At an event earlier this evening at Acme Pies (yum!) on Columbia Pike in Arlington, Virginia House Democratic Leader Eileen Filler-Corn and Del. Marcus Simon made the case for a) the importance of Democrats winning back the Virginia House of Delegates in November; b) the importance of reelecting Virginia House Democratic Whip Alfonso Lopez. See below for video of their speeches, and a few highlights. And go Alfonso!
- House Democratic Leader Filler-Corn talked about the “amazing crop of members that joined us” after the 2017 elections.
- Filler-Corn talked about the “power of 49” Democratic members, how much we accomplished with 49 members (e.g., Medicaid expansion), and how much *more* we could accomplish with the majority (e.g., gender equality, the ERA, workers’ rights, gun violence prevention, environmental protection).
- Filler-Corn called Alfonso Lopez an “amazing delegate” who is “so capable and so bright, who knows these issues inside and out, somebody who’s not afraid to stand up day in and day out for the issues and the values that are so important to us.”
- Del. Lopez talked about why this election is so important, how we need to do “a lot more in terms of affordable housing…in terms of education funding…in terms of of how we actually address the social safety net…a budget that reflects our values…sensible gun violence prevention legislation…environmental safeguards that were environmental safeguards…we should be the leader in the mid-Atlantic for renewable energy…Think about what we could do with the majority!”
- Del. Lopez concluded: “If we have the majority, the work of a lifetime is the work of two afternoons. If we have the majority, the values and the issues that you cherish…they get done for 8.4 million people…We’re this close – this close – to really making our dreams come true…I need your help for my June 11 primary; we’re confident but we’re not taking anything for granted…[After June 11] we can bring it home in November and we can send a message to the folks across the river that what’s going on is not okay…Don’t let them continue this narrative that somehow they can flip Virginia back; they can’t and we’re not going to let them.”
- Del. Simon argued that delegates aren’t just “fungible,” but that it really matters *who* we send to Richmond to represent us.
- Specifically, Del. Simon argued that “it matters a lot that we have Alfonso” there, that Alfonso takes “a genuine personal interest” in every House Democrat’s success, that “the majority will not be the same unless we have somebody like Alfonso there as part of that majority…we can’t do it without Alfonso.”
- Del. Simon said Alfonso “works as hard as anybody down there and it will not be the same, could not be the same, we really really need Alfonso Lopez representing the 49th district and representing all of us as Democrats in Richmond.”
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