Earlier this afternoon, I had the chance to chat (at her campaign’s request) with VA11 Democratic candidate Amy Papanu, who is one of eight Democratic candidates listed on VPAP (the others being Joshua Aisen, Candice Bennett, Dan Lee, Leopoldo “Leo” Martinez, Stella Pekarsky, Amy Roma, Irene Shin and James Walkinshaw) running to succeed the late, great Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) in the US House. See below for a lightly edited transcript of the interview with Amy Papanu. Also, keep in mind that the Democratic nomination (which will almost certainly determine the next Congressperson in the 9/9/25 special election, given that this is a deep-blue district) will be determined in a “firehouse primary” on June 28, just over two weeks from now. So stay tuned – and may the best candidate win!
Blue Virginia: “So for people who don’t know you in the district, maybe just if you could tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, why you’re running, and if you have any background in VA11 or Fairfax Democratic politics that would be interesting.”
Amy Papanu: “Sounds good. So, well, my name is Amy Papanu and I’m a career fed. I spent 28 years in the federal government. In the CIA, I was an operations officer for 16 years. In the State Department, I was a foreign service officer for 7 years. And then in the FBI, I was an investigative specialist for 5 years. The reason why I’m running is because our federal workforce and democracy is being threatened on a daily basis, and I believe Congress needs the right people in there to take care of what’s going on. We’re in unprecedented times right now, so they need someone with my career federal agency experience and strong national security background. And what I’ve done is, in the field I’ve been an operator and so I’ve combatted terrorism in the field, and I’ve also led in DC and worked on national security policy issues. And so the breadth of my career translates to what needs to be done in Congress to fight back against what Trump has been doing, especially against my former colleagues. And that is why I felt compelled to enter the race, because I talk to people on a daily basis in my neighborhood, people I used to work with, and everyone is worried about how these attacks against our agencies and workforce are going to impact us in the long term. So it’s on a personal basis because people are losing their jobs. But also it’s going to impact our economic security in the long run in the Northern Virginia area, because there’s you know it’s all federal is local here in VA11. And so they’re worried about that, as well as national security implications moving forward. You know, we’re cutting some of our best and brightest, the folks that just joined and folks that have been with us for a while. And those are the people we need, because the folks that they’re forcing into retirement are the experienced people, and then the new people that were on probation, they are the rising stars and those are the people we’ve invested in. So I’m trying to put a stop to all of this and look out for our Fairfax community.”
Blue Virginia: “Sort of on that note, a few weeks ago Representative Jennifer McClellan from the fourth congressional district in Virginia said ‘we’re absolutely in a constitutional crisis’ and she actually said ‘this is fascism, this is something I never thought I would see in the United States’ – that’s a direct quote from her. So I’m just kind of curious if you see it in that dire terms, or how would you describe the situation we’re in right now?”
Amy Papanu: “I do think we are headed in that direction. And that is why the national security background is so important. There is just the erosion of our democratic institutions right now, and the attacks against the free press, and it’s on multiple levels that the Trump administration is denigrating our democracy. And so it’s dismantling our federal agencies, and all of this is weakening our government and our country’s security. So it is trending in that direction. And that’s why people need to stand up and just look at what’s planned for tomorrow with the parade. It is atrocious and there’s so many things wrong with it – it’s very dictatoresque…what we’ve seen in rogue nations and those are the kind of rogue nations that I used to fight against in my career in the past. And also the waste, the government waste, it is this hypocritical notion because Trump and his team say they’re cutting waste, and in fact they’re putting millions and millions into this parade. That is a very narcissistic display in my opinion.”
Blue Virginia: “Right. Now I don’t know if you put out a statement yesterday, because there was a lot going on and I didn’t see everyone’s statements, but maybe you did, but any thoughts on – and and this relates to what you were we were just talking about – what happened to Senator Padilla yesterday? In terms of if you want to see an example of authoritarianism or thuggishness or whatever, and some of the stuff you might see in a third world dictatorship, that to me seems like that, but you can put it in your own words what you think. And then related to that, is what’s going on in L.A. and the crackdown by the Trump administration not just on ‘criminal illegal immigrants’ but on immigrants who are hardworking people who have been here for decades, whatever…”
Amy Papanu: “Yes, I’m outraged by what’s going on in California. Obviously, I don’t condone violent protests. But just how the administration has been handling it is totally inappropriate and extreme. And yeah, Senator Padilla, that was uncalled for and very indicative of that direction that you just mentioned of heading towards a fascist state. So all reasons why I feel really compelled to run and get in this race right now. And I’m the only career Fed in the race, and I’m the only one with the national security background as a former CIA officer. So I think I bring a lot to the table to combat and counter this administration when I get to Congress.”
Blue Virginia: “Yeah, and you probably have some strong feelings about what Trump’s policy towards Russia and Ukraine is. I mean, that that to me is outrageous, he’s basically like, he might as well be a spokesman for the Kremlin, he just regurgitates the Kremlin party line and reinforces it and makes excuses for Putin all the time. I mean, what do you think about, I presume you’re pro Ukraine, but I don’t want to put words in your mouth. But what do you think about that?”
Amy Papanu: “Absolutely, yeah. So I was on the Hill when Russia invaded Ukraine, and I was proud of the intelligence community at the time, because it was a great example of collection and analysis that predicted, and we shared with our partners on this invasion so people were not blindsided. And so that was a great thing that the intel community was able to do in order to get people’s attention on this. And I was working at the time for the Assistant Speaker of the House, and one of my responsibilities was following and monitoring the Russia-Ukraine situation throughout the year. And so, yeah, it was nice to see back then the bipartisan support for Ukraine. And it is alarming now that unfortunately the Republicans are not as supportive. And that was always something that was refreshing in my work, was when I was in CIA’s office of congressional affairs, we worked closely with our oversight committees – that would be the House Intel and the Senate Intel Committee – and it was just a good bipartisan effort to support Ukraine. And that has changed and it’s alarming that we’ve swung in the opposite direction now.”
Blue Virginia: “Yeah, and really the entire US foreign policy. Now Gerry Connolly was very strong, he was heavily involved with NATO and supporting NATO and supporting Ukraine. Would you see yourself in that line as Connolly, and more broadly…I mean, that’s the reason for this special election is Gerry Connolly’s untimely and tragic death. And so do you see yourself as sort of a Gerry Connolly-style Democrat or would you be a major change.”
Amy Papanu: “Right, so I appreciate the late great Congressman Connolly for all he did for the federal workers. And I admire his service on the committees and especially NATO and how important that is right now, more than ever. I would see myself as being more aggressive and using my national security experience and what I’ve seen in the field as to how to demonstrate across the aisle what these threats will look like and how it’ll impact our competitive advantage, global competitive advantage, as well as our national security. And so because I have that hands-on experience fighting against terrorism, countering narcotraffickers and working against our the rogue nations that were targeting us, because I have that experience and can speak firsthand, I think that will resonate more across the aisle and I can get more done and be more aggressive on the national security front, so within the foreign affairs committee or whether it be the House Intel Committee.”
Blue Virginia: “Are there any areas where you disagreed with Representative Connoilly, whether on domestic or international issues over the years? I mean, you’ve been a constituent right?”
Amy Papanu: “Yep, I’ve been a constituent and for the most part, yes I align with Congressman Connolly. And I think just more needs to be done and time for a fresh set of eyes with a stronger federal government, non-politician and strong national security background.”
Blue Virginia: “Yeah, ok. Now another thing in the news right now obviously is the Iran-Israel war or whatever it is… I’m just kind of curious what – like if you were in the House right now, what type of statements would you be issuing, what types of, I don’t know if you’d be introducing any legislation or anything on it, but what would you be doing right now in a crisis like this specifically with Iran-Israel? Or it could be Israel-Gaza for that matter.”
Amy Papanu: “Well, specifically on the Iran-Israel front, it’s I think restraint and diplomacy. This could drastically, this conflict could drastically get worse, and so they need to use diplomacy and scale things back, because there’s already so many conflicts in the region, and this would add to that instability across the region. So diplomacy is key.”
Blue Virginia: “Right. But in the end, what’s your position on whether Iran should ever be allowed to get a nuclear weapons program…nuclear weapnos. And how much of this is result of the fact that Trump pulled us out of the Iran nuclear deal that was negotiated by John Kerry and others in the Obama administration?”
Amy Papanu: “Right. So I was supportive of the JCPOA and I thought it had a chance. I would have to look closer at where things stand now on that agreement to know if that is even feasible at this point or how far advanced they are in their nuclear capability at the moment. It’s not an issue that I’ve been tracking closely at the moment, so I was supportive at the time of the agreement and now I’m just not sure if it makes sense, if it’s even feasible to continue that or not.”
Blue Virginia: “Yeah I don’t think it’s feasible to continue it from where it was at that point. I just think that Trump pulling us out of that agreement without any replacement for that, allowed Iran to race for the bomb and rapidly build up its nuclear program. And I think that almost inevitably led to this situation now. And that shows you what happens when you have bad leadership.”
Amy Papanu: “Very shortsighted. And obviously, it’s like they countered everything that the previous administration did before. And it was damaging. So yeah, it’s bad decision-making and now we’re in a worse state of affairs because of it.”
Blue Virginia: “Yeah. Now more broadly on the ideological spectrum, it sounds like you’re pretty in sync with Representative Connolly. So I don’t know how would you characterize yourself, as sort of a conservative Democrat, moderate Democrat, liberal, progressive…pragmatic progressive or whatever.”
Amy Papanu: “Yeah, I refer to myself as a moderate Democrat. That is so important these days to get things done in Congress – you have to be able to. So when I worked for the CIA, we were apolitical, we did not talk politics, we did not take sides and we just focused on the mission. And that’s what you need to do in Congress. And so I think to be moderate is the best approach. Because you need to work towards a goal together that can be beneficial to the American people. Americans are so fed up with the gridlock in Congress and not delivering for the American people. And now especially for the Northern Virginia area, that’s even more important, because all these new policies and cuts are impacting our region. So it’s now more important than ever for our constituents to be able to get in there, be moderate and come up with solutions and you know where we are delivering for our constituents.”
Blue Virginia: “Yeah, I guess for me, I grew up at a time when there were still moderate Republicans, even there were actually progressive Republicans believe it or not. But I just wonder if we can work with today’s Republican Party anymore, given that it’s gone almost totally MAGA, Trumpian, and that’s where I’m not sure about at this point…”
Amy Papanu: “Well I’m optimistic that the pendulum will shift the other way. I admired Adam Kinzinger when he took on the role on the January 6th committee. He’s someone I see as a moderate Republican, no longer in Congress, but that type of background and being moderate, and that’s where Democrats and Republicans really work together towards securing our economy and our national security.”
Blue Virginia: “I guess we only have a couple minutes left, but I’m just curious about your thoughts on the nomination process for this nomination, and also just your campaign, what you’re going to be doing to try to get out the vote and and reach people and get your message out there in the only two and a half or whatever it is weeks left to go.”
Amy Papanu: “Two weeks from tomorrow. We are being very aggressive in trying to get our message out, especially to the federal workforce and contractors and veterans – I’m a spouse of a combat veteran – to all those constituents to know when the voting date is, that I am a former Fed, that I’m looking out for them. I’m wanting to really, I fought terrorism in the past and now I’ll fight Trump at home. And so it’s a grassroots effort; I am talking to everyone in the community and reaching out to the groups and trying to get out there and speak to as many people as possible, especially those people that have been impacted by the DOGE and that are worried about our our future here in Northern Virginia.”
Blue Virginia: “And the process itself for this nomination, any thoughts on that?”
Amy Papanu: “Governor Youngkin didn’t do us any favors by scheduling the special election on September 9th. So really the local Dems had their hands tied. And I really was encouraged to see how many early voting dates they put out there and locations. They’ve really been working hard to try to make sure people can access the polls. And so they’re doing the best they can under the circumstances that Governor Youngkin dealt us.”
Blue Virginia: “Would you rather have had ranked choice voting or did you care about that?”
Amy Papanu: “You know, I think so actually. I haven’t given it much thought, but I think that should be the trend… I’ve heard people talk about that and and it is something that I’ve heard constituents in this area wish that they had the opportunity for ranked choice voting.”
Blue Virginia: “Yeah I’m a big supporter of ranked choice voting, i just think it’s more democratic small d; it requires that the winner has to get a majority…New York City’s using it in its upcoming mayoral primary, hopefully that will go smoothly, we’ll see if it helps or hurts Andrew Cuomo. Haha. But anyway, I don’t know if there’s anything else you wanted to add before we end this.”
Amy Papanu: “No, I appreciate the opportunity. And you know I’m the only candidate right now, I’ll repeat, that has this strong federal background and national security background. And I have heard from too many of my people that they how they’re being impacted. So I’m really looking to protect our federal workforce and our democratic institutions with all that’s going. So I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about it and express my opinions.”
Blue Virginia: “Thank you, I appreciate your time and good luck out there.”
Amy Papanu: “I appreciate it, have a good day.”
