Kenneth Cooper Alexander (born October 17, 1966) is an American politician serving as mayor of

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

since July 2016. 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 houses 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-numbe ...

from 2002 to 2012, representing the 89th District in Norfolk. He served in the

Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Vir ...

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 Chesapeake most often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian *Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated places In Virginia * ...

. 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. The largest town is Wymondham, and the district also includes the towns of Costessey, Diss, Harleston, Hingham, Loddon and Long Stratton. The council was based in Long S ...

, 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 instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...

and served as parliamentarian of the student body, graduating in 1985. Alexander next earned an associate 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 completed a master's degree in Diplomacy from Norwich University. In 2019, Alexander earned a PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.

Career

Alexander was a political science instructor at Tidewater Community College. In May 2002,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th gove ...

appointed the 89th District incumbent, Jerrauld Jones, to be director of the 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 The 'Virginia Legislative Black Caucus'' is an American political organization composed of Black members elected to the Virginia General Assembly. Mission The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus (VLBC) is committed to improving the economic, educatio ...

. 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. On May 3, 2016, he was elected mayor of

with 51.6% of the vote in a three-way race. He is the city's first black mayor. He 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 A financial institution, sometimes called a banking institution, is a business entity that provides service as an intermediary for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial ins ...

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

References

Sources

Virginia House of Delegates: Bio for Kenneth C. Alexander (2008 session)

External links

Official website

Virginia 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 (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The SBE promote ...

results for 89th House District
November 6, 2007 General Election

Project 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 African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 21st-century mayors of places in Virginia 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly