By Tara Bahrampour
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 15, 2007; C06

One candidate points to his years of experience in elected office and long residency in Alexandria. The other emphasizes his ideas for the future and his hopes for the city his children will inherit.

It's a battle of old vs. new as Alexandrians go to the polls Tuesday in a special City Council election to replace former vice mayor Andrew H. Macdonald, who resigned in May.

Republican William C. "Bill" Cleveland, 58, served on the council from 1988 to 2003 and was vice mayor for six of those years. He has lived in Alexandria for 32 years, is a substitute middle-school teacher and was a U.S. Capitol Police officer for 30 years. He pledges to be an independent voice on the council.

Democrat Justin Wilson, 28, who moved to Alexandria in 2001, is chairman of the Alexandria Transit board of directors, a member of the city's budget advisory committee, a past president of the Del Ray Citizens Association and a gubernatorial appointee to the state's Board of Juvenile Justice. An information-technology systems engineer for Amtrak, he calls for doubling the city's fleet of DASH buses and taking other steps to encourage mass-transit use.

"We need to rethink how we do development and redevelopment," Wilson said in an interview. "We have four Metro stations in the city, and we utilize mass transit probably less than any jurisdiction in the region. We need development near Metro stations, not away from them."

Cleveland declined to be interviewed but provided an e-mail statement through his campaign. "The most important issue in this race is bringing fiscal sanity back to the Alexandria City Council," he said. "We need to hold the line on tax increases so that the middle class has a chance to thrive. I also believe strongly that we need to advocate for our youth and provide them with positive role models through mentoring programs."

All five council members and the mayor are Democrats, reflecting the city's partisan tilt. But the timing of the election, when people are thinking more about vacations than politics, means the outcome could depend on which candidate is better at mobilizing voters.

In recent weeks, the candidates have rung doorbells, made phone calls and gone head to head before audiences. About 50 residents gathered at George Mason Elementary School last week to hear them discuss issues including schools, open space and affordability.

The candidates refrained from criticizing each other in the low-key forum, agreeing on such things as the need for more playing fields in the increasingly dense city and expressing solidarity with residents of Old Town opposed to the nearby Mirant power plant.

Cleveland, known informally in some quarters as "Dr. No" because as a council member he often voted against proposals to increase spending, challenged that characterization during the forum.

"I took a lot of votes, and I don't think all of them were no," he said. "The Del Ray Farmers Market -- that was a yes. But when it comes down to priorities, some things I'm going to say yes on and some things I'm going to say no on."

Critics have said Wilson is too close to the mayor and council. But Wilson said at the forum that that he sees many viewpoints on the council. "This is not a council that is in lock step with each other, and, as a member of the council, I think I'd bring a different voice."

Some Republicans have pointed to Wilson's youth in an effort to highlight Cleveland's experience. "It's funny, because a few people have tried to make that an issue," Wilson said. He added that "not a single voter or person on the phone has ever mentioned age as a concern." The people he has talked to, he said, want to know what he would do about transportation, the environment or other issues.

A native of Springfield and a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, Wilson has a 2-year-old son and is expecting a daughter this fall. He often invoked children while talking about campaign issues.

"My hope is a city where my son and daughter are going to be able to buy their first home," he said at the forum. "Our patterns of development are not ones that create a lot of opportunities for affordable housing."

Wilson has the backing of the city's Democratic establishment, including Mayor William D. Euille.

Cleveland's campaign manager played down endorsements. "You need an independent voice on the Alexandria City Council," Cleveland said during the forum. "I'm beholden to no one but you."

Robert Troutman, an Alexandria resident, said after the forum that he would vote for the Democrat. "One is riding on experience, and the other guy has really studied the process," he said of the candidates. "I think Alexandria really has a future with someone like Wilson."

Robert Miller, another resident, said he was impressed by Wilson but will stick with Cleveland "because of his experience, and providing some diversity on the council."