Alexandria remained a Democratic stronghold in 2006, re-electing Mayor William Euille and helping to propel Jim Webb to victory in the U.S. Senate race.
Euille was elected in a landslide in May. Democrat Rep. Jim Moran was also re-elected easily in November, and Webb got 31,639 votes compared to incumbent Sen. George Allen’s 12,659 during the fall election.
Among the issues the city’s politicians faced this year was affordable housing. Euille continued to press for more lower-cost units and the council approved a $6 million loan to the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority to continue its Affordable Homeownership Preservation Grant Program and tax relief programs.
At the end of the year, the city found itself at odds with some residents who opposed a plan to open a homeless shelter for the mentally ill near Old Town. Resident Craig Miller has filed suit against the city in an attempt to prevent the facility from opening.
“The city knew there would be a lot of citizen opposition” to the complex, said Miller’s attorney David Hudgins. “They worked with planning and zoning in such a way to avoid a special use permit and a public zoning process.”
Alexandria also played an important role in national politics. It hosted a rally that turned into a coming-out party for Jim Webb in the fall, with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and other prominent Democrats in attendance. The night before the election, the city hosted a rally for Webb featuring former President Bill Clinton.
The city was also the site of Republican Sen. George Allen’s concession to Webb two days after the Nov. 7 election.
In the speech, Allen pledged to “fight another day,” prompting rumors of a gubernatorial run in 2009.
