Alexandria, Va. – Late Tuesday night, Councilman Canek Aguirre delivered remarks ahead of the Alexandria City Council's unanimous vote on staff's proposed zoning changes. Aguirre highlighted his personal housing story and expressed his frustration at the spread of misinformation leading up to the vote. Click here or below to watch video of Councilman Aguirre’s remarks
During the “Zoning for Housing” public hearings on November 14 and November 18, Councilman Aguirre asked speakers the best way for the City to communicate with them in order to improve public engagement efforts. Since taking office in 2019, Councilman Aguirre has led the fight to change how the City communicates and engages with all residents and businesses.
Aguirre has made multilingual, multimedia communications and engagement a City priority, including strengthening partnerships with community organizations and hosting pop-ups to meet people where they are. Councilman Aguirre has successfully advocated for increasing staff at the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP) and in the City of Alexandria's Office of Communications & Public Information, recently renamed Office of Communications & Community Engagement.
In September, Councilman Aguirre sent his colleagues a memo to direct staff to create an "Engage Alexandria" webpage that will serve as a one-stop shop for residents and business owners to provide feedback on City projects. Aguirre's proposal was approved during oral reports at the October 10th City Council Legislative Meeting.
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