Endorsement: Adele McClure for VA House of Delegates in HD2 (Arlington)

I’ve been supporting Adele McClure for a long time now, but I just wanted to actually write a formal post about why I’m endorsing her for the newly redistricted HD2 seat in deep-blue Arlington. I’ve admired McClure for several years now, particularly since April 2019, when she spoke out forcefully against sexual assault, for credible allegations by women (“Dr. Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson are NOT a modern-day lynch mob”), for the resignation of her former boss Justin Fairfax, etc. The courage and integrity McClure demonstrated that day speaks very highly of her character – and bodes well for her future in elective office.

Following that speech, McClure was hired as the Executive Director of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, where she’s worked since then:

“…leading the development of the VLBC’s annual legislative agenda in the Virginia State Legislature in both the House and the Senate, managing the operations, communications, structure, and strategic vision of a 22-member caucus.Adele’s leadership and work was nationally recognized when she was named to the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Law & Policy and received the National Black Legislative Staff Leadership Council Top 22 of 2022 award.”

All of this is even more impressive when you consider the fact that McClure “was raised on Richmond Highway in Northern Virginia where she experienced poverty and periodic homelessness not far from where she currently lives in Arlington, an experience that has made her a fierce advocate for vulnerable populations.” As she says on her website:

Adele’s lived experiences combined with her policy expertise and experience in the state legislative and executive branches make Adele ready to hit the ground running on the first day. She would serve as both the first Black person and the first Asian person to represent Arlington County in the Virginia General Assembly.

McClure is also excellent on the issues; here a few highlights:

• “Adele believes that every Virginian deserves access to stable, safe and affordable housing so that they may do well at work, succeed in school, and maintain their mental and physical health”
• “Adele believes in the value of accessible, high quality higher education. She will fight to provide resources and funding to Virginia students in need, whether they are attending a community college, a four year institution, an apprenticeship, or seeking high-skilled job training—regardless of their immigration status.”
• “…as a Delegate Adele will fight for measures like stronger energy efficiency standards in our building codes, increased funding for low-income solar and energy efficiency programs, and much-needed reform to how our utilities are regulated to stop the hundreds of millions of dollars Dominion overcharges Virginians each year. It is also why Adele has taken a principled stance not to take money from the utility monopolies that she will help regulate as a Delegate in the General Assembly.”
• “…Adele will stand as an immovable force to protect the reproductive rights of birthing persons in the Commonwealth against any regulatory or legislative intrusion from the newly-elected Republican administration. Abortion is healthcare, and a birthing person’s right to bodily autonomy is fundamental. Adele will strongly support enshrining this right in the Virginia Constitution. She understands the significance of the fight to come and is ready to leverage all of her experience as an advocate to protect these sovereign rights.”
• “As a Delegate, Adele will fight hard to further expand the rights of workers by strengthening worker power by repealing the so-called ‘Right To Work’ law, allowing farm workers to earn higher wages by removing the minimum wage exemption for farm workers, and pushing for more guaranteed paid sick leave and paid family medical leave.”
• “Adele is passionate about reducing the incidence of gun violence in the state.”
• “As Delegate, Adele will continue her work to reform the criminal justice and immigration systems and will prioritize restoring and strengthening the civil rights of all who live in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

Great stuff…and a LOT of people agree, apparently; check out her many, many endorsements, including:

• Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08), Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04)
• VA Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington/Fairfax/Loudoun)
• Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington), Del. Rip Sullivan (D-Arlington/Fairfax), Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria/Arlington)
• Arlington County Board members Christian Dorsey, Katie Cristol, Matt De Ferranti, Libby Garvey, Takis Karantonis
• VA House Democratic Leader Don Scott
• Former VA Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn
• Virginia Legislative Black Caucus Chair Lamont Bagby
• Emily’s List, Virginia NOW, Local 26 IBEW, LiUNA, the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, Clean Virginia, Run for Something, etc., etc.

In short, just about everyone’s endorsed Adele McClure at this point, and for good reasons (see a list of those reasons, above; also note that she’s worked VERY hard and done excellent work, both before and during this campaign – very impressive). I join with all of them in endorsing her as well, and encourage everyone to vote for her in the June 20 primary (vs. Democrat Kevin Saucedo-Broach, a good guy who launched his campaign late last month and so far hasn’t appeared to pick up any momentum/endorsements, but who hopefully will stay involved in pushing for change for many years to come). Go Adele!