A cluster of public commenters asked the City Council to adopt an ethical investment policy and to examine city contracts and retirement-plan holdings that, speakers said, benefit companies involved in U.S. military supply chains and tools used by Israeli forces and ICE.

Catherine O'Connell said Alexandria's supplemental retirement plans include companies such as Lockheed Martin, General Electric and Amazon and characterized those investments as morally inconsistent with city values. "A budget including our investments is a moral document," she said, asking the council to align investments with community values.

Glenn Pine and other speakers linked local contracts and procurement to international concerns, asserting that certain vendors provide technologies used in operations in Gaza and by ICE. Pine noted the city has an active contract with Motorola and urged council to end contracts with firms he named. Speakers also connected the supply chains of defense contractors to humanitarian consequences in Gaza.

Speakers asked for a formal ethical investment policy, divestment from certain companies and review of city contracts where vendors might be implicated. Councilmembers did not vote on any investment actions at the meeting; a number of councilmembers acknowledged the substance of the comments and said staff and the city attorney could review procurement and investment policies.

The comments were part of an extended public discussion that also included immigration-enforcement testimony and other foreign-policy related concerns. The council did not adopt a divestment resolution or a procurement ban at this session.