Guest post by Elizabeth Guzman, Democratic candidate for Virginia House of Delegates from the 31st district (parts of Prince William and Fauquier counties). I believe there’s another Democratic candidate, Sara Townsend, who is also welcome to post here if she wants. – Lowell
My name is Elizabeth Guzman and I am running for Virginia’s 31st House of Delegates District here in Northern Virginia. I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to you.
I immigrated to America from Peru as a single mother looking for a better future for my daughter. At first I juggled three jobs just to be able to afford a one-bedroom apartment, but through hard work, perseverance, and dedication I paid my way through college as well as graduate school and now I work to provide vital service programs to the City of Alexandria.
I have lived in Prince William County for 15 years, where my husband Carlos and I have raised four wonderful children and as an active member of this community, I understand the issues that
we are facing. As a mother of four children who have all been through the public school system here, I have seen first hand the struggles that are confronting our schools. This is why I want to
work to reduce class sizes, end stringent SOL requirements, and increase funding for early childhood education programs like Head Start.
As a dedicated public servant in the field of human services, I understand the hardships hundreds of thousands of Virginians face because of their inability to access affordable healthcare services. As such, I want to fight through the partisan politics that has left 400,000 Virginians without access to critical healthcare and work to expand Medicaid in our state. Moreover, I remember what it was like to work three jobs just to make ends meet, which is why I want to expand the minimum wage so that no hard-working Virginian has to struggle to put food on the table.
Finally, I am running to bring diversity to Richmond and give a voice to the myriad of minority communities in the 31 st District and across the state, who feel like their leadership does not represent them. As the first Hispanic woman in the Virginia State Assembly, I want to stand up to those who threaten to divide us, because our diversity is something to be embraced, not disrespected.
For all of these reasons and more I am running for the House of Delegates and I need your help to win. Together we can make a difference. Can I count on your support?
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