From Del. Rip Sullivan’s Project Blue Dominion:
Flip-A-District Friday: Volume XIV
Welcome to the 14th edition of Flip-a-District Friday. It might seem hard to believe, but Project Blue Dominion has thus far featured Democratic candidates in a whopping 51 districts. This edition features our final four challengers — Morgan Goodman, Jay Jones, Angela Lynn, and Casey Turben.
Don’t worry though — we’ll be back next Friday with profiles of the Democratic Delegates who are facing Republican threats in November, and then more weekly updates as we approach Election Day.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program…
Meet the candidate: Morgan Goodman
Morgan Goodman is a lifelong Virginian who lives with her husband Mike and two young children in Mechanicsville. She serves on the PTA Board and is Co-Leader of her daughter’s Brownie Troop.
Morgan holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental and Natural Resource Policy and currently works for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. She previously worked for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.
“Voters in the 55th District are hungry for real representation,” says Morgan. “They see Buddy Fowler as someone who is primarily beholden to corporate and party interests. They see him as more interested in making a point than making a difference. They need – and deserve – to be the priority instead of the Republican Party. I listen at the doors I knock on – the District’s residents are my priority.”
House District 55:
Just north of Richmond and south of Fredericksburg, the 55th District encompasses parts of Hanover, Caroline, and Spotsylvania Counties. It is currently represented by Buddy Fowler (R). Click here for more district details.
Just one example of why Buddy needs to go:
As a member of the House Privileges and Elections Committee, Buddy has a consistent record of voting for bills seemingly aimed at voter suppression (ExhibitsA, B, and C). What stands out, however, is that Buddy introduced one of most baffling voter ID bills to come before the House of Delegates this year.
Buddy’s bill would have required voters submitting an absentee ballot application by mail or by fax to also include a photocopy of one of the forms of ID acceptable under current law. This bill makes no logical sense. Even if one accepts the debunked presumption that voter fraud is a widespread threat, the bill “provides no means of verifying the identity of the individual depicted in the submitted photograph,” noted Governor McAuliffe in his veto statement.
Contact the campaign: ljordan@goodmanfordelegate.com
Meet the candidate: Jay Jones
Currently, Jay serves as a Board Member of the Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern Virginia. He is also a Board Member of Festevents, Ltd., the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation, and the Old Dominion University Athletic Foundation’s Next Generation Board. Jay is a lifelong member of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.
House District 89:
Secretary Hillary Clinton won this district by an overwhelming 78 percent of the vote. The 89th District is located entirely within Norfolk City, and is currently represented by retiring Delegate Daun Hester (D). Click here for more district details.
Just one example of why we cannot let Terry win:
Jay is running against Libertarian candidate Terry Hurst. Terry freely admits that flooding and sea level rise are “recurring and increased,” but like many (especially Republicans) before him, he refuses to say why the changes are occurring. Even in his long blog post on flood mitigation, there’s not one mention of climate change or global warming. According to Terry, there’s apparently no point in “arguing the cause” of catastrophic weather events.
Recognizing that climate change is the cause of rising sea levels and changing weather patterns should not be up for debate. For Terry to assert that discussing the cause of massive flooding and rising sea levels in his community is a waste of time makes him part of the problem. After all, how can you truly fix a problem if you refuse to admit the cause?
Contact the campaign: alex@jayjones.vote
Meet the candidate: Angela Lynn
Active in her community, Angela has taught in the Albemarle County school system, volunteered as a PTA president and Council Member, and directed several community boards. Angela currently serves on the Albemarle County Department of Social Services Advisory Board, the Agricultural and Forestal District Advisory Board, and the Public Recreational Facilities Authority. Angela also previously served on the Board of One Virginia 2021, trying to end gerrymandering and establish an independent redistricting commission.
Angela is running to reform campaign finance laws, restore faith and transparency in government, fully fund our public schools, expand Medicaid and ensure our environment is protected.
House District 25:
The 25th District comprises sections of Augusta, Albemarle, and Rockingham Counties. It includes parts of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest and the southern piece of Shenandoah National Park. The district is currently represented by Steve Landes (R). Click here for more district details.
Just one example of why Steve needs to go:
As Chairman of the House Education Committee, Steve has significant power over which education-related bills come before the full House of Delegates for a vote. Unfortunately, he has used this position to promote bills that would seriously threaten funding for Virginia’s public school system. This session, he backed highly partisan measures that would have:
- Drained money away from the public school system to private and parochial schools through a “Virginia Parental Choice Education Savings Account,”
- Disadvantaged public school children who compete in interscholastic sports,
- Diverted money from Virginia public schools to charter schools that are independent from local school boards,
- and created a “Virtual School Board,” which would outsource public education to private contractors, an idea championed by ALEC, an extremely shadowy, corporation-backed, conservative organization.
It’s no wonder Steve received a failing grade from the Virginia Education Association this year.
Contact the campaign: spencer@lynnforvirginia.com
Meet the candidate: Casey Turben
It was in the 29th District that Casey developed a love of history, earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the local area Boy Scout Council, and graduated from James Wood High School. As a teenager, Casey transformed his love of music into a professional DJ service that he has owned and operated ever since. Upon graduation, he coached football for James Wood while studying History and Political Science at Shenandoah University. During his college career Casey remained involved in public service through volunteer-coaching youth sports, assisting in community history projects, and making his business’s services available free-of-charge to community non-profits.
Casey is seriously concerned about the status of the American Dream. The stress of rising health care costs, decreased economic mobility, and policies that negatively affect middle class families have threatened Virginians’ hope for a safe and prosperous life in exchange for a hard day’s work.
That is why Casey is running to be the voice of the 29th District in Richmond. His commitment is to ensuring that his community is well-represented in the House of Delegates and is able to take the lead on vocational training and skills for “new collar” jobs. He is also focused on strengthening Virginia’s public schools while making sure that competitive pay for educators is a top-tier priority. Casey will fight to ensure that the working families of the 29th District can and will take part in the Commonwealth’s current and future prosperity.
House District 29:
The 29th District represents the northernmost point of Virginia, bordered on the east and west by West Virginia. The district includes parts of Frederick County, Winchester City, and Warren County. It is currently represented by Chris Collins (R). Click here for more district details.
Just one example of why Chris needs to go:
Chris is a newer member in the General Assembly, but his views on access to reproductive health care services are definitely outdated. At a town hall this year hestated, “I disagree that taxpayer money should go to Planned Parenthood, so long as Planned Parenthood is providing abortions, that’s my position.”
It’s bad enough that Chris denies a woman’s right to choose — unfortunately, he also finds it easy to write off the value of the vast number of critical services that Planned Parenthood provides for women (and men). Because Planned Parenthood provides abortions (which make up a very small percentage of the services it performs), Chris is willing to take away Virginian women’s access to critical services like prenatal care, breast cancer screenings, STD testing, treatment, and prevention, and pap smears.
Taxpayer funding does not fund abortions. Legislators like Chris should not punish people who need access to Planned Parenthood’s non-abortion services — they should instead encourage their constituents to seek the screenings and treatment they need.
Contact the campaign: info@turbenfordelegate.com
This concludes Volume XIV of our Flip-a-District Friday series. I hope you will continue supporting our great Democrats up and down this ticket with your time and resources ahead of Election Day.
Best,
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