By Annie Gowen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 3, 2006; B05

Voters in Alexandria yesterday chose to keep their City Council in the hands of Democrats while selecting a new school board, including newcomers who were critical of Superintendent Rebecca L. Perry during the spring campaign.

Several of the new board members elected yesterday had criticized the current board's decision to renew Perry's contract after she was arrested in 2004 on drunken driving charges, and some called for a search for a new superintendent to begin immediately. Former City Council member Claire M. Eberwein, Yvonne A. Folkerts and Arthur E. Peabody Jr. will join Sheryl K. Gorsuch, Scott A. Newsham, Eileen Cassidy Rivera, Ronnie M. Campbell, Blanche D. Maness and incumbent Charles H. Wilson on the new board.

Among others going to the polls in Northern Virginia were voters in Falls Church, Fairfax City, Manassas and Manassas Park.

In Manassas, where candidates' campaigns focused heavily on increased taxes and crowded housing, newcomer Andrew L. Harrover, 39, was the top vote-getter for three open seats on the City Council.

In Fairfax City, incumbents faced five competitors in a race where prevailing issues were encroaching development and city spending on open space and other projects. But incumbents -- R. Scott Silverthorne, Gary J. Rasmussen, Jeffrey C. Greenfield, Joan W. Cross, Gail C. Lyon and Patrice M. Winter -- prevailed. The school board will have two new members, Amy M. Craig and Jon A. Buttram.

Falls Church had no challengers for those who ran for council.

In the Alexandria council race, where Republican challengers had hoped to capitalize on anti-tax sentiment, voters in the city of 129,000 reelected an all-Democratic board, including newcomer Timothy B. Lovain, a transportation lobbyist who had served on the city's budget affairs advisory committee.

"I was very pleased with my strong showing," Lovain said. "I think in general there is a high level of satisfaction of quality of life here in the city. There was no reason to throw the Democrats out by any means. It wasn't even close."

Lovain will join sitting council members Vice Mayor Redella S. "Del" Pepper, Ludwig P. Gaines, Rob Krupicka and Paul Smedberg. Top vote-getter Andrew H. Macdonald will be vice mayor. Mayor William D. Euille (D) ran unopposed.

Voters across the region cited rapid growth, rising real estate values and immigration as top issues. In Manassas, all candidates listed crowded housing as a crucial issue.

Voters in Alexandria said rising property taxes and the lingering controversy over Perry's arrest were among their main concerns.

"I don't think the issue of Superintendent Perry is finished. It lingers," said Carol Dodd, 65, a small-business owner, voting yesterday at the Nannie J. Lee Recreation Center. "I was not happy with the previous board's decision to keep her. . . . I think they should not have renewed her contract. It sets the wrong example."

In deciding on City Council candidates, voters said, issues they considered were the city's rising real estate assessments and concerns about managing traffic and development -- particularly in the Potomac Yard and Route 1 areas. City tax bills have more than doubled since 2000; the average taxpayer now pays about $4,294 yearly.

Harriet Moore, 72, a retired cafeteria worker, said she and her husband have struggled to hang on to their brick townhouse in Old Town as its value has doubled in the past five years.

"It costs a lot for us to live here in Alexandria," Moore said. "We really have to budget, and we are on a fixed income. I want to stay here. We worked too hard to get these houses. The only time I think about moving is when God takes me home."

A colorful cast of Republican candidates, including Irish restaurateur Pat Troy and local lobbyist Townsend A. Van Fleet, tried to make rising tax bills a central focus of the council campaign. Some even asked candidates to pledge to hold city spending to 3 percent. But the all-Democrat City Council stole a bit of that thunder by adopting a budget last week that held spending increases to 4.82 percent and cut the real estate tax rate by 10 cents.

A close associate of Euille's, Lovain was the lone new Democrat in the race and also ran a campaign promoting fiscal responsibility.

"Keeping budget growth within reason was one thing I like about [the] current council," said George Bartman, a retired engineering manager. "We've lived here eight years and are very happy with the way the town runs."

Staff writer Nikita Stewart contributed to this report.