TIMOTHY V. ANDERSON [R]
Residence: Witchduck/Wishart, Virginia Beach
Age on Election Day: 47
Occupation: Attorney
Education/Military Service: JD 1999 Regent University/BS Economics 1996 University of Tampa
Key endorsements: Virginia Police Benevolent Association, American Veterans Vote & The Spirit of VMI PAC
Website: timforva.com
Email: campaign@timforva.com
Social Media: @timandersonvirginia on Facebook and @tim83rd on Twitter
What are your specific qualifications for this office? An attorney by trade, I have spent my entire career being an advocate for those in need. During my downtime, I serve as a Board Member of the Tidewater Bankruptcy Bar, a member of the Davis Corner Rescue Squad, and I am a former Cub Scout Den Leader. I have always prioritized community service, having been part of the UpCenter mentor program and an active participant in the grassroots community. Now I want to take that community mindset to Richmond to help be the voice of the constituents in the 83rd District.
What are your three main policy priorities or examples of legislation you would pursue in Richmond?
• Growing out economy and jobs: I know how hard it is to work full-time and raise a family, and destructive policies from Richmond are only making it more complex. I will oppose higher taxes, fight strict regulations, and bring more opportunities for good-paying jobs to Virginia Beach and Norfolk.
• Reforming our schools: As a teacher’s husband, I know that high academic standards are the key to an education that leads to a promising future. That’s why I oppose the removal of advanced diplomas and restrictions on advanced math classes. Instead, education should encourage excellence, support parents, and focus on math, science, and technology.
• Protecting our families: Safe neighborhoods are essential to our quality of life. I am an unwavering supporter of our police and first responders and will fight all efforts to defund them. In fact, I propose increasing funding for law enforcement because I knows what it takes to keep our families and neighborhoods safe.
What, to you, is the most important local issue facing the district, and how will you address it if elected? The most crucial issue locally is preserving our quality of life, which includes raising academic standards in education, supporting law enforcement, increasing funding instead of defunding police, ending the early release of violent criminals and sex offenders, and lowering taxes on working families. These are issues I hear from voters at their doors, and they are issues I will fight for in the House of Delegates.
How will you work to assist businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, recover from the economic effects of the pandemic? The first task is to acknowledge that the economic damage resulted from this Governor’s unscientific shutdowns that decimated small businesses, hotels, and restaurants. We need to limit the Governor’s authority to enact these shutdowns without General Assembly consent. The Governor’s shutdowns severely impacted my business, and like many, I had to access PPP loans to keep people employed while other businesses were allowed to remain open. The hospitality industry was particularly hurt by schools being shut down and unemployment checks remaining high throughout this summer. I commend Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer for working on getting the beaches open last year and fighting for the hospitality industry and small businesses. Businesses and workers will have a voice again with Tim Anderson.
How will you be an advocate for state support to local education efforts, including higher education? School should be a place where students learn, not where they are afraid of criminals roaming the halls.
My top priority is, and always will be, to keep our families safe. Therefore, I will work to reverse HB5148 (which gives sentencing credits to rapists and murderers) and HB257 (which removes the mandatory reporting of certain crimes in schools such as stalking, sexual battery, assaulting a teacher). Both of those bills have no place in our Commonwealth.
We must also raise academic standards, better prepare young people for the workplace or college, and keep politics out of the classroom.
What priorities do you have to help support the agriculture community, which represents the Commonwealth’s largest industry? Agriculture is Virginia’s most prominent private industry with an economic impact of over $70 billion per year and well over 300,000 jobs, generating approximately $3 billion of value in exports to Canada, Europe, and Asia. We are a right-to-farm state, and I support that designation and support farmers’ rights to farm their land in keeping with standard practices free from frivolous complaints. I also oppose unfunded mandates and will continue the state cost-sharing partnerships that result in clean waterways.
Do you support access to reproductive health care for women? Why or why not? I support access to health care for all Virginians, which has been part of my platform since I first became a candidate. However, I think an underreported aspect of reproductive health care is pre-natal care in Virginia. Did you know that fewer than 80% of live births in Virginia were to women receiving early pre-natal care? This and other factors result in higher levels of infant mortality. Access to early pre-natal care saves lives, and I support efforts to increase access to care.
How will you work in the Virginia General Assembly to help coastal communities address issues such as the sea-level rise and recurrent flooding? Flooding is a regional problem and needs state and federal funding to combat and mitigate. Virginia Beach has proposed several flood mitigation projects in a bond referendum this fall. Still, the General Assembly needs to understand the impact flooding has on our state economy and our future as sustainable cities and regions. I will fight to include such funding in state budgets to protect our communities and our future.
NANCY D. GUY [D]
Residence: Ocean Park, Virginia Beach
Age on Election Day: 63
Occupation: Delegate
Education/Military Service: The College of William and Mary; University of Virginia School of Law
Key endorsements: Virginia Education Association, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia and the Sierra Club
Website: guyfordelegate.com
Phone: (757) 777-4358
Email: info@guyfordelegate.com
Social Media: @nancyguyva on Facebook and Twitter
What are your specific qualifications for this office? I have lived in Virginia Beach for over 40 years, graduated from Virginia Beach Public Schools, the College of William & Mary, and the University of Virginia School of Law. I have served as a local elected official (two terms on the Virginia Beach School Board), have worked in three distinct industries (law, healthcare, and education), and been widely involved as a volunteer throughout our community.
What are your three main policy priorities or examples of legislation you would pursue in Richmond?
• Support of public education – Raising teacher salaries; reducing SOQ ratios to reduce class sizes; providing adequate support as we recover from COVID.
• Coastal resiliency and combating climate change – Supporting conversion from fossil fuels to offshore wind & solar power and investing in infrastructure for flood mitigation.
• Accessible, affordable health care – Making healthcare more affordable and accessible for Virginia families, including life-saving prescription drugs.
What, to you, is the most important local issue facing the district and how will you address it if elected? Like everywhere across Virginia and the country, rebuilding our economy and making up for lost time in our children’s education are the most important issues in our community. We have taken bold steps throughout the pandemic, such as $100 million for school safety, the Rebuild Virginia grant program for small businesses, and paid sick leave for working families, but COVID-19 continues to be a threat to public health, and state government must continue to address the unique challenges residents and businesses are facing in every corner of Virginia.
How will you work to assist businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, recover from the economic effects of the pandemic? We appropriated $400 million to the Rebuild Virginia grant program, a portion of which was specifically targeted to the hospitality industry. We also appropriated significant funds to various tourism programs to promote Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads as a safe, family-friendly destination, even as COVID persists.
How will you be an advocate for state support to local education efforts, including higher education? I have supported a study of the SOQ-funding mechanism to understand the true cost of public education in Virginia, and will continue to support efforts to strengthen our public schools like raising teacher pay and reducing class sizes. We already increased funding for additional school nurses and guidance counselors, raised teacher pay by 5% – which is still not enough – and invested more than $100 million in critical HVAC and air filtration repairs to make our schools safer for students during the pandemic.
What priorities do you have that will help support the agriculture community, which represents the commonwealth’s largest industry? I have supported strengthening the agricultural reserve program and the cost-share and tax-credit programs for BMPs. My legislation to prohibit the intentional release of helium balloons was supported by the agricultural industry because the balloons kill livestock and foul farm equipment. I also support expanding the C-PACE program to agricultural businesses. We must find a way to preserve prime farmland to not all become solar farms while we transition to a cleaner energy grid.
Do you support access to reproductive health care for women? Why or why not? Yes.
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 the second-most imperiled region in the country to the threats of sea-level rise, which is now measurable and accelerating. We must improve coastal resiliency and invest in infrastructure to mitigate recurrent flooding. I supported the Clean Economy Act and Clean Cars program to expedite the transition to clean energy and electric vehicles, and building permanent funding for coastal resiliency projects. It will take a strong partnership of the local, state, and federal governments to adequately address the immediate threats of sea-level rise.
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