I’m excited to be part of the Take Back the Ballot forum today at 1 pm in the Charlottesville Central Library. I have been invited to speak at the event because of my unusual 2017 election experience in which I won a recount, then had it declared a tie and then had my name NOT drawn out of a bowl during the Drawing of Lots in Richmond. It was quiet an odyssey.
But I’m not giving up. I have declared my candidacy for November 2019. This campaign is crucial because it could decide the balance of power in the Virginia House of Delegates. This year Republicans were in control of committees and killed legislation to help Virginia deal with sea level rise, allow for more homegrown solar power, pass common-sense gun safety reforms and approve an anti-gerrymandering amendment. All this happened because my name was not drawn out of a bowl at the Drawing of Lots.
I support non-partisan redistricting in Virginia because I think elections belong to the people and that politicians should not pick their voters using Gerrymandering. As a candidate, I know firsthand that Gerrymandering can be a disaster. My city of Newport News has been negatively impacted by a partisan gerrymander in 2011 which created 7 new split precincts in the city and took African American voters in the top of the city and packed them into another traditionally African American district. The districts are so confusing to both voters and candidates it’s hard to know where people vote without consulting online maps. The Supreme Court of the United States agreed that the Newport News districts disenfranchised voters and had to be fixed.
This is why the 94th district in Newport News is being redrawn. The down side is petitions are due in six weeks and I still don’t know for sure where the lines will be and if I will have to move my residence to stay in the district, which I will do if necessary. I’m trying to stay positive, because we desperately need new maps that allow for everyone to have a fair say in government and to make sure that every vote counts. These maps belong to the people, not the politicians or the candidates.
I have already sacrificed a lot to represent the City of Newport News in the Virginia General Assembly and I will persist to run in the 94th District. Please help me turn this district blue and, in so doing, flip the House of Delegates to allow real progress in Virginia.