2024 General Election Candidate Profile: Jacinta Greene For Alexandria City Council

ALEXANDRIA, VA — As Alexandrians cast their ballots for president and Congress, the Nov. 5, 2024 general election in the City of Alexandria features local races as well. In the City Council general election, Jacinta Greene is one of nine candidates.

There are six City Council seats up for grabs. Six of the candidates won the Democratic primary election in June — incumbents John Taylor Chapman, Sarah Bagley, Kirk McPike and Canek Aguirre and School Board members Abdel Elnoubi and Jacinta Greene. Butler and Roy Byrd are running as independents, and Celianna Gunderson is running as a Republican.

The City of Alexandria will have the mayor, all six City Council seats and all nine Alexandria School Board seats up for election in November. Federal elections on the ballot include president, Sen. Tim Kaine's U.S. Senate seat, and Rep. Don Beyer's eighth congressional district seat. The next state-level elections will be in 2025.

Early voting for the general election will begin on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024 and continue through Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. More information on how to vote is available from the Alexandria Office of Voter Registration & Elections.

Patch asked candidates for mayor, Alexandria City Council and Alexandria School Board to fill out a candidate questionnaire with the same questions. Here are Jacinta Greene's responses:

Name

Jacinta Greene

Office Sought

Alexandria City Council

Campaign Website

www.jacintagreene.com

Age (As of Nov. 5 election)

52

Education

Bachelor's of Science -Virginia Commonwealth University

Occupation

Independent Business Consultant

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

My cousin, biggest supporter and greatest advisor was the late Congressman Donald McEachin, who represented the 4th Congressional District. I miss him dearly!

Previous public office positions or appointments

I have served two terms on the Alexandria School Board including 2 years as Vice Chair. I also served 10 years on the Alexandria Commission for Women, including 8 years as Vice Chair. I am a current board member and Northeastern Regional Chair for the Virginia School Board Association. 8th Congressional District Representative for the VSBA Federal Legislative Committee. Board Member for the Vola Lawson Breast Cancer Foundation, Alexandria Sheriff's Advisory Board Member

Why are you seeking this office?

My mom was a career educator and activist, who instilled in me the importance of advocating for those who have no voice but deserve a place at the table. She instilled in me to always fight for what is right and just. I was fortunate to have grown up surrounded by a family of educators, all who taught in the depths of the inner city and worked with low-income students and families. So, I am proud that a drive to help marginalized communities was instilled in me at an early age. That is why I ran for the School Board in 2018 and ran for reelection in 2021. I am proud of the work I have done to make Alexandria’s schools even better. I am running for city council to expand that work so that we can make Alexandria an even better place to live and make sure more people can share in the success of our city.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidate(s) seeking this post?

I think that the experience that I bring to the table is unique among all the candidates running: I have a track record of getting things done as an elected official in Alexandria, I have decades of success in Corporate America as well as many years working with businesses of all sizes as a business consultant and also have a long history of community service and leadership during my time in Alexandria. I do not believe any other candidate can say the same. What does this mean in practice? It means that I will be ready to hit the ground running on day one. It means that I am uniquely suited to work on diversifying Alexandria’s economy and helping to plan equitable and tactical future development. It means that I will always center the needs of the people of Alexandria in the work I do, especially those who have felt left out of the process.

What do you see as the top issues facing your city, and how do you address them in your campaign platform?

I believe that the top three issues facing our city are: affordability, especially in housing, the growing needs of our schools, and the uneven balance of our economy. If I were able to pick a fourth it would be climate resilience. When it comes to affordability, we face a serious challenge: more people are getting priced out of renting or buying a home in Alexandria. That negatively impacts our communities, our businesses, our schools, and just about every other part of our city in the long-term. That is why we need to make sure of tactical redevelopment and be strategic about not only where we build, but also what we build. More luxury housing is not going to affect our shortage of affordable apartments or make it easier for first-time buyers to purchase in Alexandria. We need to use every tool in our tool box to ensure that our house supply meets our needs in terms of the number and type of properties.

On the issues facing our schools, we must ensure that we provide a world-class education to our students, not only for their benefit but also because it makes our city more attractive for businesses and new residents to move here. It goes without saying that a significant part of the issue stems from the need for resources, especially money. I think we need to do what we can to maximize the investment that we make in our schools, whether it be finding and eliminating inefficiencies or simply prioritizing our schools over other worthy causes. We also need to use our clout to push the state government to invest more in education. Virginia is in the middle of the pack nationally, when it comes to state support per pupil. We need to do better.

Our economic challenges are a problem and they also limit our ability to invest in housing, schools, climate resilience, and the other things we care about. Our commercial tax base lags behind our peer jurisdictions and we need to fix that. We have assets we need to better tap: tourism, our proximity to Amazon HQ2 and the new Virginia Tech Innovation campus, amongst other things. The days of just building office space and calling it a day on business development are over. We need to support business incubators, provide new and existing businesses with resources to navigate the issues they face, ensure that we develop and redevelop in a way that maximizes the impact.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I would cite my entire track record on the Alexandria School Board as evidence. I helped shepherd our schools through COVID and a superintendent transition. I lead our effort to promote equity and close the achievement gap. I worked with my colleagues to oversee large budgets and large capital projects like the building of 3 schools. And, equally as important, I have constantly shown myself to be someone who attacks problems head-on and is not afraid to roll up my sleeves and do the hard work to ensure success. I think this mix of concrete experience and soft skills, combined with my experience in the private sector will give me the tools to be a City Council Member who delivers results for Alexandria and improves the lives of our residents.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I welcome anyone with questions about my positions on the issues to visit my website: JacintaGreene.com. If you are unable to find a specific answer there, you can always email me at jgreene4citycouncil@gmail.com.