GLENN R. DAVIS JR. [R]
Residence: Castleton, Virginia Beach
Age on Election Day: 48
Occupation: President and CEO of BW Strategy Group
Education/Military Service: George Mason University
Key endorsements: Virginia Beach Police Benevolent Association, Virginia Farm Bureau AgPAC and American Veterans Vote (AVV) PAC
Website: glennrdavis.com
Phone: (757) 720-2023
Email: glenn@glennrdavis.com
Social Media: @DelGDavis on Facebook and @DelGlennDavis on Instagram and Twitter
What are your specific qualifications for this office? What many politicians talk about doing, I actually get done. I have bucked the political system, fought both parties, and took on big business and insurance companies to stand up for the people I was elected to serve. An example was working with patient rights groups for four years to stop insurance companies from forcing patients to fail on less expensive medication before being allowed access to their doctor’s recommended treatment. After years of fighting Democrats, Republicans, and special interest groups, that legislation finally passed and was signed into law. This was among my proudest legislative accomplishments because of the impact it has had in improving the lives of so many Virginians. I was elected not to be something, but to do something. Working to improve the lives of my fellow Virginians is what I have strived to do in Richmond and will continue to do.
What are your three main policy priorities or examples of legislation you would pursue in Richmond? Making Virginia the number one state to live, work, raise a family, and start a business requires excellent schools, a strong economy, and safe communities.
I will continue working to ensure every Virginia child has the opportunity to receive a quality education regardless of zip code. I have pushed for numerous bills to strengthen charter schools and enable families to choose from a variety of academic options that ensure their children are provided with the resources necessary to reach their full potential.
We must get our economy moving again and help struggling small businesses and families recover. For me, creating jobs isn’t just a passion, but a life story. I started my first company in a one-bedroom apartment when I was just 26 years old. I have utilized the knowledge I gained from my career as an entrepreneur to reduce burdens on small businesses and help our economy grow.
Having safe communities means we must ensure law enforcement officers have the tools they need to keep our children and neighborhoods safe. Additionally, we should be working to grow relationships and communication between law enforcement and our diverse communities around the Commonwealth, not attacking the funding of those officers and removing the resources that they rely on to protect us.
What, to you, is the most important local issue facing the district and how will you address it if elected? One of the biggest challenges in my district is flooding. I have been fighting to protect our communities from flooding since my days on City Council, when I addressed neighborhood flooding by funding the dredging of lakes in our City. I also joined with other members of the Hampton Roads delegation to help bring additional monies to our region to curb flooding. My record on this important issue has earned me previous endorsements from Stop the Flooding NOW, a nonpartisan grassroots advocacy organization committed to raising awareness and support for efforts to stop flooding in our community.
How will you work to assist businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, recover from the economic effects of the pandemic? As someone who has started multiple small businesses, I understand the challenges of owning and maintaining a business in the Commonwealth, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We must create a tax and regulatory environment that helps businesses to succeed rather than stifle them. Recent efforts I’ve championed have helped save thousands of jobs in Hampton Roads and create hundreds more by eliminating competitive advantages given to large out-of-state companies over Virginia based businesses.
Additionally, I have fought repeatedly against efforts by the Northam Administration to raise taxes, helping to ensure balanced budgets that do not raise taxes on Virginians. I believe that we need to be providing Virginians with tax relief, not tax increases. This is crucial to ensuring Virginia remains a great place to live, work, raise a family, and start a business.
How will you be an advocate for state support to local education efforts, including higher education? I’m proud to serve on the Education Committee. I supported a 5 percent pay raise for teachers and will continue working with colleagues in both parties to provide teachers with more competitive wages. I have also been heavily involved in numerous initiatives to reduce the amount of standardized testing. I have championed legislation to create $16,000 online degrees from Virginia universities like those provided by Western Governor’s University. I also supported legislation which provided additional incentives to public colleges and universities to freeze tuition rates that resulted in the first tuition freeze for all Virginia public universities in decades.
What priorities do you have that will help support the agriculture community, which represents the commonwealth’s largest industry? I was proud to receive the endorsement of the Virginia Farm Bureau’s AgPAC in my reelection campaign this year. Many people do not realize how much farmland there is in Virginia Beach. I am proud to represent farmers and to fight for the needs of rural Virginians and protect our farms across the Commonwealth.
One of the biggest challenges in Virginia is the shrinking amount of farmland. Part of this problem has been brought about due to many localities basing real-estate taxes on farmland as “best use,” not agricultural use.
Do you support access to reproductive health care for women? Why or why not? There is always a reasonable middle ground respecting everyone’s rights and beliefs. I opposed Delegate Tran’s bill allowing abortions in the third trimester up to the moment of birth without having more than one doctor provide an opinion related to its medical necessity. I championed Medicaid expansion back in 2014, providing affordable healthcare to 190,356 low-income women, I worked across the aisle to provide better access to affordable birth control, and I supported bipartisan legislation slashing the sales tax on feminine products by 50%.
How will you work in the Virginia General Assembly to help coastal communities address issues such as sea level rise and recurrent flooding? In addition to my efforts to combat flooding through infrastructure improvements highlighted above, I have supported projects to preserve green spaces and enable us to be better stewards of the environment. This includes approving the funding for Virginia Beach to acquire 118 acres of green space at Pleasure House Point and supporting the efforts for the Brock Environmental Center. I also met with President Obama’s FEMA administrator Craig Fugate to discuss practical solutions for states and localities to address sea level rise and flooding.
KIMBERLY A. MELNYK [D]
Residence: Christopher Farms, Virginia Beach
Age on Election Day: 54
Occupation: Vice Chair of the Virginia Beach School Board and former VBCPS Educator
Education/Military Service: Longwood University, B.S., Elementary Education
Key endorsements: Governor Ralph Northam, VEA Fund for Children and Public Education and Virginia Beach Commissioner of the Revenue Phil Kellam
Website: www.kimfordelegate.com
Phone: (757) 301-1603
Email: info@kimfordelegate.com
Social Media: @kimfordelegate on Facebook and @kimmelnyk on Twitter
What are your specific qualifications for this office? I have lived in Virginia Beach for over forty years, and I am bringing my experience as Vice Chair of the School Board, a former teacher, a parent, a small business owner, and a lifelong resident to this office. I have worked for over six years as a member of the Virginia Beach School Board, where I have advocated for the needs of our students, teachers, and parents, including working directly with legislators to bring our community’s concerns to the General Assembly. I know how to get results, like implementing full day kindergarten and reaching 100% accreditation; but I also bring my experience as a member of the community I will be representing. I will work hard every day for the 84th District in Richmond, because that is what I have been doing my entire career.
What are your three main policy priorities or examples of legislation you would pursue in Richmond? Education will be my top priority in the House of Delegates. We need to invest in a strong future for Virginia, and that future starts with our children. We must start by fully funding public education. We need to raise our teachers’ pay, and at least bring it to the national average. We need to prioritize funding for public education, including special education and mental and behavioral health services.
We also need to make health care more affordable for Virginians. Expanding Medicaid was a huge step in the right direction, but families are still struggling. I will be a strong advocate for expanding access, protecting pre-existing conditions, and capping costs on prescription drugs.
Finally, I will be an advocate for our working families. As a small business owner, I know our workers are the backbone of our economy, and they should be a top priority in Richmond. I will fight for fair wages, paid sick leave and family leave. I will work hard to make sure our workers are protected, and treated with dignity and respect.
What, to you, is the most important local issue facing the district and how will you address it if elected? Every single issue can be traced back to education. Prioritizing public education strengthens our families, our communities, and our local economy. We have made great strides in Virginia Beach, but we still have much more to do. Our teachers still need a raise. We still need funding for services to support our students’ development as well as their learning. I have worked tirelessly for our schools as both a teacher, and now as a school board member, and I will take my experience to Richmond, and continue to be a fierce advocate for our students.
How will you work to assist businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, recover from the economic effects of the pandemic? As a small business owner myself, I have seen firsthand the impact the pandemic had on our business community. We must provide our businesses with resources and funding to keep their doors open, take care of their employees, and build back stronger. I will work to bring funding to the district to help bolster our local economy, and make sure we can get back on our feet in the wake of the pandemic.
How will you be an advocate for state support to local education efforts, including higher education? As a Virginia Beach School Board Member, I have been advocating for state support to local education efforts since 2014. I have experienced firsthand what a difference it makes to have representatives who care about education and work with our city leaders to make these issues a priority, and as your delegate, I will be that representative. I know how important it is to invest in education, and to listen to the students and educators who are directly affected by these policies. I will continue to work to raise teacher pay, and work to fully fund public education in Virginia.
What priorities do you have that will help support the agriculture community, which represents the commonwealth’s largest industry? We need to make investments to strengthen our agricultural businesses, especially in the wake of COVID-19. As delegate, I will work to support local farmers with investments to make sure their businesses can come out the other side of the pandemic, and continue to grow. I am proud of the work that VPCPS has done in technical and career education, and I want to continue to build on that to give students even more opportunities to pursue a career in agriculture. We should expand partnerships between schools and agricultural businesses to recruit, train, and hire talent into the agriculture industry.
Do you support access to reproductive health care for women? Why or why not? I fully support access to reproductive health care for women — and that means protecting a woman’s right to choose. As women, we deserve full control over what happens to our bodies, and any attempt to take away that control is an attack on our fundamental rights as human beings and as citizens. Reproductive health care is just that — health care — and health care should be a fundamental right.
How will you work in the Virginia General Assembly to help coastal communities address issues such as sea level rise and recurrent flooding? Virginia Beach is already being impacted by coastal flooding as a result of sea level rise. I will equip our community with the resources and infrastructure we need to recover from damage already caused by flooding, and to prepare for it in the future. The more we invest in preparations, the more we save in the long term. But we need to look further than just preparing for damage caused by climate change. I will work to increase investments in renewable energy, and build a green economy that will strengthen our community and build a renewable future for Virginia Beach.
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