Newsletters
Newsletter - June 12, 2017
If you have any questions or run into any issues at the polls, you can call the Virginia Democratic Party's Voter Hotline at 844-482-8683 or tweet them at @dpvavote. I'll be out visiting every polling place in my district, so hopefully I'll see you tomorrow! Virginia law does not require that the address on your ID match the address on your voter registration. If you don't have a valid photo ID, you can get one at your local registrar's office; they'll be open all day on Election Day.
Newsletter - June 10, 2017
The 2017 Primary is coming up on Tuesday. We'll be voting for Democratic nominees for both Governor and Lt. Governor. I spoke about these races more generally in my last newsletter, but today I want to talk more about why I support Ralph Northam for Governor of Virginia. Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam is no stranger to Virginia fights. He’s been here fighting to build a Commonwealth that works for everyone—no matter who you are, no matter where you’re from—for the past decade. And before that, he was serving our Commonwealth as a pediatrician and an Army doctor.
Newsletter - May 28, 2017
I'm proud to announce that the Virginia Transparency Caucus (VTC), the bipartisan, bicameral group that I co-founded with Republican Sen. Amanda Chase, has achieved our greatest victory to date. Both the House of Delegates and the Senate has announced their intention to live stream and archive committee hearings next year. There's still more work to be done, of course. It's critical that the House record its subcommittee hearings as well. But this is an important first step, showing the tremendous progress made since Amanda and I first decided to record the hearings on our bills with our iPhones last year and to push others to do the same.
Newsletter - April 30, 2017
Please join me for the April Mark's Monthly Meetup this afternoon at Los Tios Mexican restaurant in Del Ray (2615 Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria). With the Veto Session wrapping up this month, we'll have plenty to talk about. Come join us to eat, relax, and discuss policy and politics. This month, a special treat: my cousin singer-songwriter Stacy Beyer will come all the way from Nashville, Tennessee to debut her new song Good Trouble which I hope may soon become a Theme Song of the Resistance. You won't want to miss it!
Newsletter - April 9, 2017
After carefully reading the vetoes and Governor's amendments all weekend, I was delighted to see I supported every single one. The Republicans had passed bills that would have allowed discrimination against the LGBT community, made it easier for more people to carry more guns in more places, given millions of dollars of your taxpayer money to big coal companies, endangered refugees, limited workers' rights and wages, restricted voting rights even further, vilified undocumented immigrants, taken funding and control away from our local school boards, kicked our most vulnerable residents off of public assistance, and repealed the Virginia portions of the Affordable Care Act.
Newsletter - April 3, 2017
We had a great turnout. Special thanks to Congressman Don Beyer, Senator Barbara Favola, Delegates Alfonso Lopez and Marcus Simon, Mayor Allison Silberberg, Alexandria City Councilmembers Willie Bailey and Del Pepper, Alexandria Commonwealth's Attorney Bryan Porter, former Alexandria School Board Member and Team Levine Education Specialist Kelly Booz, Fairfax County School Board Member Karen Sanders, and my constituents Liz Birnbaum and Florence King for attending and speaking on my behalf.
Newsletter - March 19, 2017
With Session over, I've been very busy answering your questions about what happened in Richmond and how it affects you. As the only Delegate to represent both Alexandria and Arlington (plus a small portion of Fairfax County!), I've had a lot of ground to cover. But I'm enjoying every minute. It's great to be back home in Northern Virginia.
Newsletter - February 28, 2017
Session ended Saturday. It's good to be home in Alexandria. And now the campaign begins. Please mark your calendars to vote for my re-election in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, June 13th.
Newsletter - February 19, 2017
One in five women will suffer sexual assault or domestic violence in their lifetime, and some men will undergo this ordeal as well. When I ran for office, I made clear that services to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence would be one of my highest priorities. If you've been following along in prior newsletters, you know all about my Bill of Rights for Survivors of Sexual Assault, which extends the time in which evidence of sexual assault is preserved. On Wednesday, the Senate passed my bill HB 2127 unanimously. It passed the House of Delegates unanimously last week.
Newsletter - February 12, 2017
This week, two of my bills passed the House: (1) my bill to preserve evidence of sexual assault and (2) the bill I chief co-patroned with Republican Delegate Terry Kilgore to protect Virginians' First Amendment right to protest. Both bills are moving on to the Senate. Unfortunately, my budget amendment to bring more broadband internet to rural Virginia was rejected by the Appropriations Committee.