MCLEAN, VA – More than 150 veterans and military family members from across Virginia today endorsed Terry McAuliffe for governor, citing his strong record of support for veterans and military families. Under Terry’s leadership as governor, Virginia became the first state in the nation to functionally eliminate veteran homelessness. Terry worked closely with the General Assembly to secure state funding to build two new veterans care centers, including the first veterans care facility in the Hampton Roads region. Terry also created the first-in-the-nation Military Medics and Corpsmen Program, which allows former military medics to work in Virginia’s health systems and help fill much-needed gaps. And he also launched Cyber Vets Virginia, a program to connect veterans with cyber security training and skill development in Virginia. During Terry’s administration, he and his wife Dorothy McAuliffe made supporting military families a priority, securing new funding for school divisions to support military children and directed the Department of Education to develop guidelines for military families with students in special education programs.
While Glenn Youngkin has opposed President Biden’s American Rescue Plan which includes $17 billion in funding to help veterans, including $14.5 billion for veterans’ health care, mental health care, suicide prevention and other issues, Terry will always work to improve the health and welfare of Virginia’s veterans. As Virginia’s next governor, Terry will increase suicide prevention efforts and invest in new opportunities for transitioning service members and their families. Terry’s plans will strengthen the military workforce and increase educational opportunities for service members and their families–starting with breaking down barriers that prevent military spouses from transferring their occupational and professional licenses.
“As a Navy veteran and the Chair of the Virginia Military and Veterans Caucus, I have been incredibly proud to endorse and support Terry McAuliffe for governor. Terry did incredible work as Virginia’s 72nd Governor to improve the health and welfare of our veterans,” said Delegate David Reid (Loudoun County). “Terry has worked tirelessly to support Virginia’s veterans and under Terry’s leadership, Virginia will continue to strengthen and champion our service members, our veterans, and their families.”
“I am honored and humbled to have the support of so many veterans who have dedicated their lives to protecting our country and this Commonwealth. The empowerment and quality of life for veterans and their families is personal to me as the proud son of U.S. Army Captain Jack McAuliffe and proud father of U.S. Marine Captain Jack McAuliffe,” said Terry McAuliffe. “While Glenn Youngkin opposed the American Rescue Plan, which included billions of dollars to help veterans, I firmly believe we need to provide more resources and help for our veterans. As governor, my administration will continue to address the underlying causes of housing instability and homelessness for our veterans, and to provide support for Virginia veterans who are facing even tougher times as a result of this pandemic.”
Terry has released 17 detailed plans to strengthen Virginia’s education system and dramatically increase teacher pay, help secure Virginia’s economic recovery from COVID-19, reform our criminal justice system, ensure Virginians have access to regular nutritious meals, address the broken, predatory system of prescription drug pricing, confront the gun violence epidemic, make Virginia the best state in the nation for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Health Care (STEM-H) and computer science education, tackle the housing crisis in the Commonwealth and invest in Virginia’s workforce in the post-COVID economy, ensure Virginians have access to high-quality, affordable health care, tackle climate change and secure Virginia’s clean energy future by 2035, lift up Black Virginians as the Commonwealth rebuilds from the COVID-19 pandemic, further advance LGBTQ+ rights, create a flourishing rural economy, support entrepreneurial ecosystems and tackle rising costs and meet the health care needs and make higher education more affordable.
Terry McAuliffe’s coalition of support now includes over 150 veterans and military family members:
Congresswoman Elaine Luria (VA-02), Navy veteran, Norfolk
Senator John Edwards, Marines veteran, Roanoke
Senator John Bell, Air Force veteran, Loudon
Delegate Dan Helmer, Army veteran, Fairfax
Delegate David Reid, Navy veteran, Loudon
Delegate Don Scott, Navy veteran, Portsmouth
Delegate Clint Jenkins, Army veteran, Suffolk
RD Huffstetler, Marine Corps veteran, Charlottesville
Claire Russo, Marine Corps veteran, Albemarle
Ravi Chaudhary, Air Force veteran, Arlington
Tonya Venyke James, Marine Corps veteran, Prince William County
Terron Sims II, Army veteran, Arlington
Donna Price, Navy veteran, Albemarle County
Sam Mosley, Army veteran, Campbell County
Robert Merryman, Marine Corps veteran, Campbell County
Frank Merryman, Army veteran, Campbell County
John Dennis Vincent Sr., Army veteran, Campbell County
Daniel Tuck, Air Force veteran, Lynchburg
Derek Kitts, Army veteran, Christiansburg
Linda Hughes, Air Force veteran, Nelson County
William “Bill” Hughes Jr., veteran, Nelson County
LeRoy Helferstay, Navy veteran, Campbell County
Gerald Jackson, Air Force veteran, Campbell County
Betty Zieger, Navy veteran, Amherst County
Bob Wandrei, Navy veteran, Bedford
Michael Shetley, Army veteran, Campbell County
Reagan Flaherty Sampson, Coast Guard veteran, Bedford
Jeremiah Sampson, Army veteran, Bedford
Donna Plunkett StClair, Army veteran, Bedford
Mack Brooks, Army veteran, Alexandria
Patrick Foreman, Marine Corps veteran, Stafford
Anthony Gitalado, Army veteran, Spotsylvania
Mahlon Nichols, veteran, Bedford
Nigel Goulding, Air Force veteran, Bedford
Danny Childress, Army veteran, Suffolk
Tom Christian, Air Force veteran
Jerry Rex Long, veteran, Arlington
Nancy McPherson, Coast Guard veteran, Chesapeake
Naveed Shah, Army veteran, Springfield
Max Hall, Army veteran, Fauquier
Dick Hendrix, Navy veteran, Bedford
Rev. Cozy Bailey, Marine Corps veteran, Dumfries
Gary Smith, Marine Corps veteran, Fredericksburg
Wonda Morton, Army veteran, Hampton
NaKisha King, Navy veteran, Hampton
Bishop J. McLeod, Army veteran, Hampton
Whalan McDew, Army veteran, Hampton
Neva Beierle, Air Force veteran, Hampton
Shamika Lewis, Army veteran, Hopewell
Thomas Oakley, Army veteran, McLean
Deborah Rodriguez, Army veteran, Montclair
Jeanne Capello, Navy veteran, Boydton
Larry Christopher Brantley, Navy veteran, Temperanceville
Korman Kenyetta Butler, Navy veteran, Virginia Beach
Ralph Warren Anderson, Navy veteran, Portsmouth
Dewayne Tyrone Atkins, Navy veteran, Chesapeake
Isaac Jordan Baker II, Marine Corps and Army veteran, Suffolk
Franklin Delane Cogdell, Marine Corps veteran, Virginia Beach
Juanita Vermel Coleman, Navy veteran, Henrico
James William Connally, Air Force veteran, Annandale
Francisco Capayas Contreras, Navy veteran, Virginia Beach
Gary George Denette, Navy veteran, Portsmouth
Buddy Dingle, Army veteran, Newport News
Marshall Sol Duny, Navy veteran, Virginia Beach
Cabiness, James Darnell II, Air Force veteran, Christiansburg
Paige Dewitt Cherry, Army veteran, Portsmouth
Samuel Chisholm Jr, Army veteran, Gainesville
Charley Conrad, Navy veteran, Arlington
Tyre Nelson III, Navy veteran, Chesapeake
David Durham, Navy veteran, Fredericksburg
John Miller, Navy veteran, Hampton
Ernest Robinson, Marine Corps veteran, Stafford
Deloise Evans, Air Force veteran, Manassas
Rudy Burwell, Army veteran, Arlington
Clyde Croswell, Marine Corps veteran, Berryville
Keith Wilson, Navy veteran, Charlottesville
Mark Teel, National Guard veteran, Arlington
Andrea Jackson, Army veteran, Waynesboro
Charles Clifton Jameson, Army veteran, Culpeper
Stanley Maurice Jenkins, Army veteran, Stafford
Harry Joseph Foxwell, Army veteran, Fairfax
Leroy Gilbert, Army veteran, Fairfax Station
Jeffery Leroy Glenn, Marine Corps veteran, Chesapeake
Elton Silvester Hairston, Air Force veteran, Martinsville
Cornelius Charles Hayes Jr, Navy veteran, Virginia Beach
Aran Hegarty, Marine Corps veteran, Falls Church
Richard Wayne Holland, Air Force veteran, Suffolk
Julian Cary Houseman Jr., Army veteran, Henrico
Robert Haley, Air Force veteran, Reston
Linwood Jones, Navy veteran, Virginia Beach
Richard Leo Klass, Air Force veteran, Arlington
Donald M. Langshaw, Army veteran, Woodbridge
Phillip Abijah Lee, Army veteran, Newport News
Isaac Asburry Lyons, Army veteran, Pulaski
Geoffrey S. Keenan, Navy veteran, Charlottesville
John Allen Rosenthall, Army veteran, Alexandria
Clint Andre Samuel, Navy veteran, Virginia Beach
Willard Childs Smith, Navy veteran, Virginia Beach
Raymond Keith Smith, Army veteran, Fairfax
Sandra Elaine Welch, Army veteran, Woodbridge
Barbara Irene Wells, Army Reserve and Air Force veteran, Virginia Beach
Ivey Williams, Army veteran, Danville
Richard Francis McGrain Jr., Air Force veteran, Charlottesville
John Andre Panneton, Marine Corps, Virginia Beach
Robert Austin Patton II, Navy veteran, Chesapeake
Walter Alvin Price III, Air Force and Army veteran, Christiansburg
Marvin A. Rawls, Army veteran, Norfolk
Thomas P. Reel, Air Force veteran, Norfolk
Rodeaster Robinson Sr., Army veteran, Stafford
Joanna Jessica Strong, Air Force veteran, Norfolk
Carl Leslie Sublett Sr., Army veteran, Manassas
Andrew Robert Taylor, Navy veteram, Yorktown
Hasan Kalem Zarif, Marine Corps veteran, North Chesterfield
Kelvin Manurs, Army veteran, Fairfax County
Butch Bracknell, Marines veteran, Norfolk
Ken Williams, Navy veteran
Trudy Berry, Air Force veteran, Green Bay
Herb Kemp, Air Force veteran, Herndon
James Leroy Belton, Army veteran, Virginia Beach
Wendell Lavelle Bruce, Army veteran, Roanoke
Herb Jones, Army veteran, New Kent
David Ashe, Marines veteran, Virginia Beach
Missy Cotter Smasal, Navy veteran, Virginia Beach
Alison Mayhew Tuck, Military family member, Lynchburg
Karen Merryman, Military family member
Loretta Merryman, Military family member
Katie Eksten Gomez, Military family member
Claire Henline, Military family member
Dianne Spradlin Nichols, Military family member
Mary Wells, Military family member
Kenny Allen Boddye, Military family member
Joshua Howell, Military family member
Gloria Smith, Military family member
Annette Kelley, Military family member
Eileen Huey, Military family member
Salvatore Abbate, Military family member
Jane Whitfield, Military family member
Retha Ann Brehon, Military family member
Margo Horner, Military family member
Stephanie Himel-Nelson, Military family member
Taylor Miller, Military family member
Carol Scott, Military family member
Kimberly Hayes Pollard, Military family member
Nicole Russell, Military family member
Phyllistine Mosley, Military family member
Sandra Stiner Lowe, Military family member
Charles Calvin Walker Jr., Military family member
Monica Melissa Plummer, Military family member
Gaylene Kanoyton, Military family member
Andrea Overweg, Military family member
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