ANNE FERRELL TATA [R]
Residence: Linkhorn Park/Bay Colony, Virginia Beach
Age on Election Day: 60
Occupation: Christian Media Professional and former Medical Sales Representative
Education/Military service: BS from Florida State University, CIVIC, Sorensen Institute; wife of retired Navy Captain and daughter of Army Chaplain
Website: www.teamtata.org
Phone: (757) 213-5193
Email: info@teamtata.org
Social Media: @anneferrelltata on Instagram and @AnneFerrellTata82 on Facebook
What are your specific qualifications for this office? I have been a wife, mom, and leader in the 82nd District for over 30 years. My goal is to become a voice in Richmond for my friends and neighbors here in the district. In addition to working in Christian media and medical sales and raising four sports-loving children, I have worked on numerous political campaigns starting with my father-in-law Bob Tata (30-year Delegate) and including Senator Jeff McWaters, Congressman Scott Rigell, and others.
I am active in Galilee Episcopal Church, the national iFoster Board, and smaller local community outreach activities such as last Summer’s “Back-the-Blue” support of local law enforcement. I am running on a platform of “Family Faith Freedom” and many more details are available on my website.
What are your three main policy priorities or examples of legislation you would pursue in Richmond? First, I will support small businesses and taxpayers. Did you know Virginia ranks among the worst states to start a small business? The complexity, overregulation and over taxation of government has made Virginia less competitive, and those who want Virginia controlled by labor unions are making it worse. I will oppose forced unionization, and instead I will promote a lower tax and regulatory environment making Virginia more business friendly.
Also, I will defend our crimefighters and first responders. I will fight Richmond’s current criminal first/victim last mentality and seek to reinstate some semblance of “truth-in-sentencing” to stop repeat offenders. I will stop the lenient, liberal parole board, who recently released an inmate convicted of 56 felonies, who then proceeded to commit his 57th. I will not Defund the Police. I will fund them with the salaries and equipment they need to do their jobs.
We need to raise academic standards in schools and put our children first. Too often, our public schools have become centers of political activism and not education. I support reinstatement of recognition of high achievers and teaching higher level math class, and I oppose imposition of Critical Race Theory. We need to unite, not divide.
What, to you, is the most important local issue facing the district and how will you address it if elected? We need to keep local citizens and tourists alike safe at the oceanfront. The oceanfront area resort industry is an economic engine that helps powers the Virginia Beach tax-base. I have met with Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate and 2nd Precinct Captain Harry McBrien, and I am encouraged by their initiatives including the addition of a substation at the oceanfront, additional cameras, and ShotSpotter, new technology that pinpoints the exact location of gunfire within seconds and alerts police. State and local governments should cooperate to make Virginia Beach safer for everyone.
How will you work to assist businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, recover from the economic effects of the pandemic? The Governor’s inconsistent rules about shutdowns and his slow rollout of testing capacity and vaccinations made a difficult situation worse. Some businesses and restaurants were shut down or severely restricted while other big businesses never missed a day. That is why I will support legislation limiting the Governor’s rule by executive authority by requiring legislative approval after a specific period of time. Also, the Governor’s decision to pay extra unemployment benefits throughout the summer severely hurt businesses ability to staff their businesses, resulting in many overtime hours and causing businesses to temporarily close. First thing to do is not repeat those policies, and second is to keep businesses open safely and allow them to do their jobs without government holding them back.
How will you be an advocate for state support to local education efforts, including higher education? Education is a priority for me. My mom, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and several other family members were or are teachers. My father-in-law Bob Tata was the Chairman of the House Education Committee. My husband has taught at five universities and been on one university board. I would seek to be appointed to the Education Committee and seek to reinstate the primacy of excellence in education. We need education to be focused on learning and not political ideology. Every child can succeed.
What priorities do you have that will help support the agriculture community, which represents the commonwealth’s largest industry? Virginia is a right-to-farm state, and I support maintaining that. I also support Agriculture in the Classroom, an educational program to teach children the importance and value of agriculture. We also must guard against unfunded mandates, and I plan on continuing the cost-sharing for fencing and improvements to protect waterways. Del. Barry Knight was one of my first supporters, and I plan to work closely with him as he represents much of Virginia Beach’s agricultural community.
Do you support access to reproductive health care for women? Why or why not? I support reproductive health care for women which covers a broad range of services. One thing I’d like to focus on is Virginia’s infant mortality rate, which ranks in the bottom half of states in the nation. Focusing on maternal health and prenatal care will improve this. We must also improve access and cost, as recent national legislation to make health care more affordable has done the opposite.
How will you work in the Virginia General Assembly to help coastal communities address issues such as sea level rise and recurrent flooding? Recurrent flooding is a multi-faceted issue in Virginia Beach and requires a multi-pronged approach to address it. Stormwater flooding requires increased drainage and pump stations, dredging of BMPs and maintaining ditches. Wind tide flooding requires more intricate solutions, some of which are longer term solutions. The City is placing a bond referendum on the ballot to help fund these solutions, but the region of Hampton Roads must unite to emphasize state funding for flooding as it is a region-wide problem.
SCOTT J. FLAX [D]
Residence: Thalia, Virginia Beach
Age on Election Day: 44
Occupation: Attorney
Education/Military Service: J.D., Washington College of Law, B.A, University of Maryland
Key endorsements: Virginia Education Association, Governor Terry McAuliffe and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia
Website: www.flaxfordelegate.com
Email: flax@flaxfordelegate.com
Social Media: @scottflaxfordelegate on Facebook and Instagram and @FlaxforDelegate on Twitter
What are your specific qualifications for this office? I grew up in the 82nd District, I’ve lived in the District for most of my adult life, and I’m raising my family here. I know what makes this community great, and I know the challenges it faces. This is the best qualification to represent our area in Richmond. My experience as an attorney is also important. I’ve seen the effect that good laws and bad laws can have on citizens, and I want to take part in carefully considering the laws we put into place for Virginia. I know the law and I can advocate in the legislature for the laws that will do the most for our community.
What are your three main policy priorities or examples of legislation you would pursue in Richmond? Economic recovery and job creation is my main policy priority. We need to help our small businesses and tourism industry recover from the pandemic by fighting for our share of recovery dollars in Richmond. We need to work to encourage job growth in Hampton Roads,especially in emerging sectors like wind energy. We need to listen to the voices of workers and small business owners to get our economy back into shape for the challenges ahead. I also want to address issues around coastal flooding, such as changes to infrastructure and conservation efforts that insure we are paying attention to the concerning effects of climate change on Virginia Beach. I want to make education a priority for the legislature, so we can work to increase teacher pay, invest in rebuilding school infrastructure, and get back to providing the best education we can for our students.
What, to you, is the most important local issue facing the district and how will you address it if elected? The most pressing issue in our district is economic recovery and job creation. Our area, like much of the Commonwealth, is facing and will continue to face serious economic challenges as we recover from the pandemic. We must fight for our share of recovery dollars to aid our small businesses, and I will work to make our area the wind energy hub of the East Coast, creating over 3000 jobs in the Hampton Roads area.
How will you work to assist businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, recover from the economic effects of the pandemic? Helping our local economy recover from the pandemic will be the largest challenge in front of legislators like me in the coming years. Aside from recovery funds the General Assembly and federal government can allocate, we must listen to the voices of small business owners and employees to help both groups transition out of the crisis provoked by the onset of Covid-19 and its variants.
How will you be an advocate for state support to local education efforts, including higher education? The legislature in Richmond must make public education a priority in its budget. We must work to raise teacher pay by getting funds to the localities that need them, and we can also work to fund infrastructure improvements to schools. Many schools in our region have not seen renovations in decades. If we invest in our schools and teachers, we can provide a phenomenal education for our children. We must also invest in higher education, whether that is funding state universities or promoting job training programs and apprenticeships.
What priorities do you have that will help support the agriculture community, which represents the commonwealth’s largest industry? Protecting the Bay and our other water resources will be important for agriculture in Virginia, but we must make sure that critical environmental protections policies take into account the laws’ effect on the agriculture community.
Do you support access to reproductive health care for women? Why or why not? I will always vote to protect access to reproductive health care. The attacks on a woman’s right to choose are deeply concerning to me and to many Virginians, and we must prevent Virginia from continuing those attacks on reproductive health care. Reproductive health care providers meet the needs of so many Virginians, in a range of health care areas, from cancer screenings to educational programs. We can’t let attacks on a woman’s right to choose affect access to health care for so many Virginians.
How will you work in the Virginia General Assembly to help coastal communities address issues such as sea level rise and recurrent flooding? Coastal flooding is one of the most pressing issues facing Virginia Beach, and I want to work to address the effects of such flooding by funding improvements to our infrastructure, and working with local governments, developers, and environmental advocates to properly develop areas that may be subject to recurrent flooding.
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