Kerry J. Donley


Kerry Joseph Donley is a former Democratic member of the Alexandria, Virginia City Council and previously served as Mayor of Alexandria from 1996-2003 and Chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Background

Donley graduated with a BA in Political Science and English from Marquette University and has done some graduate studies at the University of Southern California. He is Senior Vice President of Community Banking at Virginia Commerce Bank.

Community service and political career

Donley began his public service as a member of Washington Area Housing Partners. He also served as a Co-Chair of the Cameron Station Redevelopment Task Force, which oversaw the redevelopment of the headquarters of the Defense Logistics Agency in west Alexandria from 1988 to 2005.
Donley was elected a member of the Alexandria City Council on the Democratic ticket and served from 1988 - 1996. In 1993, he received the most votes for City Council and was thus appointed Vice-Mayor, as is the practice on the Council. In 1996, Donley was elected Mayor of Alexandria. He served two terms until 2003.
After a brief hiatus, Donley ran again for City Council and was again elected in 2009; he served as Vice-Mayor until his retirement from the City Council in 2012.
Donley unsuccessfully ran to become mayor again in 2015, losing the Democratic primary.