Allison Silberberg Takes Oath, Becomes Mayor of Alexandria

PHOTO: Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg, official portrait; see photos from the ceremony, posted to social media, below.

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ALEXANDRIA, VA -- It’s official — for the first time in a dozen years, the City of Alexandria has a new mayor.

Mayor Allison Silberberg took the oath of office Monday night along with six members of the Alexandria City Council, in a packed auditorium at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria. Silberberg won election to the office in November, besting four-term Mayor Bill Euille, who ran as a write-in candidate after losing in the June primary in a three-way race.

Silberberg supporters have included Congressman Don Beyer, the Honorable Patsy Ticer, state Sen. Richard Saslaw, state Sen. Adam Ebbin, former Councilwoman Joyce Woodson, former School Board Member Eileen Cassidy Rivera and Alexandrians for a Livable City.

Silberberg, a Parkfairfax resident (and Alexandria resident since 1989), vowed to protect the City, “a national treasure,” and said she hopes to create an ethics advisory commission to advise city leaders. Public safety, adding to the City’s tree canopy and expanding library hours are also a top concern, she said in remarks Monday night.

In addition to Silberberg, members of the Alexandria City Council were also sworn into office: new Councilman Willie F. Bailey Sr, Councilman John Chapman, Councilman Timothy Lovain, Councilwoman “Del” Pepper, Councilman Paul Smedberg and Councilman Justin Wilson. Wilson was elected vice mayor. All were re-elected to office, with Bailey the “new kid on the block.” Bailey, a resident of the City for nearly 50 years, has been an active firefighter for 24 years, and currently serves as the Battalion Chief of Community Outreach & Public Affairs for the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.

Council members serve three-year terms.

Students from John Adams Elementary and T.C. Williams sang at the ceremony.

Euille, a native son who grew up in ”The Berg” neighborhood in the City and attended T.C. Williams, became the first black mayor in the history of Alexandria and served four terms. He has been active in civic life since returning to the City after graduating from college. He said Monday that in addition to tending to his consulting business, he’s exploring offers in both the private sector and non-profits, plans to do some traveling, write books and may go on the speaking circuit as well. He said he plans to stay active in civic life as a citizen.

Mayor Silberberg, 52, works as a writer and communications consultant. Her writing focuses extensively on the role of the individual in effecting social change. She is the author of Visionaries In Our Midst: Ordinary People who are Changing our World, a book that profiles individuals who are making a difference in the country. Silberberg is also the author of And Life Will Be a Beautiful Dream: A Book about Peggy and Alvin Brown, a commissioned memoir about the meaningful life of a philanthropic family. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, and on PBS.org. In 1989, she wrote an episode for the TV series “Mama’s Family,” a spin-off of “The Carol Burnett Show.”

In 2014, the Society for Women’s Health Research, whose mission is to ensure that women are included in clinical trials, medical research, and drug testing, commissioned Silberberg to co-author a book; it will be published in early 2016.

Silberberg has more than 20 years of experience in community leadership and public service, including: interning for Senator Edward M. Kennedy; working as Chief Editor and Chief Research Assistant for then Texas Sen. Lloyd M. Bentsen; starting and leading a nonprofit called Lights, Camera, Action! (LCA!), which used film to mentor youth in Anacostia; grantmaking to local nonprofits; and serving on the World Bank’s Community Outreach Grants Committee. For nearly a decade, she hosted monthly charitable events, which gave all proceeds to local nonprofits focused on children at risk and families in distress.

From 2004 to 2012, Silberberg was appointed to Alexandria’s Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC), which serves as an advocate for the city’s most vulnerable. From 2010 to 2012, she served as chair, focusing the EOC on job creation and affordable housing as well as initiating the EOC’s annual public service day, “All Hands on Deck.”

Silberberg’s accolades include New Hope Housing’s 2012 Leadership/Servanthood award for her role in leading the EOC’s “All Hands on Deck” project, which renovated the Alexandria Community Shelter. Poppy, a short film she directed and produced with Anacostia teens for LCA!, won a CINE Golden Eagle and an award from the American Association of University Women. Seven of the eight LCA! participants went to college.

In 2014, she served as the Secretary/Treasurer, a corporate officer, for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Currently, she serves as an honorary board member of the National Chamber Ensemble and as the honorary chair of ALIVE!’s Development Advisory Board. She served as the president of the board of the Georgetown Senior Center, 2010 - 2012.

Originally from Dallas, Texas, Silberberg has a B.A. in international relations and history from American University and an M.F.A. in playwriting from the School of Theater, Film and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles. An Alexandria resident since 1989, Allison has lived in Parkfairfax since 1992.

See photos from Monday night’s ceremony here, posted to social media (grab the blue bar at right to scroll up and down):