The Art of Compromise

Compromises have gotten a bad rap throughout history. And deservedly so! The Three-Fifths Compromise, The Missouri Compromise, The Compromise of 1850… just reading these phrases is enough to make you wince, either because you’re having post-traumatic flashbacks to the 2 you scored on your AP U.S. History exam or because you automatically know that any political bargain with a special name means somebody fucked up real bad. Like, “there was eventually a war about it” bad. It’s pretty obvious our country has an abysmal track record with deal-making when the best one you can come up with is the Connecticut Compromise, which created the bicameral structure of Congress. As we’re all aware, that institution is extremely functional and never has any problems whatsoever. Nailed it! 

Still, the disastrous reputation of past compromises notwithstanding, it would be a mistake to dismiss the practice entirely, especially when it comes to local policymaking. Sometimes bargains and tradeoffs can be necessary and even beneficial. It’s just important to understand, as a community, which compromises we have to make—and which we don’t.

Take the city’s ongoing discussions around capital planning. Preparing for Alexandria’s FY27 budget process, City Council held a work session last week to start prioritizing capital projects given the limited pot of funding that will be available. We’ve reached the point where we can’t realistically take on any more debt without our sterling AAA municipal bond rating being downgraded to “Bitch, I Don’t Think So,” yet we still have $307 million worth of unfunded projects on our to-do list. To be sure, these are tough decisions. The projects on the list all have value and devoted constituencies. But while we wish we could move forward with dream infrastructure investments like moving sidewalks along King Street or a citywide retractable roof (#neveragain would we have to cancel an event due to rain… this one goes out to you, Paws in the Park), and while we worry about certain friends’ mental health if the Ewald Park improvements ultimately fall off the list after all those engagement surveys, the reality is that compromises are going to be inevitable—we just can’t have everything we want.

Compromises are also a fundamental part of collective bargaining. Alexandria’s CBAs with the city’s public sector unions are up for renewal, and like a group of friends meeting for brunch at Founding Farmers, we can safely say that no one’s going to walk away from the table fully satisfied. But the upshot in these contexts is that even though no one’s demands are going to be met 100 percent and the process will be frustrating for pretty much everyone involved, the city and its residents and workers can all end up in a place that’s better than where they started. These are the types of compromises that we should embrace.

On the other hand, sometimes compromising can fatally undermine our goals. Last month the city asked for input on two options for the Braddock Road redesign: putting bike lanes on both sides of the road within the project area (removing all street parking), and only putting a bike lane on one side (retaining street parking on the other side). While we still don’t know which the city will choose, it’s obvious the latter option is being presented as the moderate, compromise position. The drivers can keep half of their parking, and the cyclists can… bike in one direction and then teleport home? Hope they get raptured so they don’t have to worry about the return trip??? Okay, sure, they could ride in mixed traffic going the other way, but a major factor animating this project is that Braddock is not safe for cyclists as-is, and many people who live along that corridor (one of this newsletter’s co-authors included) won’t be inclined to use an “amenity” that only provides safe passage in one direction. The compromise position here would result in infrastructure that’s destined to be underutilized, while at the same time generating opposition among the people losing parking spots on their side of the street. What’s the point?

Longtime readers know that this was essentially our critique of Zoning for Housing: in trying to compromise with opponents of increased housing density, the planning department offered up a policy change that was too incremental to spur a meaningful amount of development in former single-family zones. (For those playing along at home, the city’s website indicates that things haven’t improved much since we wrote that essay last year.) Did this soft-pedaling appease the Coalition for a Livable* Alexandria (*offer valid only if your front yard is large enough to hold more than one Home Depot 12-foot skeleton)? Haha, of course not. Are they only able to continue pursuing their frivolous litigation against the city by sweatily soliciting donations via ads in the Alexandria Times? Yes, which isn’t relevant to this essay but is pretty funny!

The point is, sometimes a compromise outcome can be a net negative, or at least not worth the effort that went into it. As a community, we need to be better at recognizing when this is the case before we get too far down the road of bending over backward to accommodate opponents of progress. If we’re going to do a thing, let’s do the thing—especially where political will, not financial resources, is our primary constraint.

And it goes without saying that compromise should never be on the table when we’re talking about actions that implicate our core values. The city has held firm so far against pressure from the Trump administration to weaken our stances on issues like protections for trans schoolkids. This is good! We don’t need to cooperate with the people texting “I love Hitler” in the group chat. But the temptation to find common ground, even with opponents, can be really strong for people in positions of authority. We’ve been conditioned to believe that meeting those we disagree with in the middle is a worthy goal in and of itself, a mindset that can be really harmful. One of the most destructive sentiments in modern politics is “if people on both sides are mad, that means we did the right thing.” No it doesn’t! That isn’t true!!

The historian Adam Smith (not the invisible hand guy, some other guy) once wrote that a good political compromise enables both parties to go about their business with some element of their vital interest satisfied, while a bad one surrenders the public interest to compulsion or force. As we watch our leaders navigate the necessary compromises, we should strive to maintain a balance between grace and accountability—holding them responsible for making good decisions on our behalf, while also recognizing that they’re doing their best within a difficult situation. But where compromise means unnecessarily watering down policies that would benefit our community, that’s where we need to draw the line and favor courage over consensus.

Things You May Have Missed Because You Have a Life 

• The Alexandria Democratic Committee passed a resolution seeking stronger enforcement of those Temu slot machines infesting local convenience stores (aka “skill games”) because while we can’t do anything about ads for gambling ruining pretty much all live sports broadcasts these days, we can at least try and stop gambling from ruining our Slurpee-buying experience.
• As we alluded to in the opening essay, Alexandria recently maintained its top bond ratings of AAA and aaa from S&P Global and Moody’s. Both agencies noted our sound budget practices and strong culture of making policy to address areas of local need, and noted that our credit is “above the sovereign.” First of all, don’t let the president see that bit about the sovereign, he’s already got more than enough ideas in that regard. But secondly, we already know we’re above the sovereign—that’s what our whole deal with the special birthday fireworks is all about.
• Our favorite annual local tradition, Art on the Avenue, celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this month. Visitors enjoyed the beautiful weather and the opportunity to purchase soaps, ceramics, earrings, maps, more ceramics, sassy science stickers, other earrings, different maps, additional soaps, and sculptures made out of forks.
• ALXnow recently profiled a “bespoke shoemaker” in Old Town whose $9,000 loafers have a months-long waiting list, which might be the most “tell us a bunch of Republicans recently moved to the area without telling us a bunch of Republicans recently moved to the area” article we’ve ever seen (at least until the Zebra runs its forthcoming exposé on divorced Cybertruck owners).

Local Discourse Power Rankings

1. ARHAot Water (Previous rank: 2). To quote famed southern California newsman Ron Burgundy… boy, that escalated quickly! When we last wrote about this, the CEO of ARHA had been dismissed and we thought that might bring a close to both this unfortunate saga and our use of this appallingly lame incredibly clever pun section heading. However the story exploded back into view this week with the resignation of the entire ARHA board, following such a request from City Council. Council moved quickly to appoint new board members tasked with a turnaround effort, including former city manager Mark Jinks and former Planning Commission chair Nate Macek. While this all sounds fairly straightforward, eight of the nine resigning ARHA board members did so with the representation of a lawyer that furnished Council with a letter demanding the evidence that drove them to call for the members to step down, and Council in turn presenting the departing board members with a substantive list of questions about their past governance procedures for which they would like answers. Even for a housing authority, that's a lot of [puts on sunglasses] drama per square foot.
2. FederALEXpiration of Appropriated Funds (Last week: 1). Well, we’re 17 days into the government shutdown and our collective mental state is now somewhere between “2007 Britney” and “2020 Zoom kindergarten teacher.” Half the city’s been RIFed and then un-RIFed, told there would be no backpay and then promised that actually there will be backpay, but only for good little girls and boys who promise not to laugh at the picture of Trump’s neckgina on the cover of TIME magazine. It’s all very exhausting. Meanwhile, furloughed Alexandrians are just trying to stay busy and not think about what this means for the future or whether they’re unknowingly soft launching their early retirement. Fibre Space is offering free knitting classes to affected federal workers or, if you’re looking to do something beyond crocheting your rage into a scarf, there are not one but two No Kings events happening in ALX tomorrow where you can peacefully and creatively register your displeasure. Hang in there, friends!
3. Eponyms (Last week: NR). ACPS is asking people to weigh in on proposals to name four campus spaces after individuals who have made significant contributions to the community, and first of all let us just say… this is great. We love this. The four people being proposed for this distinction are all clearly worthy of the honor, and it’s really nice to see the city and its schools use this as an opportunity to talk about their accomplishments and good deeds. That being said… while we’re naming things, maybe we could keep the ball rolling? Because we have some ideas, maybe it would be cool if we threw them out there? For example, we could hold a contest among the city’s hair salons to earn the title of Don Beyer Memorial Barbershop. We also think that Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley Bikeshare Dock has a nice ring to it. (Which bikeshare dock? ALL OF THEM.) And well… since you’re asking… we guess we wouldn’t object to having a namesake of our own. It doesn’t have to be anything important, just a lowly pickleball court, or perhaps even a sewer pipe. The ALXtra Tetanus Tunnel, is that anything? Who do we have to donate to around here to make this a reality?
4. Bright Lights, Small City (Last week: NR). Right on the heels of us covering this in our last issue, Alexandria has charted on yet another top destinations list, this time landing third on the Conde Nast Traveler list of Best Small Cities behind Santa Fe, New Mexico and, yet again… Charleston @%^$#ing South Carolina. Santa Fe makes sense—we assume most Americans are taking turns traveling there to yell at George R. R. Martin to write faster. But Charleston? One of their top attractions is a Mario Kart-ass sounding “Rainbow Row” of painted houses. Are America’s travel writers *that* enamored with rainbow painted houses?? We’ve got colorful houses in Alexandria! We even have really tiny and narrow colorful houses!! We swear to god Conde Nast, do NOT make us paint Gadsby’s Tavern bright pink. We’ll fucking do it if we have to, you have our word on that.

Alexandria’s Hottest Club Is… Touching Grass

As we sit here working on this issue, the crisp fall air is a constant distraction, beckoning us outside to fully enjoy one of those vanishingly short times of year when the weather around here is about as perfect as you could ask for it to be. It stands to reason, then, that the best place to be in Alexandria right now is in the great outdoors, even if (especially if?) those great outdoors aren’t technically in Alexandria. To put it more bluntly, it’s farm fall festival time bitches! Whether your go-to is the kid-friendly Cox Farms and/or Butler’s Orchard, or the historically appropriate Mount Vernon Harvest Festival, or the former-mayor-Wilson-approved Temple Hall Farm Festival run by NOVA Parks, they’re all great and each will get your eyes and your fingers off these little misery screens that are ruining our lives.

And it’s not just pumpkin guns and hayrides waiting for you out there! There are apples just begging to be picked, because who amongst us can resist the seasonal allure of risking a slipped disk reaching for that one last apple seven feet off the ground because the rest of the trees were already picked clean two weekends ago by the people that are much better planners and more on top of their life than you are. There’s nothing quite like it! And why get a convenient and perfectly proportioned pumpkin at Pumpkins Quaker and Seminary (still the best yard sign in Alexandria) when you can traipse around until your kid finds a 20 pound monster that looks like Chunk from The Goonies in side profile and you realize this vegetable snipe hunt has led you six fields away from the checkout kiosk and you have to ruck this gourd grotesquery all the way back there like you’re in a Spartan race [Editor’s note: wasn’t this section was supposed to be… pro outdoors?].

And another thing! [Editor’s note: ah shit] Why aren’t all the mosquitos dead yet! Did one of you traitorous jerks start buying them winter coats or something, because the whole deal with fall is that it gets cold and the bloody mosquitos finally die, but if that’s the case why are we still getting bit! It’s bad enough that we can’t hike and camp in our national parks right now because the federal government shutdown means the trash isn’t getting collected and the cabins aren’t being maintained and raccoon juntas are in charge now instead of park rangers, but on top of that, the mosquitos are still around!

Despite all that [Editor’s note: oh thank god] there’s still nowhere we’d rather be right now than outdoors. Whether it’s a soccer field or a hiking trail, a street festival or a flea market, a farm brewery picnic table or an adirondack chair on the porch of a winery—being outside and doing real things with other people has never felt more important. It seems like a small thing, stepping away from the constant stream of news and the unceasing scroll of criminality and democratic collapse, but it has a big effect. It reminds us of the joy and wonder that is all around us if we just reach out for it, and the renewal that comes from seeking a wider perspective. And if you can’t entirely step away from the pressure and responsibilities of our current moment, don’t worry, the No Kings protests this weekend are, in fact, outside. Just watch out for the raccoons.

Overheard in ALX

A recent WUSA9 headline: 

Alexandria, Virginia grand jury indicts NY attorney general Letitia James

And from a recent POLITICO story:

Comey is facing two felony charges stemming from his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020… . The charges, approved by an Alexandria grand jury, were brought by Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s former personal attorney.

Now just hold on for one goddamn minute. “An Alexandria grand jury”?? Do not put this on us! We are not the villains here!! You think we wanted to participate in these clown-show kangaroo-court mockeries of the criminal justice system? We’re just over here trying to mind our own business, fulfilling our civic duties, and suddenly we’re singlehandedly responsible for the fall of the republic?? As a notable redwood tree enthusiast once wrote, we would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that we have never asked to be a part of, since 2016. Please keep our name out of your mouths moving forward, thank you very much.

One Awesome Thing in ALX

Tomorrow (that’s Saturday, October 18, for the delinquent subscribers who don’t read this newsletter the second it lands in your inboxes), City Council is presenting a proclamation in honor of National Friends of Libraries Week. This annual recognition is a chance to recognize and appreciate the volunteer groups across the country that work to support their local libraries, and here in Alexandria there is a Friends group for each of our library branches. And while our libraries are public institutions supported by local tax dollars, the Friends groups play a significant role in organizing both the additional fundraising and volunteers that allow for much of the programming and community support that we associate with our libraries.

One of the most visible activities the Friends groups organize is the library used book sales, and seeing as both of us are huge book hounds we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you that the Friends of Beatley book sale is happening right now, like literally right now, why are you still reading this put down your phone and go buy some books at Beatley!! Friends of Duncan Library’s book sale wrapped up a couple weeks ago and Barrett’s is coming up in December—like Beatley, these sales are hugely popular and successful events that not only raise thousands of dollars for each library (including numerous dollars from the pockets of your intrepid newsletter authors, as our TBR piles can attest to) but also put fantastic books at affordable prices into the hands of PTAs and other community organizations.

With the funds the Friends groups raise, they support all manner of amazing programming that our libraries wouldn’t otherwise be able to offer. At Burke, the Friends group supports film licensing fees, Summer Quest for kids, and other community events. At Barrett, they help expand their collection and invest in extra library technology. At Beatley, they work with the library to deliver over 1,000 programs a year that reach nearly 31,000 patrons, in addition to supporting popular programs like the Hispanic Heritage Fiesta, Enkutatash Festival, and Eclipse in the Park. And at Duncan Library, the Friends group supports programming that ranges from Dungeons & Dragons sessions for teens, to storytime for toddlers, to partnering with the Spitfire literature club, to knitting groups, all in addition to supplementing the city’s investment in new books to ensure that double the amount of high demand titles go into circulation.

Our local Friends of Libraries groups are amazing, truly the platonic ideal of what it means to give back to your community. And while their efforts start at our libraries, the impacts are felt well beyond the library walls through partnerships with different nonprofits working all across the city. If you’ve benefited from or enjoyed programming at your local library, think about getting involved in the Friends group at your local branch—your TBR pile will thank you (and so will we).

You can follow Becky @beckyhammer.bsky.social and Jesse @oconnell.bsky.social on Bluesky, or you can e-mail us anytime at alxtranewsletter@gmail.com.

ALXtra is a free-to-read newsletter about current events in Alexandria, Virginia. Subscribe to get it delivered directly to your inbox. Paid subscriptions give you access to the comments. Revenue from subscriptions gets used in the following ways: 1) a third goes into a charity fund, and every time that fund hits $500 we’ll make a donation to a local charity in the name of ALXtra’s readers and we’ll feature and write about that organization, like we did here, here, here, and here; 2) another third of the money will go toward investments in the newsletter; and 3) the final third of the money goes toward self-care for your two intrepid authors.