Progressive Voters Guide

Democratic candidate Ann Wheeler moved to Haymarket in 2001. She has served on several boards, including the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative and the Hylton Performing Arts Center. She is also the former Chair of the Prince William Board of Social Services.

As Chairwoman At-Large of the Prince William Board of Supervisors, Wheeler wants to make the county a more welcoming place for immigrants and doesn’t believe local tax dollars should go toward federal immigration enforcement. She supports providing more public transportation options in the county, including expanding the Washington Metro service to the county. She wants to increase funding for public schools and attract more technology companies and other industries to the county to diversify Prince William’s tax base and make it less reliant on property taxes. She also believes the county should have a greater say in regional and state decisions, such as ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment.

Wheeler is running against Republican John Gray, a candidate who supports Prince William’s 287(g) agreement, which allows the sheriff’s department to turn over undocumented immigrants to federal immigration officials. There are also three independent candidates: Muneer Baig, an immigrant rights advocate, Don Scoggins, a former board member of the county’s Republican Party, and Jesse Maggitt, a veteran and corporate executive.

Because of her prioritization of PWC schools, Wheeler is the progressive candidate for the At-Large Chair of the Prince William Board of Supervisors.

A former county prosecutor, Democratic candidate Amy Ashworth received her Juris Doctorate degree from George Mason University in 1995. She worked as a prosecutor in the Special Victim’s Unit. She lives in Nokesville with her husband and two sons.

If elected, Ashworth wants to reform the Commonwealth Attorney’s office with a new mission statement, new organizational structure, and focus on crimes that do harm, not crimes that put the most people in jail. Recognizing that discrimination in the justice system disproportionately affects people of color, Ashworth is pledging to hire attorneys in the office who represent the diversity of the community and establish a non-discrimination policy for people who work in the office. She is promising to limit the use of cash bail in the county justice system and opposes the death penalty. Ashworth supports the restoration of rights for returning citizens and pledges fair treatment for juvenile offenders.

She also understands that many people with addiction issues and mental health issues are incarcerated and wants to train county police officers to better handle cases involving individuals dealing with mental health and addictions. Ashworth will support efforts to fight payroll fraud, wage theft, and mistreatment of workers. She wants to build better relationships with the county’s immigrant community and supports the decriminalization of marijuana in Virginia. Finally, she wants to end mass incarceration by keeping people out of jails and helping them get an education, rehabilitation, or psychological care.

Ashworth’s opponent, Republican Mike May, is a former County Supervisor for the Occoquan District. He’s a private attorney with his own firm. May is running his platform on keeping neighborhoods safe, modernizing the Commonwealth Attorney’s office to make it more transparent, and engaging the community more with outreach efforts to encourage community involvement.

Because of her plan to overhaul the office, Ashworth is the progressive choice for Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney.

Democratic candidate Joshua King is an Iraq War veteran and Fairfax County Sheriff Deputy. A Dumfries resident, he’s a parent with three children in the Prince William County School System.

As Sheriff of Prince William County, King promises to end the county’s 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, which uses local law enforcement resources to enforce federal immigration law. He wants to focus on school safety where his sheriff deputies will be trained to intervene during school shootings. King plans to reduce the school to prison pipeline in the county by training his deputies to assist and protect children with special needs. He also wants to improve services for veterans by ensuring that all veterans, law enforcement officers, and inmates receive the services that they deserve.

King is challenging incumbent Republican Sheriff Glen Hill, who started Prince William’s participation in the 287(g) program.

Candidate Rhonda Dickson is the first woman to run for the sheriff’s office in Prince William. She wants to increase enrollment in the Child ID program and to increase the Sheriff office’s presence in Prince William schools.

Joshua King is endorsed by our partners SEIU Virginia512 and CASA In Action and is the progressive choice for Sheriff in Prince William County.

Dr. Babur Lateef is originally from Youngstown, Ohio. Dr. Lateef received his Bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University and his MD from Northeastern Ohio University’s College of Medicine. Currently, he serves on the University of Virginia Board of Visitors and SPARK Foundation Board and is an active member of his children's Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs). Dr. Lateef was elected School Board Chair in a 2018 special election.

His platform consists of a plan to close the achievement gap, increase test scores, and increase teacher pay for Prince William teachers. He also wants to repair school infrastructure, secure campuses, increase mental health specialists, and provide cultural sensitivity training.

His opponents are Alyson Satterwhite and Stanley Bender, both of whom challenged Dr. LaTeef in the November 2018 special election. During that election, Satterwhite was endorsed by the Prince William County GOP. She is a mother of four who resides in the Gainesville District. She has served as the Gainesville School Board representative since 2015. Satterwhite wants to reduce classroom sizes, improve school safety, and to increase fiscal responsibility and transparency on the school board. 

Stanley Bender is a retired Woodbridge resident. Despite the controversy surrounding the 2018 special election over whether Stanley Bender was being supported by local Republicans or not, Mr. Bender is not endorsed by any local committee. Because he does not have a website or social media, we cannot know what he intends to do if elected. 

Because of Dr. Lateef’s plan to close the achievement gap, increase test scores, and to increase teacher pay for Prince William teachers, he is the more progressive choice for this race.