KAREN S. GREENHALGH [R]
Ed. — The campaign declined to respond.
ALEX Q. ASKEW [D]
Residence: Level Green/College Park, Virginia Beach
Age on Election Day: 36
Occupation: Business Development Coordinator and Delegate in the Virginia House of Delegates
Education/Military Service: Proud graduate of Virginia Beach City Schools and Hampton University
Key endorsements: Virginia AFL-CIO, SEIU and Governor Ralph Northam
Website: www.AlexAskew.com
Phone: (757) 574-0637
Email: contact@alexaskew.com
Social Media: @askewfordelegate on Facebook and @AlexAskew757 on Twitter
What are your specific qualifications for this office? I was born in Virginia Beach and raised here by my mother, a former public school teacher. I came up through the Virginia Beach education system, and worked for nearly seven election cycles on local, state, and national campaigns after graduating from Hampton University.
I was elected as the Delegate for the 85th District in 2019. During my first term, our office had 14 bills signed into law, most of which received unanimous bipartisan support. These bills included expanding workers’ compensation coverage for firefighters, implementing a lead-water testing process in all Commonwealth public schools and daycares, and creating the first dedicated source of funding for Hampton Roads Transit.
The residents of Virginia Beach have been my motivation throughout my life — and I look forward to continuing to fight for affordable healthcare, quality education, economic opportunities, and a safe environment for all. Together, we can create positive change for our community.
What are your three main policy priorities or examples of legislation you would pursue in Richmond? I’m proud of my record as a staunch advocate on the issues that matter most for our community: investing in quality education, affordable health care, and economic opportunity. I passed a budget that guaranteed a 5-percent pay raise for our public-school teachers and our dedicated state employees; I capped the price of insulin to $50 and sponsored legislation to do the same for asthma inhalers — and I protected access to affordable health care for 500,000 Virginians; I helped roll back harsh abortion restrictions in VA that only served to harm women — and I am the only candidate in this race who will fight for women’s rights, including the right to choose and the right to access reproductive health care.
Next year, I plan to reintroduce legislation that will cap the price of asthma inhalers — following in the model success of the state legislature’s ability to cap the price of insulin to $50. We also need to enact more stringent environmental protections, and I hope to work closely with some of our staunchest environmental partners — like Clean Virginia, League of Conservation Voters, and Sierra Club — to this end.
What, to you, is the most important local issue facing the district and how will you address it if elected? Addressing the structural education gap that has been widened by the pandemic is the most pressing issue facing VA-85. I was proud to have introduced a number of pieces of legislation during our first term that dealt directly with this issue, and am excited to continue that work if re-elected. Additionally, as we begin to safely reopen schools, it is imperative that we recommit our investment in school-based health and mental health services, the free lunch program, and truancy prevention, to ensure all of our students are in school and ready to learn.
How will you work to assist businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, recover from the economic effects of the pandemic? The pandemic ravaged so many small businesses, and I witnessed firsthand how folks were affected, especially those in Virginia Beach’s extensive hospitality industry. It is imperative that we are proactive in our efforts to support these businesses, which are the backbones of so many of our communities. That means making sure all our workers have access to a living wage, increasing grant and loan availability for small businesses in the Commonwealth, and ensuring that our small businesses have the resources they need to never shut their doors again.
How will you be an advocate for state support to local education efforts, including higher education? As the son of a former public school teacher and the proud product of the Virginia Beach public school system, I have made ensuring access to safe, quality education for all Virginians one of my top priorities. I was proud to sponsor legislation that required schools and daycares in Virginia to have at least one carbon monoxide detector; I also passed a law that requires that all schools and daycares test for lead in their drinking water. As schools reopen, I have focused on getting kids back in the classroom with legislation that sets a clear timeline for schools to open safely and responsibly.
What priorities do you have that will help support the agriculture community, which represents the commonwealth’s largest industry? I’m committed to ensuring that agriculture industry representatives, scientists, local community members, and all relevant stakeholders are included in the debates regarding any agriculture bill that is being voted on.
Specifically, I support providing additional funding for agricultural best management practices to meet Chesapeake Bay clean-up benchmarks — and last session I voted to ensure that our budget included $50 million in general funds and $50 million in bonds for nutrient removal in the Chesapeake Bay. This funding will help to provide cost-effective solutions to local communities, farmers, and private landowners as all stakeholders work together to clean polluted waters.
Do you support access to reproductive health care for women? Why or why not? The fact is that access to reproductive health care is a public health issue, it’s an economic issue, and it’s a human rights issue. I am the only candidate in this race who will fight for women’s rights — including the right for an individual to make her own health care decisions and the right to access reproductive health care. Nobody should come between a person and her health care provider.
How will you work in the Virginia General Assembly to help coastal communities address issues such as sea level rise and recurrent flooding? Climate change is a real threat to our community — and my office has worked hard over the past two years to help create a livable and sustainable environment for all. To this end, we have taken immediate action to curb the effects of coastal flooding by sponsoring legislation to create a flood insurance fund for low-income Virginians. I also supported the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which puts Virginia on the path toward a 100 percent renewable-energy electricity supply by 2050. And next year, I plan to reintroduce a flood insurance subsidy bill for vulnerable communities.
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