Ed. — The following are responses to questions posed by The Independent News to candidates in the election for the new State Senate District 20 seat. Answers to our questions in this series generally are not edited, aside from obvious punctuation issues, spacing and formatting, or for clarity. Candidates appear in ballot order. Remaining copies of the Sunday, Sept. 24, print edition containing the complete guide may still be available on some of our secondary racks through Sunday, Oct. 22.
- Please reach John Doucette, the editor, with any questions or concerns via email.
WILLIAM R. “BILL” DESTEPH [R]
- Residence: Great Neck, Virginia Beach
- Age: 59
- Occupation: Business Owner
- Military Service/Education: U.S. Navy, Naval Special Warfare; BS, Computer Science
- Endorsements: Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Police Benevolent Society and Virginia Professional Fire Fighters
- Phone: (757) 321-8180
- Website: billdesteph.com
- Email: contactbill@billdesteph.com
- Social Media: @destephforva on Facebook and @billdesteph on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter
What are your specific qualifications to serve in the General Assembly? It has been my honor to serve. First in the U.S. Navy, then Virginia Beach City Council, the Virginia House of Delegates, and for the past 8 years, in the Senate of Virginia. I currently sit on several committees, including Senate Local Government, Rehabilitation and Social Services, Transportation, and the Joint Subcommittee on Recurrent Flooding, and on local boards and non-profits like the Boy Scouts Tidewater Council, Special Olympics VA, and the JCOC. My community is extremely important to me. I bring the perspective of a successful businessman, understanding the intricacies of the economy and job creation.As a devoted father, I’m deeply invested in the well-being of Virginia’s families and youth. My military service reflects my dedication to our nation’s security and veterans’ issues. These collective experiences make me highly qualified to serve in the Virginia General Assembly. It is a privilege to represent the needs of my constituents.
What, to you, is the most important issue facing your district and how will you address it in office? There are numerous challenges facing my constituents. The pandemic hurt the economy. Our students still suffer from lost time in the classroom. Inflation is hurting our checkbooks, gas prices continue to rise, and interest rates are out of control. In addition to these important issues, the health and safety of our citizens will continue to be my focus. Crime is at an all-time high. The past five years have seen a surge in assaults against law enforcement, and 2018-2022 witnessed a 59% increase in murder and an uptick in overall violent crimes. As a member of Law Enforcement United, I know the sacrifices made by our first responders and will advocate for legislation that protects our citizens, punishes criminals, and ensures our police, sheriffs, EMS, and firefighters have the resources and support to keep our community safe. We must send a clear message that criminal behavior will not be tolerated.
What are your three main legislative priorities? We must ensure Virginia remains a great place to live, work, and play. The economy, crime, and interest rates are therefore priorities. As both an economic and tourism hub, Coastal Virginia is especially impacted. We are a premiere vacation destination, where inflation is affecting everyone: tourists, the corresponding workforce, and our residents. We have some of North America’s greatest assets right here in our backyard — an incredible beach and oceanfront, and The Port of Virginia — which drives economic activity throughout the Commonwealth. We are also home to the world’s largest naval complex, filling our region with both active-duty service men and women and a large veteran population. Workforce housing and lowering interest rates are paramount to ensure those residing here have a good standard of living. And we must keep all our citizens safe. We must provide law enforcement with the tools to uphold existing criminal statutes and implement harsh penalties and strict sentencing guidelines. I will support legislation that bolsters the economy, promotes public safety, and protects our quality of life.
How will you help ensure job creation and economic vitality? Being a local business owner, I grasp the challenges of delivering a payroll. Having served on the Virginia Board of Workforce development, I understand the need for policy that grows our workforce and supports existing companies, without over-regulating them. We must streamline the regulation process, allowing businesses to create jobs and opportunities. We must make the licensure and certification processes easier and allow for reciprocity with other states when appropriate. We must offer tax incentives to companies looking to relocate or expand to Virginia. We must make it easier for our veterans and military families to enter the workforce.
How will you support local efforts to address sea level rise and recurrent flooding? Coastal flooding and resiliency are important issues for the Commonwealth, but nowhere more significant than here in District 20, comprised of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and the Eastern Shore. Our proximity to the Chesapeake Bay and its estuaries brings even greater responsibility. We must safeguard the health of this ecologic masterpiece, which has great commercial, recreational, and military significance. I have served on the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee and currently sit on the Joint Subcommittee on Recurrent Flooding and am proud of the nearly $1 billion the General Assembly has already invested on coastal flooding and resiliency issues.
How will you support public education? Parents matter. Teachers matter. Students matter. We must ensure parents are included in the conversation and are informed about their child’s activities in school. We must make sure our teachers are compensated for the tremendous work they do. We are entrusting them with our future workforce, our future leaders, our future generations. We must ensure schools are safe and that everyone feels protected. Students should be able to go to the restroom without their right to privacy being violated. I will advocate for and support legislation that prioritizes education in the Commonwealth, ensuring the next generation is ready to succeed.
Do you support access to sexual and reproductive health care for women, including birth control and legal abortion access in Virginia? Access to good, affordable health care is a priority for all the citizens of the Commonwealth, regardless of gender. Health care, and in particular reproductive health care, is an important issue that requires attention. There are those on the extreme left who think abortion should always be allowed, including up to and after birth. There are those on the extreme right who think abortion should never be allowed under any circumstances. I believe we should be the “adults in the room” and bring folks together to have an honest conversation about where to put the guardrails.
Virginia Beach plans to ask the General Assembly to support a new district voting system, either by charter change or general law change. Will you work with the delegation and across party lines to support this? Being a former city council member, I understand first-hand the importance of working together to accomplish what’s best for our community. As a state representative, I have been fortunate to carry charter change and other legislation requested by the city. I will work with my colleagues to support what an overwhelming majority of city council votes to do on this issue. As Thomas Jefferson advocated, we should legislate policy at the lowest level of government. That means supporting the expressed needs of our citizens at the local level.
VICTORIA A. LUEVANOS [D]
- Residence: Lynnhaven/Plaza, Virginia Beach
- Age: 32
- Occupation: Caregiver
- Military Service/Education: U.S. Navy; bachelors in political science & communication
- Endorsements: Everytown for Gun Safety, Virginia AFL-CIO and Roe Your Vote Virginia
- Phone: (757) 742-3018
- Website: victorialuevanos.com
- Email: victoriann@luevanosva.com
- Social Media: @luevanos4district20 on Facebook, @victorialuevanos4va on Instagram and @victoria4va2023 on X, formerly Twitter
What are your specific qualifications to serve in the General Assembly? I’m a lifelong community volunteer, and as a child my grandmother showed me by example what it is to be servant-hearted, serving the needs of the people above the needs of self, and serving the better good of the people, not the best interests and desires of oneself. I started off mentoring at-risk youth in my hometown and volunteering with the local Boys & Girls Club and Lions Club. I’ve been engaged in communities throughout Hampton Roads when I was Active Duty and now as a Veteran, volunteering at local food pantries, the airport USO, being a Child Life volunteer at CHKD, as well as being a part of our local Moms Demand Action group.
I believe as long as you have empathy, compassion, and a dedication to helping and improving the lives of your neighbors on a larger level you should run for office. I was encouraged to run for office because I’ve experienced and overcome so many challenges in life, my friends thought my relatability and desire to help people would give working-class families in our District and across Virginia fair representation. You don’t need to be a business owner, a lawyer, a lobbyist or a career politician to serve your community; candidates should have a fire in the belly to overcome obstacles, be servant-hearted and hard-working, as well as a team player who doesn’t sacrifice people for personal gain. I broke the generational poverty cycle in my family, and I hope my perseverance qualifies me to represent more people like me.
What, to you, is the most important issue facing your district and how will you address it in office? Voters have brought up affordability one way or another. I see the issue first hand in my neighborhood, homes going up for sale because our retirees and working families can’t afford housing. Some of my active-duty friends have moved out of Virginia Beach to Moyock, my children’s classmates are moving out of Virginia Beach to Portsmouth, and a lot of families here and on the Eastern Shore can’t afford to stay or move. I’m seeing a growing number of unhoused Virginians living in their car at grocery store parking lots, sleeping under overpasses, and wooded areas.
My first initiative would be to expand and fund social services to keep Virginians in their homes before it comes down to losing their housing. Next, bring public land to the table, one of the most effective things that local governments can do is take a closer look at their publicly owned land. Very often government agencies find that vacant, underutilized, surplus, and otherwise non-essential properties can be made available for housing development. Consolidating multiple government buildings or relocating municipal uses to less-prime properties can also free up land for housing. Update zoning that creates barriers to housing development, help move the needle with local and state government grants, partner with property owners and developers in the adaptive reuse of vacant and underutilized properties that have the potential for housing and provide initiatives for employers who participate in some form of employer-assisted housing programs. There are a lot of organizations that are experts in this area and with the support from Legislators can lead the initiative in areas they lack.
What are your three main legislative priorities? The working class is facing many challenges to keep themselves afloat, and I want to ensure voters that our campaign supports all initiatives to connect them to the tools for stability, equality, and economic growth. My three main priorities are:
- Creating an economy for all: I plan on achieving this by passing a livable wage, supporting rent control initiatives to keep families housed, and improving taxes for working families by making big corporations pay their fair share.
- Protecting reproductive rights: I want to ensure reproductive rights in Virginia are protected no matter the majority in the General Assembly and I believe we must pass an amendment to the state constitution that would enshrine abortion rights and other protections, by adding to the state constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and protect against discrimination based on a slate of factors, including national origin, sexual orientation – and reproductive health care and pregnancy outcomes.
- Strengthening our education system: I will fight for a better funding formula, support funding increases, pay raises for teachers and school staff, and expand public education to include more early childhood education and college opportunities.
How will you help ensure job creation and economic vitality? Invest in education and training, foster entrepreneurship, promote gender equality, encourage trade, invest in infrastructure in rural areas, promote sustainable development, and support social protections. The goal is to promote inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. By creating new and better job opportunities, improving working conditions, promoting fair wages, and promoting social protection for all we can aim to reduce poverty and income inequality, and to support small businesses and entrepreneurs.
How will you support local efforts to address sea level rise and recurrent flooding? Yes, State and local organizations have voiced their need for proper funding for flood resilience projects already approved. I will support these efforts by advancing legislation that makes funding available, assisting local governments in securing additional federal dollars, investing in natural infrastructure, and providing experts the opportunities to lead these initiatives to ensure we are not wasting resources. Our campaign is endorsed by organizations that dedicate their whole mission to fighting climate change, rising sea levels, and flooding, as well as initiatives to help people currently affected by these issues. If I don’t have the up-to-date knowledge to combat these issues, I’m confident that the partnerships I’ve made in endorsements will have the research needed to assist.
How will you support public education? I want our education system to be the best in the country, I want teachers to look to us as a place they can thrive and call home. I want all schools in VA overfunded!
I want all kids using the newest technology, I want teachers to have endless supplies, I want schools to have resources galore, I want teachers to be paid what their worth is. Budgets show the value we have in investing in our kid’s futures and our priorities, and we need a better funding formula that shows our dedication to our children.
Do you support access to sexual and reproductive health care for women, including birth control and legal abortion access in Virginia? Yes, I’m Pro-Choice, Pro-Reproductive Rights, Pro-Abortion Care, Pro-Woman, and believe that no person or government in a free country should be restricting the rights of women. I support women and their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness regardless of political affiliation or my personal decisions. I tend to think that issues like these are none of my business, or anyone else’s not involved.
Virginia Beach plans to ask the General Assembly to support a new district voting system, either by charter change or general law change. Will you work with the delegation and across party lines to support this? I support the 10-1 system, it works and has provided a change in leadership with new voices. Virginia Beach citizens now vote directly for the representative of their district and it creates a fair playground for candidates of all financial backgrounds. In the November 2022 Virginia Beach City Council and School Board elections, the races produced the most diverse slate of candidates I’ve seen since moving here in 2011. The people voted in the most minority representatives ever elected to City Council and district issues and priorities are weighted equally compared to at-large big-ticket projects.
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