Nirenberg’s Remarks the League of Women Voters Forum
Nirenberg’s Remarks the League of Women Voters Forum
October 9, 2021
Good afternoon. My name is Darryl Nirenberg.
22 years ago, Lori and I moved to Alexandria. It was Lori who pushed to live here. Her reasoning? Because Alexandria is more than a nice place to live. It is a community.
Lori had it right about community. I should have come to that conclusion myself.
You see, I grew up in a small town in Upstate New York where community was everything.
My dad was a lawyer. Among his clients was the local chapter of the NAACP.
It was not always easy growing up Jewish in a rural town with a father involved in Civil Rights. As a young boy, I got called some awful things and got into my share of scuffles.
But my father used the opportunity to instill in me and my brothers the importance of putting ourselves in the other person's shoes and trying to see the world through his or her eyes.
Since filing to run for council, I have knocked on 1143 doors, and have met thousands more residents at markets and events. All with a mind to putting myself in their shoes. To see how they view our city and its future.
I have found that people love our city – but, at the same time, they are concerned about our future, and the path our city is taking. Concerns about:
Increasing density when our schools and infrastructure can’t keep up
The loss of green space in our city
The removal of Resource Officers from our Schools without giving parents a say
The elimination of traffic lanes as the number of people and cars increase
The failure to aggressively address the storm drain crisis
I am concerned too. Which is why I think the City needs to:
Focus on Quality of Life issues — Fix our storm drains; safe schools and community, keep our traffic moving, manage our growth, and preserve our green space.
Give neighborhoods a voice by having some council seats elected by districts
Bring back checks and balances to our council — because the two party system works.
After all, potholes are not red or blue. They just need to be filled
Alexandria is a great city, and a unique one at that. There is no reason it can’t continue to be a special place.
But that will take a Council that focuses on quality of life, takes account of diverse viewpoints and brings us together, not divide us. That is the big issue before us. That is why I am running. And that is why I hope you will support me.