By Annie Gowen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 22, 2005; VA03
Three Democrats announced in recent days that they will seek City Council seats in the May election, and the Alexandria Democratic Committee said it will hold its party caucus Feb. 4.
Because all of the incumbents on the all-Democrat council -- Mayor William D. Euille, Vice Mayor Redella S. "Del" Pepper and members Ludwig P. Gaines, Joyce Woodson, Andrew H. Macdonald, Paul Smedberg and Rob Krupicka -- are seeking reelection, and because challengers Timothy B. Lovain, Lillian J. White and H. Scott Johnson are running, a party caucus will be needed to choose the slate of six candidates who will run in the May 2 general election, according to Susan B. Kellom, the city's Democratic Party chairman. The filing deadline for the party is Jan. 3.
"It's a sign of a vibrant democracy and a vibrant Democratic committee in Alexandria," Kellom said.
The caucus -- sometimes called a "firehouse primary" -- is a day-long event held at the Nannie J. Lee Memorial Recreation Center in Old Town. Participants must sign a pledge saying they will support only Democratic candidates before they are allowed to vote, Kellom said.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party has three contenders for the council race after Bernard "Bernie" Schulz, a university administrator and former head of the local Young Republicans, announced that he intends to run. He joins restaurateur Pat Troy and lobbyist and former mayoral candidate Townsend A. Van Fleet, who declared their candidacies in the fall.
The GOP will be working out the details of its selection process at the Republican City Committee meeting Jan. 5, chairman Chris Marston said.
Schulz said he will campaign "to advance the quality of life" in Alexandria and said his top priorities are affordable housing and transportation -- including mitigating the impact of continued Wilson Bridge construction and the traffic headaches expected when work begins this winter on a realignment of Route 1 at the Monroe Avenue Bridge.
Lovain, a transportation lobbyist, is a longtime civic activist who is the head of the citizens group that advises the City Council on budget and fiscal affairs. He has close ties with Euille, having served as Euille's campaign manager and chairman.
Lovain's emergence as a candidate has led to speculation that the mayor might have thought that some of his council colleagues could be vulnerable to a credible challenge and urged one of his closest supporters to run.
"It was my initiative," Lovain said. "I did run it by him, and he didn't object. I would hesitate to characterize his attitude towards it more than that."
Euille said that he has said nothing about any of his colleagues "being vulnerable or not."
"I enjoy working with the council. We're working very well as a team," Euille said. "That's how I see it. There are opportunities every three years for others who decide they want to step forward and run."
White, an event manager who lives in Del Ray, also recently declared her candidacy.
She is a longtime civic activist who recently served on the committee to select the site for the city's new public safety building. In recent weeks, she also was active in efforts to block the demolition of historic buildings on upper King Street to make way for a 65-unit condo and retail complex.
She believes preserving Alexandria's history is an important economic priority. "I think preservation is the pump that keeps our economy going. . . . That's what makes us unique," she said.
Johnson, a lawyer, is a relative newcomer to city politics. He lives in the city's West End.
He said that as a young black professional he brings a "fresh voice" and "a fresh set of eyes" to issues facing the city, such as affordable housing. He is on the board of the Friends of Carlyle House and is a member of the regional council of Alexandria's United Way.
