PRIORITIES

Access to Safe Affordable Housing

As a resident of Alexandria for 21 years, Jacinta is proud to live in one of the best cities in Virginia. Alexandria has some of the best schools, is one of the most diverse cities, has a highly skilled workforce and a business-friendly climate making Alexandria an excellent place to work, live, and raise a family.

Jacinta also knows how difficult it is to find safe affordable housing in Alexandria. For our city to be the best city to live in we must ensure that all residents have access to housing whether it is being able to afford to rent your first apartment or buy your first home. Unfortunately, Virginia faces a shortage of over 170,000 units for extremely low-income households with shortfalls in Alexandria being particularly concerning, Jacinta will advocate for critical support for housing assistance, and homelessness assistance programs. As a former member and Chair of the Alexandria Commission for Women, she will continue to advocate for more resources to support Alexandria’s domestic violence shelters that provide emergency services for women and families.  

Finally, Jacinta will fight for affordable housing that our Alexandria police officers, educators, nurses and young professionals can afford to live in. 

Equitable Access to a High Quality Education

As a proud member of the Alexandria City School Board for 6 years, Jacinta is deeply committed to ensuring that every child in Alexandria receives a high-quality education, regardless of where they live, their family’s economic status, their race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. Education is the single best investment that we can make to create a prosperous and equitable Alexandria. 

As a native of Virginia, and a graduate of Virginia’s public-education system, Jacinta knows firsthand the impact that a great education can have on the future of our children and the doors it can open. She has been focused on closing the achievement gap, ensuring that the voices of students and parents are front and center, achieving educational equity, and supporting our teachers to ensure they receive the resources and pay they deserve. 

Jacinta was proud to serve as a Liaison and work on the “Equity for All 2020-2025 ACPS Strategic Plan,” which works towards eliminating achievement gaps. Throughout her term on the Alexandria City School Board she has made the voice of students, parents and community the center of any decision she has made on behalf of Alexandria City Public Schools. Jacinta also serves on the Alexandria City School Board Subcommittee for School Law Enforcement Partnership created to improve safety within our school system. Ensuring students feel safe at school is critical to improved student outcomes and academic performance. 

Coming from a family of educators Jacinta has also seen firsthand the dedication that educators impart on their students each day. Teachers continue to be put to the test by having to be flexible and adjust because their job does not stop when the bell rings. The dedication of our ACPS staff and teachers play an essential role to ensure that our students are safe and are getting the best possible education in the midst of a pandemic. She will continue to fight to ensure that teachers and school staff are fairly compensated for the difficult work that they do to help ensure that the City of Alexandria is competitive when it comes to recruiting and retaining a pool of diverse and highly-qualified teachers and support staff for our children.

Coming from a family of educators Jacinta has also seen firsthand the dedication that educators impart on their students each day. Teachers continue to be put to the test by having to be flexible and adjust because their job does not stop when the bell rings. The dedication of our ACPS staff and teachers play an essential role to ensure that our students are safe and are getting the best possible education in the midst of a pandemic. She will continue to fight to ensure that teachers and school staff are fairly compensated for the difficult work that they do to help ensure that the City of Alexandria is competitive when it comes to recruiting and retaining a pool of diverse and highly-qualified teachers and support staff for our children.

Supporting Our Small Businesses

Alexandria is one of the most diverse cities, has a highly skilled workforce and a business-friendly climate making Alexandria an excellent place to work, live, and raise a family. Jacinta knows first-hand that small, local businesses are the foundation on which our city is built.  By supporting them and ensuring their needs are front and center in economic development planning, we can make Alexandria’s economy even better and ensure it continues to be a great place to live.

In Alexandria, 36% of businesses are women-owned and 39% are owned by people of color. Jacinta understands there is still more to do to ensure that we are supporting our small businesses so they continue to thrive and continue to welcome new businesses into our city. 

CLIMATE SUSTAINABILITY

Jacinta understands that mitigating the impacts of climate change is critical to the future of our city. She is proud to live in a city that understands that responding to the ongoing climate crisis is not only important for our environment but will only lead to a better quality of life, increased economic growth and productivity for all Alexandrians. 

Jacinta knows all too well that the impacts of climate change have been felt here in Alexandria for years due to the rising sea levels impacting the long history of flooding that residents experience. Jacinta is committed to enhancing sustainability and resilience, adopting smarter approaches, and developing effective and feasible mitigation plans to ensure Alexandria is prepared to respond to and recover from any type of disaster.