Kenneth Cooper Alexander (born October 17, 1966) is an American politician currently serving as mayor of
Norfolk, Virginia.
Alexander also serves as chancellor for twenty career colleges which includes: (i) Centura College; a healthcare, business, and skilled trade programs school with four campuses in Hampton Roads and one in Richmond, Virginia; (ii) Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM), founded in Norfolk and now operating fourteen campuses nationwide and growing to become the largest system of aviation maintenance schools in the country; (iii) Tidewater Tech, a trade school located in Norfolk which offers welding and automotive mechanics programs and is currently the largest supplier of certified welders and HVAC technicians in the Commonwealth. The growth and work of this trade schools college system led to the establishment of the only Wind Turbine Technician program in the Mid-Atlantic, currently being offered at the Centura Norfolk Campus.
Alexander also serves as president of Metropolitan Funeral Services.
A native of Norfolk, he served in the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...
from 2002 to 2012, representing the
89th District in Norfolk. He served in the
Senate of Virginia from 2012 to 2016, representing the
5th District District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to:
Europe
* District 5 (Zürich)
* District 5, Düsseldorf
* V District, Turku
* Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta
* Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...
in Norfolk and
Chesapeake.
Alexander has been a guest columnist in Virginia newspapers, lecturer on political science and leadership studies, and he is the author of ''Persistence: Evelyn Butts and the African American Quest for Full Citizenship and Self-Determination'' (2021).
Early life and education
Born in 1966, Alexander grew up in the neighborhoods of
Berkley and
South Norfolk
South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the 2011 Census.
History
The district was formed on 1 April 19 ...
, at the crossroads of the cities of Norfolk and Chesapeake. He attended
Lake Taylor High School
Lake Taylor High School is a public high school located in Norfolk, Virginia and is the "Home of the Mighty Titans". It is administered by Norfolk City Public Schools. The school colors are red and black and its mascot is the Titans. Lake Taylor ...
where he was
drum major of the
marching band
A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...
and served as parliamentarian of the student body, graduating in 1985.
Alexander next earned an associate's degree in Mortuary Science from Brightpoint Community College, formerly John Tyler Community College, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Old Dominion University. He later served as a political science instructor at Tidewater Community College after completing a master’s degree in Diplomacy from Norwich University. In 2019, Alexander earned a PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.
Alexander has served as President of the Beacon Light Civic League, vice-chair of Norfolk's Planning Commission, and member of Norfolk's Human Service Commission and Economic Development Authority. He helped found the Norfolk Chesapeake Portsmouth Community Development Federal Credit Union, a
financial institution
Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial inst ...
that provides access to low-cost financial services. Alexander was instrumental in developing new single-family homes in Berkley and a shopping center that attracted a major supermarket chain.
Electoral history
General Assembly career
In May 2002,
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Mark Warner appointed the 89th District incumbent, Delegate
Jerrauld Jones
Jerrauld Corey Jones (born July 22, 1954) is an American politician and jurist. He was a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates 1988-2002, representing the 89th District in Norfolk. He is currently a judge of the Norfolk Circu ...
, to be Director of th
Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice Alexander won the Democratic nomination, and won the special election on August 6 with 72% of the vote in a three-way race.
Alexander was unopposed in two of his three succeeding elections.
On December 15, 2008, Alexander was chosen as chair of the
Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.
In a special election on September 4, 2012, Alexander was elected to the Virginia Senate representing the 5th Senate District; he succeeded Senator
Yvonne Miller, who died in office.
Mayoralty
On May 3, 2016 he was elected mayor of
Norfolk, Virginia with 51.6% of the vote in a three-way race.
He is the city's first black mayor.
References
Sources
Virginia House of Delegates: Bio for Kenneth C. Alexander (2008 session)
External links
Official websiteVirginia Public Access Project: Kenneth Alexander*
Virginia State Board of Elections The Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) was created in 1946 as a nonpolitical agency responsible for ensuring uniformity, fairness, accuracy and purity in all elections in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The SBE promotes the proper administration ...
results for 89th House District
November 6, 2007 General ElectionProject Vote Smart - Representative Kenneth Cooper 'Kenny' Alexander (VA)profile
*''Follow the Money'' - Kenneth Cooper Alexander
20052003
campaign contributions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Kenneth Cooper
1966 births
Living people
Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates
Democratic Party Virginia state senators
Old Dominion University alumni
Norwich University alumni
Mayors of Norfolk, Virginia
African-American mayors in Virginia
African-American state legislators in Virginia
21st-century American politicians
21st-century African-American politicians
20th-century African-American people