Young Appointed New City Manager

Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille officially announced the appointment of Rashad Young as new city manager during Saturday’s scheduled public hearing at .

Young, currently the city manager in Greensboro, N.C., will be in Alexandria on Oct. 24 for where members will vote on his appointment and execute his contract.

A city spokesperson said the logistics of Young’s arrival and start date will be determined in the days ahead.

“My first priority [as city manager] is to come in and sort of figure out and hear directly from a lot of stakeholders,” Young said Saturday morning over the phone. “I know there are some pressing issues—where the waterfront development is going to go, how the BRAC situation gets addressed.”

Young said he was drawn to Alexandria because of its position in the Washington, D.C. region and by some of the situations he expects to face as city manager.

“Just how to manage and deal with transportation and those kinds of issues,” he said. “It’s a unique professional challenge to me.”

Young has 17 years of experience working in city government, the last two as city manager in Greensboro. Prior to that, he was city manager in Dayton, Ohio, and an assistant city manager in Cincinnati.

He said he has plenty of experience working on big civic projects, including overseeing the $135 million expansion of a prison in Cincinnati as well as the construction of a new aquatic center and amphitheater in Greensboro.

Young also spoke of his work restructuring parts of Greensboro’s city government to make it work more efficiently, including combining the city’s planning and community development departments.

Young said he thought he impressed members of City Council by his demeanor and leadership style.

“I think they were impressed with my energy, enthusiasm and ability to make tough decisions,” he said. “I think they liked that I am aggressive and outcome oriented.”

Young said he has been briefed on the current issues involving and the recent . He said he plans on meeting with the Waterfront Work Group currently examining the city’s $50 million plan.

“I certainly want to hear from the working group, what pressures there are and what the concerns are,” he said. “We have had some incredibly divisive issues [in Greensboro]. … I have had an ability to listen and understand both sides of an issue.”

When asked if he felt the GenOn situation would have any impact on the waterfront discussion, he said he couldn’t speak to it.

“I don’t know enough about the particulars,” he said.

Young said he recently took a trip to Alexandria with his wife, Tameka, and their two young boys. The family took in the sights in Old Town and other neighborhoods, even taking a riverboat tour of the city from the Potomac.

He said the historic nature of the city particularly stood out.

“Greensboro is very proud of its history as well,” he said. “It’s something I understand and think it is important. I think I am coming to a different stage in that, but it is something I have learned to appreciate.”