City of Roanoke

Democratic candidate for governor, Terry McAuliffe, was the 72nd Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. McAuliffe was unable to seek reelection in 2017 due to a state law that bars sitting governors from serving consecutive terms. McAuliffe attended The Catholic University of America and Georgetown University Law Center. A lifelong businessman and entrepreneur, McAuliffe has lived in Fairfax County for more than 20 years with his wife, Dorothy. The couple has raised five children together.

McAuliffe is centering his campaign on building a strong Virginia economy that works for everyone. He plans to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024, two years ahead of the current schedule. He wants to require employers to provide paid sick days along with paid family and medical leave to all workers. Because Virginia is the 10th most expensive state for childcare in the country, McAuliffe wants to assist families burdened with childcare costs by providing subsidies, funneling federal money to families, and making it easier for people to qualify for assistance.

McAuliffe plans to invest $2 billion in Virginia’s education system every year so that teachers are paid above the national average, children have access to universal pre-K, and every student can get online. To make college more affordable to students, McAuliffe will offer more financial aid and expand on current Governor Ralph Northam’s program that makes community college free to low- and middle-income students studying in certain fields. McAuliffe also wants to boost enrollment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities by providing free tuition to students who promise to teach for five years in the state’s high-need areas.

While serving as Governor of Virginia, McAuliffe took action to reduce carbon emissions in the state and received a $120.5 million federal grant to combat the rising sea level on Virginia’s coast. He wants Virginia to reach 100% clean energy by 2035 and make access to clean energy and transportation infrastructure more affordable by providing subsidies for solar usage and public transit construction. McAuliffe also plans to address the racial impacts of climate change by providing funding to communities hit by extreme heat and rising sea levels.

McAuliffe pushed for Medicaid expansion during his first term and wants to increase access to affordable healthcare by supporting Virginia’s plan to create a state-run health insurance marketplace. He backs lowering prescription drug costs, reducing health insurance premiums, and creating a Medicaid buy-in option for people who make too much to qualify for the program but still can’t afford out-of-pocket costs on the marketplace. When he was governor, McAuliffe vetoed Republican legislation that would have limited abortion access. If reelected, McAuliffe plans to incorporate Roe v. Wade into Virginia’s constitution to guarantee that abortion access is protected.

McAuliffe is running against multimillionaire Republican Glenn Youngkin, the former president of Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. Youngkin wants to channel the state’s money from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to fund private schools. Youngkin has admitted that he opposes abortion access and will work to dismantle protections for reproductive freedom in the Commonwealth. Youngkin is also against making health coverage more affordable in Virginia.

McAuliffe is also facing a challenge from activist and educator Princess Blanding, an Independent candidate. Blanding is the sister of Marcus David-Peters, a young Black man who was killed by police in 2018. Blanding wants to hold police accountable by ending qualified immunity and shifting funding away from police departments to invest in community services. She also wants to make health coverage more affordable by creating a public healthcare system.

Due to his record in providing leadership for the Commonwealth and his support of Virginia working families, the environment, affordable health coverage, and reproductive rights, Terry McAuliffe is the most progressive choice in this race.

The daughter of a Salvadorian and North African immigrant father and a Lebanese and Irish mother, Delegate Hala Ayala was one of the first Latina women elected to the House of Delegates, having one her first election to represent the 51st District in 2017. She worked for over 20 years as a cybersecurity specialist and is the single mother of two grown children. If chosen by voters to be the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, Ayala will be the first woman and Afro-Latina to do so.

Affordable access to healthcare is a central focus for Ayala. As a first-time mother, Ayala depended on Medicaid to give her son life-saving care. In 2018, Ayala voted to expand Medicaid to 400,000 Virginians. In 2020, she co-patroned legislation to cap the cost of insulin in the state. In 2021, she voted to make the cost of prescription drugs transparent and to boost Virginia’s capacity to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. She also wants to reduce Black maternal mortality and create a universal paid family and medical leave program in the Commonwealth.

As a graduate of Prince William County schools, Ayala believes that a well-funded education system is critical to a thriving Commonwealth. In 2021, she voted to increase teachers’ salaries by 5%. She also supported the “Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Fund and Program, which provides free community college to low- and middle-income students who are studying in certain fields. As lieutenant governor, Ayala will prioritize expanding access to pre-K, reducing overcrowding in classrooms, and dedicate more funding to improve school infrastructure.

Recognizing the climate crisis as a national security threat, Ayala believes the state needs to play a bigger role in addressing the impacts of climate change. She co-patroned the Virginia Clean Economy Act in 2020, which will eliminate carbon emissions in the Commonwealth by 2050. She also wants to dedicate more funding to communities dealing firsthand with the effects of climate change, believing that solutions to the crisis must be created with racial equity in mind.

Ayala personally understands how hard it is for families to make ends meet. Her family struggled financially when she was a child, and she worked and raised children while obtaining her degree. In 2020, Ayala voted to raise the state’s minimum wage. She supports making paid family and medical leave available to all Virginia working families. In 2021, she voted to strengthen the rights of tenants and protect them from eviction during the pandemic. She also sponsored legislation to protect workers during the pandemic by requiring employers to provide them with personal protective equipment and hazard pay.

Ayala is running against former delegate Winsome Sears, a Republican who represented Norfolk in the House of Delegates from 2002 to 2003. Sears owns a plumbing and appliance repair store in Winchester. Sears opposes legislation that would make our communities safer from gun violence. She also supports using public money to fund private schools and wants to create deliberate barriers to voting access that make it more difficult for people to participate in our democracy.

Due to her support of affordable health coverage, the environment, public education, and Virginia working families, Delegate Hala Ayala is the most progressive choice for lieutenant governor in Virginia.

Incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring is seeking his third term in office after having been first elected in 2013. Raised by a single mother in Loudoun County, Herring obtained a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Virginia before earning his law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law. He and his wife of 30 years, Laura, raised two children together.

Herring has stood up for access to affordable healthcare by fighting off efforts by the Trump administration to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In 2021, Herring defended the ACA by joining a coalition of 21 attorneys general to argue in front of the U.S. Supreme Court against a lawsuit from the Trump administration that would have dismantled the ACA, protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and Medicaid expansion.

Herring is a champion of reproductive rights and abortion access, and has used his office to support a person’s right to decide when and whether to become a parent. He has signed onto several lawsuits that challenge different states’ restrictive abortion laws. He issued an opinion in 2015 to strike down medically unnecessary Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws that shuttered women’s health centers in the Commonwealth. In 2019, he successfully filed an injunction against the Trump administration’s efforts to halt contraceptive coverage in health insurance.

Herring has worked to keep our communities safe from gun violence by standing up to the gun lobby. In 2020, he defended two common-sense laws passed by the General Assembly aimed at preventing gun violence, the one-handgun-a-month law, and extended background checks. The same year, he also successfully defended a challenge to Virginia’s extreme risk protection law, which keeps guns out of the hands of people who pose a risk to themselves or others.

During his time in office, Herring has fought to keep the promise of democracy real by protecting access to the ballot box. This year, he applauded the passage of the Voting Rights Act of Virginia and joined other attorneys general in urging Congress to pass safeguards that guarantee people’s rights to participate in our democracy by voting. In 2020, he ensured that voters did not face intimidation while casting their ballots in our fair and free elections. In 2016, he defended a decision from former Governor Terry McAuliffe to restore the rights of returning citizens in the Commonwealth.

Herring is facing a challenge from Delegate Jason Miyares, a conservative Republican who wants to create deliberate barriers to voting access, undermine workers’ rights by keeping Virginia a right-to-work state, and oppose efforts to shift funding away from police budgets to community services. As a delegate, Miyares voted against raising the state’s minimum wage, expanding access to affordable healthcare to hundreds of thousands of Virginians, abolishing the death penalty, and legalizing marijuana. He also opposes abortion access.

Due to his support of access to affordable healthcare, abortion access, gun violence prevention, and voting rights, Attorney General Mark Herring is the most progressive choice for this race.

Incumbent Delegate David Bulova has represented the 37th District since 2006. He and his wife, Gretchen, live in Fairfax County with their three children. He received his Master of Public Administration and Policy from Virginia Tech and is a graduate of the Sorensen Institute of Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. When not in session, Bulova works as a project manager for a local company, helping local governments and industries comply with state and federal environmental regulations.

Bulova’s educational priorities include issues such as reducing class sizes, retaining and recruiting qualified teachers. As a member of the House of Delegates Education Committee, he worked to reform Virginia’s Standards of Learning and successfully introduced legislation in 2017 that promotes career and technical education opportunities. In 2020, he also sponsored the Early Childhood Care and Education Act that would work to improve early childhood education. He voted for a 5% pay increase for teachers in 2021.

Bulova considers it his responsibility to fight for the environment and renewable energy sources. He successfully sponsored legislation aimed at eliminating waste and toxins in our water and protecting it from agricultural runoff. Bulova was recognized by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters for championing the environment. In 2020, he sponsored the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which commits the state to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

Bulova prioritizes making access to healthcare affordable to all Virginians. Bulova cast a crucial vote in expanding Medicaid to 400,000 Virginians in 2018. He voted to lower the cost of prescription medicine by capping the cost of insulin at $50. He also voted to create a state-run health insurance marketplace exchange. The exchange would focus mostly on enrolling uninsured or underinsured residents who aren’t covered by an employer-provided health plan.

Del. Bulova is a strong supporter of equality throughout the Commonwealth. He voted for the Virginia Values Act, which prohibits discrimination in employment and housing along the lines of sexual orientation and gender identity. He also supported Virginia’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in 2019. He also supports abortion access, voting to repeal medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers in 2020. He supported making health insurance plans with abortion coverage available on the state marketplace exchange.

Bulova is being challenged by Republican candidate Kenny Meteiver, an Army veteran. Meteiver opposes raising the minimum wage and abortion access. He supports creating barriers to voting access in our fair and free elections. He opposes efforts to safely reopen our schools during the pandemic and making our schools inclusive of its LGBTQ students.

Due to his support of the environment, public education, healthcare, abortion access and equality, Delegate David Bulova is the most progressive choice in this race.

Incumbent Delegate Kaye Kory was first elected to the seat in 2009 and serves as chair of the Counties, Cities, and Towns Committee. She is also a member of the Finance, Labor and Commerce, and Public Safety committees. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Miami University of Ohio and has done graduate work in public policy at the University of Iowa and George Mason University. She and her husband Ross have three children together.

Kory wants to ensure all Virginians have access to clean water and air. She supports the Green New Deal Act which aims to combat the effects of climate change in Virginia while boosting the economy with the creation of green jobs. During the 2021 session, Del. Kory successfully sponsored a bill that helps low-income residents pay their power bills by capping fees at a percentage of their income. Kory voted for the Virginia Clean Economy Act in 2020.

Kory chairs the Women’s Reproductive Health Care Caucus, a group that works to ensure access to comprehensive health care and protect reproductive rights. In 2020, she voted for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. In 2021, she voted for legislation aimed at reducing maternal mortality in Virginia by establishing a task force that collects maternal health data to help guide the state in improving maternal care. She also supported repealing medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers and making abortion coverage available on the state’s healthcare exchange.

Kory supports criminal justice reform. In 2020, she introduced the Virginia Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act, a law that provides for better treatment of incarcerated people who are parents or are pregnant by requiring improved training for correctional officers and placing incarcerated parents in facilities close to their children. She voted for legislation that aimed at reducing policing violence by banning the use of neck restraints and prohibiting no-knock search warrants. She also supported marijuana legalization.

As a long-time educator, Kory advocates for equitable education and more funding for public schools. During the 2020 session, she voted for legislation that requires the state department of education to develop culturally relevant and inclusive education practices. She voted for a 5% pay raise for Virginia teachers and supported increased funding for the state’s English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. She supported granting in-state tuition to undocumented students in 2020 and expanding their eligibility for state financial aid in 2021.

Del. Kory is being challenged by Republican candidate Tom Pafford. He opposes gun violence prevention measures that keep our communities safe. He supports using taxpayer money to fund private schools through school voucher programs and keeping Virginia a right-to-work state, which prevents workers from forming unions. He opposes policies to make our schools welcoming and inclusive of LGBTQ students.

Due to her support of criminal justice reform, abortion access, public education, and the environment, Delegate Kaye Kory is the most progressive choice in this election.

Incumbent Delegate Vivian Watts is the longest-serving woman in the Virginia House, holding the 39th District seat since 1996. A dedicated public servant, Watts’ career includes serving as the Virginia Secretary of Transportation and working at the U.S. Advisory for Intergovernmental Relations. She has received numerous accolades and awards for her service. She’s a member of the House of Delegates Finance, Rules, Courts of Justice, and Transportation committees. She and her husband, Dave, have two children.

Twenty-five years into her career as a delegate, Watts continues to fight for quality education for Virginia children. She voted for a 5% pay raise for Virginia teachers in 2021 to retain qualified teachers in the Commonwealth. The delegate also supports making secondary education more affordable by increasing state funding for institutions of higher learning. In 2020, she voted to freeze tuition at Virginia’s public universities and colleges. She also believes that Virginians saddled with student loan debt need more protections and voted for the Borrowers’ Bill of Rights in 2020, which requires more oversight of student loan servicers.

Watts supports legislation that protects the environment and invests in clean energy. She wants to modernize the state’s power grid with solar energy and offshore wind power infrastructure. She also believes that boosting public transit options will get cars off the road and help reduce air pollution. In 2020, she was given a 100% score by the Virginia League of Conservation Voters. Watts voted for the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which commits the state to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

Watts wants to increase access to affordable healthcare while protecting reproductive rights in the Commonwealth. She voted for Medicaid expansion in 2018, which granted 400,000 Virginians access to affordable health coverage. She supported capping the cost of insulin to $50. She voted to repeal medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion providers in 2020 and supported making abortion coverage available on the state’s health insurance exchange. She voted to boost the state’s capacity to administer the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.

As a member of the House Transportation Committee, Watts understands the transportation needs of her district and worked throughout her career to address them. She supports raising state revenue to increase transportation funding to Northern Virginia to build better and safer roads, decrease traffic congestion, and boost public transit options. She wants to make roads more friendly to pedestrians and cyclists and have a guaranteed source of revenue for Northern Virginia’s transportation needs.

Watts is facing a challenge from Republican candidate Maureen Brody, a county resident who volunteers for different churches and schools. Brody supports creating deliberate barriers aimed at limiting access to our fair and free elections. Brody opposes abortion access and the legalization of marijuana. She is also against government efforts to keep communities safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to her support of public education, the environment, access to affordable healthcare, and funding of Virginia’s transportation system, Delegate Vivian Watts is the most progressive choice in this election.

Incumbent Delegate Dan Helmer was first elected in 2019. The son of an immigrant and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, Helmer graduated from West Point Military Academy in 2003. He is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was also deployed to South Korea. Currently a member of the Army Reserve, Helmer runs a small business where he helps veterans access healthcare. Helmer lives in Fairfax County with his wife and two sons.

As the husband of a public school teacher, Helmer wants to increase funding for Virginia’s education system. He supports raising teacher salaries to prevent turnover, reducing classroom size, allocating more resources to our educators and students to better set them up for success. In 2021, he voted for providing additional resources to students and parents in kindergarten through third grade who are struggling with reading. He also supported giving additional funding to Virginia schools so that they can reopen safely during the pandemic.

Helmer believes that climate change is the greatest threat that Virginians are facing and wants to guarantee access to clean water and air. He understands that Virginians need to reduce their carbon footprint and find more sustainable energy sources. He believes that part of doing this involves an immediate stop to the construction of new pipelines and fracking. Helmer was a chief co-patron of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which commits Virginia to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

Helmer is an advocate for reproductive rights, believing that Virginians should have the right to decide when and whether to become a parent. The delegate has supported legislation that would provide access to reproductive healthcare that includes cancer screenings, birth control, and safe and legal abortions. In 2020, he voted to repeal medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion care providers. He supported making abortion coverage available on the state health insurance exchange in 2021.

Helmer supports making the promise of democracy real for us all by ensuring that our elections are free and accessible. He voted for same-day voter registration and making absentee voting easier by providing for prepaid postage on ballots, eliminating the need for a witness signature, and establishing no-excuse absentee voting in the Commonwealth. Helmer also supported extending early voting and the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, which prohibits voter discrimination at the polls.

Delegate Helmer is being challenged by Republican candidate Harold Pyon, a retired Army veteran. Pyon wants to use taxpayer money to support private education, supports the construction of pipelines carrying fracked gas, and wants to make it hard for Virginia workers to form unions by keeping its right-to-work laws in place.

Due to his support of public education, abortion access, the environment, and voting access, Delegate Dan Helmer is the most progressive choice in this race.

Incumbent Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn has represented the 40th District since 2010. In 2020, she was appointed Speaker of the House of Delegates, making her the first woman to hold the position. Prior to her election to the House of Delegates, she helped organize the Million Mom March in 2010 to protest gun violence. Speaker Filler-Corn served in the administrations of Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. She and her husband live in Springfield where they raised their two children.

As a parent of former Fairfax County Public School students, Filler-Corn understands the need for increased funding for K-12 education in Virginia and has committed herself to improving Virginia's public education system. In 2021, she voted for a 5% raise for public school teachers. Past legislation of hers has involved making higher education more affordable. This year, she sponsored the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back “G3” Program which makes community college more affordable to qualifying low-and middle-income students who study in certain fields.

Filler-Corn has prioritized addressing the many transportation issues that exist in Northern Virginia during her time in office while serving on the House Transportation Committee and Joint Commission on Transportation Accountability. In 2020, she sponsored the Omnibus Transportation Bill, a monumental piece of legislation that overhauled the transportation funding system in Virginia and supported vital transportation infrastructure projects. She has also pushed for improved funding of the two Virginia Railway Express (VRE) stations in her district.

A champion of women’s rights, Speaker Filler-Corn successfully pushed for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment during her first year as leader of the House of Delegates. She supports abortion access and in 2020, she voted for the Reproductive Health Protection Act, which repealed medically unnecessary restrictions on abortion access. She supported making abortion coverage available on the state health insurance exchange this year. Speaker Filler-Corn is also committed to protecting and supporting victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking.

Filler-Corn believes that at the core of a strong community is a strong economy. In 2020, she voted to raise the minimum wage in Virginia. In 2015, she sponsored the Virginia Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, which allowed for people with disabilities to open tax-free savings accounts. She also voted for Medicaid expansion in 2018, which provided affordable health coverage to 500,000 Virginians while bringing in federal money and jobs to the Commonwealth.

Speaker Filler-Corn is facing a challenge from Republican candidate John Wolfe. Wolfe unsuccessfully ran for this seat in 2003 and 2019. Wolfe also unsuccessfully sought election for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District in 2016. No campaign website exists for Wolfe and as of the publication of this voters guide, Wolfe had only raised $100 in his campaign for office.

Due to her support of increased transportation funding and infrastructure, public education, women’s rights, abortion access, and Virginia working families, Speaker Filler-Corn is the most progressive choice in this election.

Incumbent Roanoke City Treasurer Evelyn W. Powers received her Master Governmental Treasurer recertification from the Treasurers' Association of Virginia (TAV) and the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Her professional experience includes serving as the Roanoke City Treasurer for over 40 years. In 2018, Powers began charging businesses that did not pay their meals tax with felony embezzlement as a way to get tough on businesses that were delinquent on their payments.

Powers is running unopposed. An absence of online information about Powers’ campaign means we cannot guarantee she will make progressive choices. We have no recommendation in this race. However, we still encourage you to show up to vote on November 2 by writing in the candidate of your choice for this race and the other races on your ballot.

Roanoke native Antonio Hash has been a member of the law enforcement community since 2008. Hash, currently a school resource officer, has served in the Roanoke City Sheriff’s Office for 13 years in multiple capacities, including Master Deputy Sheriff. Hash has been honored with multiple awards, including the NAACP Impactors of Excellence Award (2017) and the Urban Professional League: Citizen of the Year Award (2016).

Hash is committed to creating a positive influence in the criminal justice system for both inmates and employees with an emphasis on mental health treatment. He wants to ensure that both incarcerated people and people who work in the jails have the mental health resources they need to recover from trauma that can be a part of the carceral system. That includes ensuring that only everyone is able to get correct mental health diagnoses, but also ensuring they have the resources they need to treat their conditions.

Hash also is an advocate for a positive transition for inmates returning to society. 95% of inmates return to society at some point, and as they do, they should have the support they need to thrive in our community. Hash would create a cooperative bridge between the Sheriff’s Department and programs within the city that can provide resources to returning citizens. These programs would help avoid recidivism and help returning citizens live full lives after incarceration.

He believes the role of the Sheriff’s Office is to support a diverse and inclusive community. He wants to create an environment where people in detention, deputies, and members of the community are all treated with understanding and respect. Hash would like to create a program that would allow first-time non-violent offenders to participate in weekend community service projects rather than sitting in jails.

Hash also wants to create a quarterly community forum where community members can come together, ask questions, and gain a better understanding of how the Sheriff’s Department operates. This will foster a stronger sense of community and allow people to get to know their police better.

Antonio Hash is running unopposed. Due to his stance on criminal justice reform and positive transitions for returning citizens, Hash is a progressive candidate in this race.