Alexandria will have a new mayor for the first time in more than a decade.
Allison Silberberg declared victory Tuesday night in the Alexandria mayoral race, defeating a last-minute write-in campaign launched by incumbent Bill Euille.
Silberberg won more than 63 percent of the vote, according to unofficial Virginia Department of Elections results with 100 percent of precincts reporting. Nearly 37 percent of voters wrote in their candidate.
Silberberg won the Democratic mayoral primary earlier this summer by just more than 300 votes. Euille, who has served as mayor since 2003, blamed low voter turnout for his loss in the primary. He eventually launched a write-in campaign, as it was too late for him to enter the race as an Independent.
Euille never had been opposed prior to this summer.
There was no Republican candidate on the ballot.
Silberberg was elected to the Alexandria City Council in 2012 and has often stood alone on the council on development votes. Her candidacy tapped into simmering discontent among some residents, who believe recently approved projects don't mesh well with the historic character of the city. She also was buoyed by Republican voters permitted to cast ballots in the open primary.
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Earlier this summer, Silberberg told News4 she would take a different approach to growth if elected mayor.
"We need to pursue thoughtful, appropriate development that will be to scale and protect our neighborhoods and quality of life," she said.
