With Del. Mark Levine (D-Alexandria/Arlington)’s announcement – see his press release, below – that he’s running for Lt. Governor of Virginia, we are now up to eight announced Democrats – Del. Hala Ayala, Del. Elizabeth Guzman, Del. Sam Rasoul, Norfolk City Councilwoman Andria McClellan, Sean Perryman, Paul Goldman, Xavier Warren and Del. Levine – running for that office. Gonna be wild…
Virginia Delegate Mark Levine Announces Bid for Lieutenant Governor
Delegate Mark Levine (D-Alexandria/Arlington/Fairfax) declared today he will seek the office of Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 2021. Levine was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2015.
“Injustice really gets under my skin,” Levine said. “All our lives we’ve been told ‘that’s just the way things are.’ But I’ve found – if you’re persistent and creative, get the details right, and work with others of good will – even the toughest problems can be solved. So when I hear something is ‘impossible’, that’s my cue to get to work!”
“Virginia needs a full-time lieutenant governor. If elected, I would visit every one of Virginia’s 133 counties and cities during my term and assist the Governor in connecting with everyday Virginians all across the Commonwealth. To heed their voices, we must hear them first.”
As delegate, Levine has championed a wide variety of issues, from economic opportunity to election reform and racial justice, from battling the high cost of health care to refining Virginia’s drug laws and police procedures. Levine has fought discrimination, gun violence, child abuse, elder abuse, and animal mistreatment. Most notably, he has stood up for those who have endured sexual and domestic violence.
In 1996, Levine’s sister was murdered by her husband. The first bill he ever drafted was a Tennessee law to protect victims of domestic violence and their children. The law passed unanimously.
In 1999, Levine co-founded Marriage Equality California, one of the earliest organizations in the nation formed to champion the legalization of same-sex marriage. As a citizen activist, Levine composed the first “full equality” bill on this subject to be introduced in the United States. A decade later, he crafted and defended DC’s marriage-equality law.
Levine moved to Alexandria in 2001 to serve as Legislative Counsel for Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA). He used this experience to hit the ground running as delegate.
On his second day in office, Levine co-founded the Virginia Transparency Caucus. Through his ensuing efforts over several years, Levine transformed legislative business in the Virginia General Assembly by achieving his long-sought-after mandate that the vote and debate of every single committee and subcommittee be publicly recorded, live-streamed, and archived. Having now ensured Virginians never again have to travel to the Richmond Capitol to witness legislative proceedings, Levine strives to progress even further as Lieutenant Governor to achieve the goal of forging closer connections between Virginians and their government.
If elected, Levine would be the first openly LGBTQ+ statewide-elected official in the history of Virginia. He would be the first Jewish person elected statewide as well. Levine would also become the first openly gay lieutenant governor ever to serve in any of the 50 states.
More about Levine and his campaign can be found at levineforvirginia.com.
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