Virginia state Senate candidate Libby Garvey is already hitting one of her opponents, Alexandria Councilman Rob Krupicka, over the Mark Center site in Alexandria — an issue sure to be on the mind of many area residents come election time this fall.
“This building should never have been built there in the first place,” Garvey said in a statement. “In this case, Rob Krupicka…made a terrible decision by giving the [Defense Department] a green light to locate the BRAC building at the Mark Center site.”
More than 6,000 Pentagon employees are scheduled to be relocated to the site off of I-395 in September as part of the federal Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) plan. They’re expected to bring with them a crush of new traffic congestion in the already-clogged area, though there are plans in the works to help mitigate it.
Krupicka said he, too, is against moving the employees to that spot, adding that he’s also led the fight on the City Council to help protect the adjacent Winkler Botanical Preserve.
“Like everyone in my city and around the region, I’m opposed to this location for BRAC,” said Krupicka.
“My campaign’s about new ideas,” he added. “I’m going to keep talking about how to move the [state] forward, and if my opponents want to talk about the past, that’s up to them.”
Garvey and Krupicka are running to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Patsy Ticer, D-Alexandria. State Del. Adam Ebbin has also thrown his hat into the race.
