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Ward 7 Incumbent Holds On to Tough Image, Message
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She pumped her fists as if reliving it all, though she ended up with detention and no reimbursement.
She said she has been more successful as a freshman council member, and is baffled by the criticism. It may stem, she said, from her focusing on the ward's disenfranchised areas. "I try to help those who are most in need first," she said.
Neighborhood groups, such as Hillcrest and Penn Branch, "know how to get things done, but there are some people who don't know how."
It's not just Hillcrest, some say.
The area gets wrongly perceived as being full of snobby, "upper-crust" people, Marlin, 52, said. "I'm going to make sure this notion of Hillcrest is dispelled. . . . We are caring, concerned people."
Marlin declined to speak about Alexander, but noted, "For four years, we need a committed, serious person." Another opponent, Villareal Johnson, 31, didn't hesitate. Alexander happened to walk into Denny's, the ward's one sit-down restaurant, as he criticized her visibility. No one came up immediately to greet her, he said. "Every time, you're in a space, people should know who you are."
But Alexander had no problem drawing more than 300 people to Kelly Miller Middle School for her State of the Ward address in May. That night, she ran through the numbers: $224 million for development, she had attended 400 community meetings and had answered 10,200 e-mails.
"I think you find that you cannot please everyone, and you can only do your best," Alexander said, then shrugged. "Everyone has their one issue, but I have 10,000 issues."
