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Alexandria voters faced few competitive local choices in Virginia’s Nov. 4, 2025, general election, with all three House of Delegates incumbents and both citywide law-enforcement candidates running unopposed.
The ballot still carried major statewide consequences. Contested races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general offered voters a say in Virginia’s direction on reproductive rights, taxes, living costs, education and school funding.
Democrats sought control of the governorship and House of Delegates to complete a governing trifecta alongside their existing state Senate majority. Republicans aimed to prevent that consolidation of power. Vote totals in uncontested races could also provide a measure of support for or opposition to policies in Washington.
Alexandria’s unopposed House candidates were:
- District 3: Del. Alfonso H. Lopez, a Democrat
- District 4: Del. Charniele L. Herring, a Democrat
- District 5: Del. Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, a Democrat
Herring did not respond to a candidate questionnaire. Bennett-Parker and Lopez provided details about their experience and priorities.
Bennett-Parker targets housing costs and education funding
Bennett-Parker, seeking a third House term, is a legislator, small-business owner and Alexandria native. She previously served as Alexandria’s vice mayor and chaired the Virginia Railway Express Operations Board.
She also co-led Together We Bake, a nonprofit employment and personal-development program for underserved women, and founded Fruitcycle, a social enterprise addressing food waste and food insecurity. A Cornell University graduate and former Fulbright fellow, she earned a master’s degree from the University of London and is the mother of a 2-year-old.
In the House, Bennett-Parker holds leadership positions on the Finance Committee and the Counties, Cities and Towns Committee. She also serves on the General Laws Committee.
Her stated priorities include economic equity, education, paid leave, gun-safety measures, climate action and protections for reproductive freedom, marriage equality and restored voting rights.
Bennett-Parker identified rising living costs and the effects of federal layoffs, funding reductions and the government shutdown as leading pressures on Alexandria residents. Her housing proposals included giving local governments more authority to preserve affordable homes and requiring large landlords to offer payment plans before evicting tenants who are no more than one month behind on rent. She co-patroned both measures, but they were vetoed.
On data centers, Bennett-Parker said their economic benefits should not come at the expense of residents or the environment. She co-patroned legislation directing the State Corporation Commission to ensure data centers pay reasonable energy costs. She also supported assessments of potential noise near homes and schools and measures allowing localities to request information about effects on water, agriculture, parks and electrical infrastructure.
Bennett-Parker backed the creation of the Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding. She said the 2025 budget fully funded the outdated support cap but argued that Virginia must do more, including adding support services to its biennial funding recalculations. She also called for changes to the Local Composite Index to reflect Alexandria’s large shares of English-language learners and students receiving free or reduced-price meals.
She said Virginia’s 2020 casino law generated jobs after voters approved casinos in four cities. However, she was concerned that a 2025 casino proposal lacked support from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She pointed to artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum computing, semiconductors and space as alternative areas for regional investment, while also suggesting a fair-share tax on high earners.
Lopez focuses on affordability and federal funding risks
Lopez, a seven-term delegate, works as a federal advocate in public and government relations. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and a law degree from Tulane University, and he completed the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership’s Political Leaders Program at the University of Virginia.
An Arlington resident, Lopez was the first Latino Democrat elected to the Virginia General Assembly. He founded the Virginia Latino Caucus and the Virginia Environment and Renewable Energy Caucus.
Lopez previously served as an Obama administration political appointee and held a cabinet-level appointment under then-Gov. Tim Kaine. In the House, he is a senior member of the Labor and Commerce and Public Safety committees and chairs the Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee. He has served as patron, co-patron or chief co-patron of more than 150 measures enacted into law.
His priorities include reducing living costs, strengthening K-12 education, supporting small businesses, protecting immigrants and other new Americans, defending democracy and expanding renewable energy.
Lopez said housing affordability has worsened amid the broader housing shortage and federal job cuts. He proposed removing supply-chain barriers, expanding housing choices, lowering home prices, increasing labor availability and reducing income inequality. He also wants to revise occupational licensing rules and make child care services easier to obtain.
While acknowledging the economic benefits of data centers, Lopez warned that their energy use and environmental effects could raise electricity costs for residents. He said regulators should make the facilities pay the costs they create and require investments in energy efficiency and clean power.
Lopez also called for an overhaul of Virginia’s school-funding formulas. He cited uncertainty surrounding federal pass-through money for programs including Title I, school meals, special education and Medicaid. Lower-income localities, he said, often lack enough local revenue to close funding gaps and meet differing student needs.
He said he does not oppose casinos in principle if local officials request one, voters approve it in a referendum, employees receive workplace protections and unionization rights, and sufficient funding is reserved to address problem gambling.
Alexandria’s races for commonwealth’s attorney and sheriff were also uncontested.