Meet Kirk McPike

Democrat Kirk McPike is in his first term as a member of the City Council.

Kirk and his husband, Cantor Jason Kaufman, live in the Seminary Hill neighborhood of Alexandria’s West End with their adorable beagle, Punky.

Kirk came to Alexandria more than 10 years ago to run Adam Ebbin’s campaign for the Virginia State Senate. In Alexandria, Kirk found more than a beautiful, historic city where people shared his progressive values — he found a home. Shortly after arriving, he knew that Alexandria was where he wanted to live for decades to come.

He is the former chair of the Alexandria Economic Opportunities Commission, which works with the city to support services for lower income Alexandrians. In 2017, Kirk was appointed to Alexandria’s Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee. On BFAAC, Kirk has worked with representatives of communities from across Alexandria, with business leaders and policy experts, and with city staff to advise the City Council on budgetary issues.

Kirk is a member of the Alexandria Democratic Committee, which he first joined in 2011. As an active Alexandria Democrat, Kirk has volunteered on local campaigns and knocked doors across Northern Virginia for candidates including Ralph Northam and Hillary Clinton. He is a graduate of the Sorensen Institute Political Leaders Program at the University of Virginia.

Kirk is the Chief of Staff to Congressman Mark Takano, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and a leading progressive voice in the Congress. As chief of staff, Kirk advises the Congressman on issues ranging from LGBTQ rights to foreign affairs. He has worked with stakeholders from across the nation to advance progressive legislation. Kirk also spent several years running campaigns for progressive Democratic candidates in Virginia, Texas and California.

As a Councilman, Kirk brings the problem-solving skills he has honed in his work in the City and on Capitol Hill to help Alexandria is deal with our long-term challenges — including housing affordability, overwhelmed stormwater systems, and maintaining our natural environment and open spaces. Kirk understands that if we want to keep our city a great and beautiful place to live we have to make tough decisions that balance competing and important priorities. Kirk also fights for our local schools, to ensure that they have the funding they need to succeed and to make school construction a priority in land use decisions.

Kirk believes that transparency and openness are essential to building trust, and that without trust, government can’t work. As a member of the City Council, Kirk has worked to improve communications between the city and residents, to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard on the issues that matter to them. He led the effort to establish a regular program of City Council Town Halls, which allow residents to ask direct questions of their representatives.

As a member of Council, Kirk will continue hard to bring residents, community leaders, and elected officials together to build an even brighter future for our city.