Democrat rises in GOP-led House

RICHMOND

When Republican House Speaker Bill Howell was re-nominated at the start of this year's General Assembly session, Del. Kenny Alexander was called on to second the motion.

And when committee assignments were made, Alexander received a coveted seat on the powerful Rules panel that Howell chairs.

Those developments - minor tremors in Richmond, where every political turn causes chatter - signify the rise of Alexander, a Norfolk Democrat.

In the eight years since he came to the legislature in 2002, turnover and a knack for avoiding pitfalls have enabled Alexander to advance from back-bencher to influential member of the minority party.

"He's moving up because he's a reasonable force, a moderate force," said Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake. "And he's not one who will scream from a partisan standpoint."

Alexander, 43, credits seniority as much as temperament for his ascent.

"Being partisan, you can't get anything accomplished," he said during a recent chat in the House of Delegates chamber. "Things here are about governance, and my position allows me to be at the table, lobbying for public policy that will benefit my district."

But accepting a chair also comes with some hard choices.

In the first controversial vote of his short tenure on the Rules Committee, Alexander voted with Republicans earlier this month to send an income-tax bill to the House floor - a move that forced Democrats to vote on the tax increase proposal floated by former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

The bill was defeated, 97-0, with one abstention.

When asked why he placed Alexander on Rules, Howell said it was an acknowledgement of his status as chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus.

"He's a very capable member and he brings a lot to the committee," Howell said.

Alexander makes no apologies about his committee vote, because he opposed the income tax surcharge outright.

Taking such stands, Alexander added, has always been his approach. He cites as examples his public advocacy for a 1 percent sales-tax increase to pay for transportation fixes and his rejection of per-diem pay when the legislature goes into overtime.

To date, the Norfolk native has had a workmanlike career in the General Assembly.

His key policy accomplishments have come in the human-services sector - he's successfully sponsored bills to strengthen child care

regulations and to ensure that people released from state hospitals or prisons are issued legal identification.

Tall and sturdy, Alexander is a garrulous sort whose words tend to spill out of his mouth faster as each sentence progresses.

Often clad in dark, crisply pressed suits, the married father of two sons runs a mortuary business in Norfolk founded by his family. And like many businessmen, he isn't shy about a little self-promotion.

"I was a working man back in the '90s," he said, pointing to news clippings on his Web site that chronicle his career path from civic activist to state lawmaker.

That work continues today, with Alexander leading a growing cadre of African American legislators in Richmond poised to flex their new muscle.

With all that responsibility, Alexander said his focus is on his House seat. He denied speculation that he's thinking about running for state Senate in the near term.

That doesn't mean, however, that he's without future ambitions.

Although Alexander declines to talk about it publicly, people close to him say he's mulling a run for governor in a few years.

Pilot writer Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer contributed to this article.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com