ALEXANDRIA, Va. — History was made Tuesday night in Alexandria, as Alyia Gaskins was elected the first Black woman to become the city of Alexandria's next mayor.
"It was pure screams, and excitement and some tears because it finally sank in," Gaskins told WUSA9 Thursday night.
The Democrat ran unopposed in Tuesday night's election, but ran against two other candidates in the June primary.
"It's one thing to win the primary, but you never know, I never wanna be somebody who takes something for granted and so when it finally set in and we finally saw those numbers tallied, all I could do was scream for joy," she explained.
The mom of two told WUSA9 her son wasn't as excited, initially.
"The day after I won, my son woke up and he goes, 'Mom, I'm sad' and I was like, 'What are you sad about?' He's like, 'I think they only voted for you but not for me'. And I was like, 'Well, a vote for me is a vote for you too and I was like, you can be the mayor's helper.' So now he's excited," she said.
Gaskins was elected to the Alexandria City Council in 2021 and is currently the Senior Program Officer at the Melville Charitable Trust.
"I feel that I'm bringing both the experience professionally with my background in public health and urban planning, but also the record of results that I was able to achieve on the council," she explained.
She told WUSA9 she had a mission when she became a member of the Alexandria City Council.
"I went to the council with a mission to get things done and that's what I did. I spent the last three years learning what the process is, understanding how government works, meeting with our residents to better understand their needs. It's why I was able to expand our dedicated funding for affordable housing, create new programs for safety and resilience, to accelerate investments in our infrastructure. It's also given me the opportunity to build some great relationships across our community. So, I think when you put all those together, I'm really excited to bring that into the mayor's office as well," said Gaskins.
Gaskins shared that she plans to get right to work addressing some of the concerns neighbors have shared with her.
"When I launched my campaign last December, I went around and I met with many residents in our community. I met with my neighbors, I met with seniors, I met with young folks just saying, you know, what do you love about our city?" she said.
She told WUSA9 she also asked people what makes it hard.
"The three things that came up over and over were safety. People feeling concerns about, you know, where they work, how safe they are when they move or bike or travel throughout our community. But also the uptick we're seeing in crime. The other was housing affordability. People wondering what it's going to take for us to be able to stay in age in this community. And then the last part was really accessibility. People feeling that no matter what the issue is, they want a government that responds to them and they want to know that they played a role in shaping the decisions that we're facing," she said.
She said there's a lot of work ahead.
"Trying to figure out how we tackle those three things and then how we use those lessons to address other issues from flooding to schools to child care. That's really gonna be the work," said Gaskins.
She told WUSA9 the impact she'll have in this role is not lost on her.
"There isn't just one word to sum up this moment or to sum up the magnitude of what this feels like for me, for my family, but also the hope and joy and the opportunity I feel like I have to help shape the next future for our city.
She said she hopes it's inspiring for youth.
"I hope that they see a leader who looks like them. I hope that they see that if they one day wanna run for office, that they'll take the risk and go ahead and do it. There's no perfect path to get you here. There's no perfect thing that you're supposed to study. Each of us has a story. Each of us has experiences to bring and cities work best when we can all have a seat at the table and bring those opinions to making our city better. So, I hope they won't shy away from doing that and they'll say if she did it, I can do it too," said Gaskins.
She told WUSA9 the reactions she's been getting have been heartwarming.
"I think what was surprising on election day was the number of people who ran up to me and hugged me or like that's my mayor. I had a woman run up to me and she's like my dad and I want to take a picture with you and then she started crying. So, seeing other people's excitement and joy and expectation for this moment, that was surprising for me," she said.
She'll take over the position from current Mayor Justin Wilson, who announced late last year that he would not seek a third term. Gaskins told WUSA9 she plans to continue the open line of communication he shared with the community.
"I often joke with Justin that when somebody writes back, it's usually thank you, Mayor Wilson and this gas, what I want people to know that is my communication style is different," she said.
She said she plans to continue to get creative with how she engages with the community.
"I do a newsletter but I also do a monthly video. I do round tables in the communities where we sit and we talk and we break bread and we get to know each other as we discuss our issues. I do a lot of community walks with people, meeting them in their homes, meeting them at the playground and meeting moms that my kids dance classes or swim classes trying to meet people where they are. I know even when I was on council randomly, I'd just go sometimes and sit at the bus stop and talk to people about what makes it a good day, makes it a hard day in our city. So I hope to continue that legacy," said Gaskins.
To those of you she hasn't met yet, she said she'd love to hear from you.
"If I haven't met you, if we haven't had a conversation, I hope that you'll reach out. I hope that you'll share not just your concerns with me but your ideas for how we move forward," said Gaskins.
Gaskins will be sworn in on Jan. 2, 2025.