadership, acquired the Murray-Dick-Fawcett House. “The director of Historic Alexandria said it’s the most significant contribution in 50 years,” she said of the 18th-century home at 517 Prince St. “We’re getting things done,” she said. She also looks back on the city’s statement on inclusiveness, which was one of her first actions’ as mayor, which she initiated and drafted.
“I wanted to put our values in writing so that if some-thing, God forbid, ever happened, we could point to it,” she said. The statement is on a poster in four languages, posted across the city. The statement on inclusiveness is in keeping with Silberberg’s values. A photo she took of Coretta Scott King in 2003 at the Lincoln Memorial hangs in her office.
“The Lincoln Memorial is hallowed ground,” she said. “The photo speaks to her own dedication to public service and grace and her own ability to protect Dr. King’s legacy.” What will Silberberg’s legacy be? “My whole life has been about public service,” she said. “We’ll see what the future holds.”
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2019 print edition of Alexandria Living Magazine. To subscribe, click here.
