Mason Butler

1. Do you acknowledge the segregationist underpinning of Alexandria’s At-Large elections? Answer: _x__ Yes ___ No 

I think the facts speak for themselves and Alexandria has plenty of historians that can confirm what happened back in the 50s.

2. Do you acknowledge that the City Council is avoiding reform of its very seat of power by adhering to at-large elections that were implemented by 1950’s era segregationists? Answer: _X__ Yes ___ No 

Unequivocally.  I've heard all of the incumbents make a poor case for wards/districts because they feel the city council can't be more effective or that it would factionalize the council.  Well, in my opinion, that just means that a city council with local representation needs to work harder to get along.  Negotiate.  Compromise to make Alexandria a great place to live, work, and play!

3. Do you acknowledge that Alexandria’s At-Large elections are out of step with representative democracy in Virginia and across our Nation? Answer: _X__ Yes ___ No 

With as many people that are moving into Alexandria and the DMV as a whole, we need a local government that represents a subset of the city so that our voices can be heard.  At the end of the day, City Council can't be trusted because they:

1 - forced citizens to raise over $60k to fight an arena that would never have been considered if Council would have worked with various citizen groups to explain the strategy/plan

2 - had citizens raise over $200k to go to court to fight a zoning ordinance that doesn't benefit the city as a whole.

3 - forced citizens to raise $30k to go to court to fight a development on North Fairfax St that makes terrible sense and doesn't adhere to building standards, not to mention, brings in more density in an area that is already dense enough.

As Alexandria changes and grows, governing needs to be done at the lowest common denominator.  We can't say that the city's 311 system is our new city liaison.  We never would be talking about this issue if the current City Council would take the time to listen AND act on issues sensitive to the greater part of our community.  The City Council listens, but they let our concerns go in one ear and out the other.  

4. Do you think that it is both prudent and fiscally responsible for the Alexandria City Council to proactively restore Wards-based elections to the City of Alexandria to potentially avoid an indefensible position? Answer: ___ Yes ___ No 

My #1 reason for wards is to keep the power in the hands of citizens. This has nothing to do with Democrat or Republican politics.  I'm going to pass on answering this question based on the likelihood that it is or isn't prudent or fiscally responsible.  City Hall should always be fiscally responsible and prudent in all expenditures. We should connect each spend to some outcome that can be managed and measured to understand its effectiveness.    

I also believe that the City Council needs to get out of Old Town and start holding meetings across our city.  I'm in favor of scheduling the Saturday morning meetings at Rosemont, and Del Ray, and the West End.  Let's come to you!  Our level of citizen engagement needs to improve and we need to be the ones who commute to you.  I also believe we need to start showing Alexandrians that their views matter.  This means that once we listen, we act.  There is quite a bit of work to do.

5. As a candidate for Alexandria City Council during the 2024 City Council election cycle, do you pledge to work to restore district/ward-based elections to the Alexandria City Council? Answer: _X_ Yes ___ No

I'm in favor of looking at the ward system as a pilot.  It's not my #1 priority, but it is worthy of thought and organization.  We need to restore some confidence in City Hall and that means accountability.  In order to implement a ward system, I would look to ALL civic associations in Alexandria to be engaged to determine how many districts/wards make sense and where the lines should be drawn.  This can't be done overnight, it will take time and there are multiple stakeholders that will be responsible for helping draw each district.  Bottom line is that we need to be thoughtful, thorough, and respectful of Alexandrians.