Earlier this afternoon, I had the chance to chat (at his campaign’s request) with VA11 Democratic candidate Leopoldo “Leo” Martinez who is one of eight Democratic candidates listed on VPAP (the others being Joshua Aisen, Candice Bennett, Amy Papanu; Stella Pekarsky, Amy Roma, Irene Shin and James Walkinshaw; also Dan Lee, who isn’t listed on VPAP) 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 Leo Martinez. 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, although the rules haven’t been completely set (or at least publicly announced) at this point…so stay tuned – and may the best candidate win!
Blue Virginia: “I think a lot of the voters in the 11th CD may not be familiar with some of you guys, even though you’re very accomplished people and all, but they may not be familiar with you. So I’m asking everybody if you can just tell us a little bit about yourself, maybe your past background in the Democratic Party, Fairfax Dems, progressive activism, politics, whatever, and then why you’re running – the main arguments for VA11 Democratic voters who might not know you. So it’s kind of a broad question, but you can address it how you want.”
Leo Martinez: “Well, I think there is an interesting coincidence in explaining about my background and why I’m running. Because you know, I’m an immigrant that came from Venezuela 20 years ago, basically after fighting with my life against an authoritarian regime. So that defines my high concern for the moment in which we find ourselves. These are extraordinary moments in the United States. Who would have thought that we would be in a situation where we see the emergence of authoritarianism in the United States? So that is particularly important for people to know, in my opinion. I come from that background, I fought that fight, I know what works and what doesn’t work on these type of scenarios.
And then on the other hand, you know I’m an international lawyer and a person that has been connected to the business community, particularly the small business community and the Latino and diverse business community for years. So when I had to reinvent my life here in the United States, when I came as an immigrant persecuted by an authoritarian regime with my wife and four kids, you have to hit the reset button and and find what are you going to do with your life, to make it in this land of opportunity. And like I said in my announcement, the three reasons we came to United States: we thought and we deeply believe this is a country of immigrants that will welcome immigrants; two, this is a a country of economic opportunity and where social mobility is possible when you have work ethics and you know what you’re doing and you learn the more you can about what you want to do; and thirdly, was a beacon of democracy and rule of law. So those three values are under attack.
And in each of those three values, I have something to offer given my expertise, my life experience and my background as an international lawyer. I have a strong understanding of the United States legal system and comparative law. I went to Harvard Law School to Princeton University. So I’m a Venezuelan international lawyer that has been also educated in the United States. So that allowed me to hit that reset button and find some path to success.
And I developed an international business out of Fairfax County, where I’ve lived with my family for the past 16 years or so. My kids went to Fairfax County Public Schools, so I’m a soccer dad that has been around the fields of this community with two children…I got four, two of them were soccer players and they were very competitive players. So I’ve been around every soccer field and every community where you connect to the folks in the district and in the county.
So that said about me, my life and my connection to the district, but then there is also this knowledge, this understanding of how you build economic opportunity. I served in the small business commission McAuliffe and Northam; served on the board of the University of Mary Washington, where I was super focused on affordability and also making sure, because affordability was so connected to our diverse communities in Northern Virginia who were trying to send their kids to college. And we were making sure that the engagement and the options for them to pay for college were there. Then I served in the Biden administration on that very front….commerce, my portfolio was small, minority-owned business development and international programs for small businesses, which is super relevant in the moment and time.
So my campaign is about defending democracy and creating economic opportunity, working as such as a legislator. Also, I think this is a community that has a very diverse group of constituents that are interested in America’s standing in the world. So I’m a person that is connected with foreign policy for obvious reasons. I have this strong understanding of our relation with Latin America, have been a protagonist in that relation because not only as a congressman back in the day in Venezuela, but as an advocate for democracy in Venezuela. I have worked on the issue of democracy and human rights across across the whole hemisphere. I have this strong connection with Europe through Spain as well on my business portfolio, where I’ve worked with American companies succeeding abroad and international companies succeeding in the United States. Capital access, international markets, all of that is very relevant. And I put all of that experience to the Fairfax County voters to look into.”
Blue Virginia: “And have you had any background working with the Fairfax Democrats at all, or local or state politics in Virginia?”
Leo Martinez: “I served as a DNC member [2017 after the Hillary Clinton election, when Tom Perez became the chair of the party. I was a DNC member at large, and in that capacity I served in Virginia’s Democratic Party, both in the steering, central committee and in my local committee. So I also have that connection to the leadership of our party, both in the state and nationwide. And important to say that I co-founded two very important nonprofit organizations that are part of my taking a lot of my time over the years. One is the Center for Democracy and Development in the Americas, where we do foreign policy work and we work in the intersection of foreign policy and Latino leaders in the country. But then there is the Latino Victory Project that I co-founded with Eva Longoria…almost 10 years ago, and we became the largest organization for Latino empowerment across the country. So we had to implement programs in different states where we saw strong Latino leaders coming in the pipeline, people like Alfonso Lopez, Elizabeth Guzman, Hala Ayala, Cesar Del Aguila, you know many of the Latino electives that we have – Phil Hernandez – I worked with them, I work in their campaigns, I helped them get elected. So building that, it’s super important. So I worked very closely with Susan Swecker for years on the party… and the DLOV folks, the current president of DLOV…..and the prior president…I mean they would say they’re of course the result of my mentoring. Erica Yalowitz is also a community leader that has been around the district and the county for years, a super strong advocate on issues that matter to all of us as residents – mobility, affordability of housing, climate; you know, she has worked hard on that and I’ve always been with her on those issues giving her tools, helping her raise money to advocate, to build a momentum for all of that.
So there is a very strong connection between me and the community. And I was, like I said, a parent running around soccer fields, going to PTO meetings and the service in the University of Mary Washington also connected me very deeply to the students and in the university that came to the district. Finally, there’s another thing that I’ve done over the years that connects to Virginia, which it’s interesting because it’s one of the things that I love a lot, is the Sorenson Institute; I’m part of the board of adviserss of Sorenson at UVA, and we created the Jose Sardi fellowship program, which was created to make sure that more Latinos became part of the class of Sorenson…many of these Latino leaders went to Sorenson because of that scholarship that we created there, named after my late grandfather, who was a diplomat and a statesman. So there’s a big service of of connection. And remember two governors, I served in their administrations on boards…Terry and Ralph…gave me the opportunity to serve on the small business commission and the Mary Washington board. So that gave me a very close look into what are the issues impacting our communities here…One of the issues that we were very very focused on that transition was college affordability, but also that workforce development, which I think it’s an issue that comes very relevant where we are situated with the attack on our federal workers and many families finding themselves trying to define what’s their next step. The economic insecurity level that we have in the district is real. I mean, I’m around, and people are really concerned.”
Blue Virginia: “So I’m just wondering where you see yourself on the ideological spectrum…anywhere from a conservative Democrat to super leftist or liberal Democrat or whatever. Also, do you have any particular members of Congress that you would model yourself after if you were elected? Maybe Gerry Connolly for example? Do you see yourself in his kind of mold or someone else?
Leo Martinez: “Well, you know, Gerry is a formidable leader and I’m mindful of the legacy and I’m mindful of the work. He was this type of member of Congress, and that resonates with me…a person that connects to the very local issues and tries to deliver what Congress can do to address those issues. So Gerry’s legacy on infrastructure investments and anything that was necessary to bring the county to where it is today, it’s amazing. And that’s part of the big role that a congressman needs to be very mindful of. You’ve got to make sure that resources come to your community. He was there to make sure that Obamacare happened, you know, and the Affordable Care Act opened the pathway for many Virginiaians to have insurance. But then Medicaid expansion and making sure resources are there. Those are things that are under attack and are really really part of our daily lives and things that I want to protect. So there’s a legacy and a style on making sure you’re close to your constituents that I appreciate. Then there is also he never lost sight of some bigger issues like the international development and aid, and all of that.
But I’m also my own person and I would say we’re going through extraordinary times and this is a very different district as well. You know, it’s more diverse than ever if you look at the makeup of demographics of our district, you know 40% of the people come from different nationalities and origins…35% I guess is the last number I saw are citizens that are foreign born like me. So there is an incredible community that needs a voice, somebody that reflects the Virginia we are today, the county we are today.”
Blue Virginia: “So yeah, I think it’s a majority minority district I’m pretty sure about that, or close to it if it isn’t. But yeah, on the ideological spectrum, I mean how would you classify yourself?”
Leo Martinez: “You know, I was born and raised in a social democratic household in Venezuela. My two grandparents were co-founders of of the social democratic party in Venezuela. So I grew up in a dinner table where where that was the conversation. I’ve have two books published out there, one book I published in 1996 is economic democracy, which is about creating opportunity, social justice in the context of a market economy. So there’s a frame to kind of see where I am. And then on the other hand, I’m also a very strong human rights advocate, so all my perspectives on foreign policy and on domestic policy go through the lens of civil rights and human rights – and not only the traditional vision of human rights and civil rights, you know the expanded vision, the second, third and fourth generation of those that include housing, that include our environment – clean water, clean air. So those are issues that define me. I let the people decide what label to put to that.
But I am a person that is trying to find progress within our democracy, but I’m also very mindful that a market economy, a strong market economy, it’s necessary for us to have progress so that that that very eclectic vision so to speak, that we can do social justice, we can create economic equity, we can find opportunities for people, we can protect civil rights and human rights. But we have to make sure that there is a strong economy, a base in the economy that allows us to generate the revenue and the growth that you need. So that’s where I am. And there are members of Congress this day with whom I could feel that I can work.
And here’s the point that it’s interesting in defining, you ask me what type of congressman I would be. You know the moment requires that when we defend democracy, we understand that this is an exercise of contention so so the Democratic caucus and the leaders in our Congress need to be very mindful of the lines that cannot be crossed so that our democracy is protected. But then we also have to understand where this authoritarianism is coming from, why are people willing to give power to an individual like Donald Trump. So we can’t just be anti-Trump, we have to be pro-democracy and we have to be pro-economic opportunity. Because what’s fueling Donald Trump’s rhetoric and his success politically is the sense that many people have that our American dream, the opportunities that our economy used to offer, are not necessarily there. So there is social anxiety, there is economic anxiety and it’s from there that polarization emerges. And we have to be very mindful that as we draw that line of contention and we hold the line on very fundamental values, we have to be very constructive in the way we work with the constituents of people who are elected across the aisle to make sure that they understand that we have we have a message for them, that we care about their economic insecurity, that we care about their social anxiety, and also make sure that we don’t fall into the distractions of the polarization discussion and always keep it centered on the issues that matter to people we’re talking about.
This budget, we’re talking about all the things are happening and we don’t drill enough in not only explaining to folks how this will affect their lives, Medicaid and all all the things in the budget that that could impact our lives, but also we need to tell them what we are about, because people do want to balance the budget, people do want to feel that there’s fiscal sustainability in our economy, but at the expense of what? So you need to elaborate, you need to propose, so you can’t be just anti-Trump. If I have learned a lesson in fighting authoritarianism in Venezuela was that and still today, that everyone is just anti Chavez or anti Maduro or anti-something, that a lot of people just don’t get what you are about until you start rolling out these ideas that will eventually create a base for you and take it to the electorate so that you can build a majority. We have a majority in Virginia, in the county, but you see how hard it is sometimes to create a majority in a statewide race, right? We have lost recently an election on the governor’s mansion because of that very issue; it was not enough to say you were anti-Trump. So you got to make sure that you have something to say to the people to address that very deep concern people have, which I think it’s economic insecurity and social anxiety…And what are we going to do for people.”
Blue Virginia: “So there are some people who would advocate that Democrats should just grind everything to a halt in Congress, use every procedural or parliamentary tool to just stop everything at this point. And others would argue that we should continue to try to work with Republicans, even if they don’t want to work with Democrats which is what I keep hearing, they’re not even trying to consult – I mean, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner keep saying this, that this budget proposal, they’re not even talking to Democrats about that, they’re just trying to ram it through. But you still think we should try to work with Republicans?”
Leo Martinez: “I think we should try to work with their constituents. I think we should try to mobilize the people that are voting for them. I think that’s the most important thing.”
Blue Virginia: “But the Republicans in Congress, you think we can work with them or you just work through the constituents instead?”
Leo Martinez: “I’m sure that if you put out there proposals that are appealing to the base of both blocks, that create consensus in society, you can move the needle and you can find people to work with. The problem now is that the polarization, political scenarios taking over. And that’s exactly what Trump thinks…of the political conflict, that’s necessarily the space where he wants things, so we’ve got to find a way to be cleareyed about the issues…and some of these issues are connected to defending democracy, some of these issues connect to the fundamental progress of the communities we represent. Like let’s talk about healthcare access or, for instance, this idea that they have of dismantling the Department of Education; we can’t let that happen because if that happens, for instance what would happen with special needs education in the schools in this county? How do you finance that? So all of that are issues where you have to be very clear and you have to make sure that you stop anything they want that impacts on that, but then how do we create economic opportunity, how do we create a stronger economy. They don’t have any proposal. We should present proposals that are Democratic proposals that will be appealing to the people that are voting for them. And then we’ll find out who’s willing to work with us.”
Blue Virginia: “And then within the Democratic Party, would you say that you have any major differences on any big issues on domestic policy or foreign policy, whether it’s in the Middle East or whether on domestic policy – could be on immigration or abortion or any issue that jumps out at you, where you’re just really not in sync with the Democratic Party? Or do you feel like you’re mostly in sync with the Democratic mainstream?”
Leo Martinez: “We’re all learning as we go of what are the other candidates standing on issues. But I can only say about what I’m going to be – very passionate about and what I’m going to be potentially because of my own perspective and background make a difference. Let’s take the issue of immigration, for instance; for me, it’s going to be a very important issue – protecting our communities, making sure that the diverse communities of Virginia are protected and feel safe and protected is very important. But the conversation of immigration has been derailed over the past few years to a point in which we’re not talking any longer about the economic positive impact of immigration. You can’t think of a Social Security system that is viable over the next decades if you don’t find a solution to the aging of the population; immigration is a solution to that. There’s so many things in which you can make the case for immigration. Look at our landscape, our business landscape here in in Northern Virginia, the dynamism of small business owners in our community, our healthcare providers. You go to any healthcare center clinic in the state, in Northern Virginia, in Fairfax County, you see that diversity there on the medical and paramedical personnel there. And what would we do without that? So construction services. There is so many areas of our economy that are positively impacted by immigration. And to be honest, we all know that the rhetoric about immigration and crime, immigration and insecurity, is defeated by every data that comes out of the FBI. It’s not necessarily the biggest consequence of immigration, it’s quite to the contrary – I mean, immigrants are normally on the demographics in the lower spectrum of criminality. So what’s really mindblowing to me is we are approving a budget as we speak where you have billions and billions of dollars dedicated to deportations and enforcement of a deportation plan, you’re not thinking about the consequences of that to the economy. If you took a different turn and you went back to the days of the bipartisan consensus on immigration reform. Think about a path to permanence and a path to citizenship where people would pay a fine, you will be generating revenue to solve the deficit and you will be boosting the economy by I mean I think I’ve seen research that says that one and a half, maybe two points of GDP and wages will go up if you just landed a common sense immigration reform. That would be an issue where I would say Leo Martinez is different than the other candidates. Foreign policy, I’m going to be a very different person too. So for anybody who is in the 11th, having a voice…that will will be very concerned about making sure that our migrant and diverse communities feel safe and protected, even those who are here documented. If you talk to any person today that comes from an immigrant family, even citizens of the United States that are first-generation immigrants, there’s fear in our communities. And there are people who have who have TPS and other statuses that they lost them, and they were working and they were producing, they were contributing to our community. There’s fear in the churches of our communities, their peers in the soccer fields of our community. So we have to think about that and make the case for the assimilation and the path to give the good people who are law-abiding, hardworking, taxpaying folks, give them a shot at their dream…
[lost about 30 seconds of audio here, unfortunately]…decisions tied to a particular impact in our community, federal workers. Who’s going to stand up for them and who’s going to fight for an economy of opportunity? Should we, I mean we have three years ahead of this administration, and we’re seeing what they’ve done to our federal workforce. They’re not letting our unions work in defense of those positions, they’re not letting these people go back to their jobs even after a court order. You have federal court orders that have been violated and when they let people back in the building, put them on a on a basement and trying to force them to just leave. And all of that takes me to the point, I mean we have to defend the federal workers, but we have to think about workforce development, we have to think about entrepreneurship, access to capital, how do we offer anyone who’s going through that economic insecurity back into economic viability for them?”
Blue Virginia: “Yep, I agree with you on that. So nothing else jumps out as major differences with the party on any major issue – abortion or LGBTQ equality, Israel-Gaza or Ukraine-Russia…tariffs or any other major issues?”
Leo Martinez: “I mean, LGBTQ rights is a very close and important issue to me. I mean, my oldest son Leo is gay and he’s lived with his partner together for the past few years – he’s a Cambodian immigrant and a Latino immigrant, two fine people. So you know, I’ve been connected to that movement even even before that. You know, I was one of the first people in law school in Venezuela that talked about LGBTQ rights back in the days in Venezuela, so that takes you a long time ago, when I was in law school 30 years ago in Venezuela. So those are issues that are important to me, because as I said civil rights and human rights has always been at the core of my advocacy and my work.
In foreign policy, I think I’m going to be very strong and probably one of the strongest candidates in the field in terms of interaction with foreign leaders, understanding from a very nuanced perspective our relation with Latin America which is critical for the future of the United States; the influence or the growing influence of China in Latin America, it’s a concern to me. And I have very important ideas on how to deal with that. The root causes of migration and development is also very important to me and finding ways to make sure that we take back the leadership on those from that. You know, President Biden not only appointed me to…the Commerce Department to do what I did in in the business development front; he he also wanted me to be the executive director of the Inter-American Development Bank, because I had very clear thoughts about all these issues on leading in the region, countering China’s influence and addressing the root causes of migration through the work of the Inter-American Development Bank.
So there’s a background there that I think distances me from many other candidates. And there’s private sector experience, proven private sector experience. I had to start from scratch and rebuild my life here in the United States as an immigrant and succeeded doing that as a private business person. And that private business experience is not only domestic, it’s international. So I don’t know how many other candidates have that in their resume, but I think the moment is kind of a a moment in which this extraordinary circumstances and the job description kind of fits the bill in my case.
There’s also this call for action…I mean I already had to leave from one country, see one democracy destroyed; I can’t let that happen and just watch it from the living room in my house. And you know, citizenship by choice is a very powerful thing; it’s like you make the decision to be part of a country and I love this country dearly and I don’t want to see this country the path is taken.”
Blue Virginia: “Yeah, same here. So I guess we’re just about out of time here, but just on the nomination process, do you have any thoughts about that and how you’re going to reach voters in just basically 3 weeks? On the process itself, I know one of your fellow candidates put out a strong statement on what they were looking for in this process. I mean, it’s going to be a firehouse primary on June 28th, but in terms of other aspects of it, like whether it’s early voting, or well I guess there’s not going to be ranked choice voting, but did you have any strong thoughts about the process?”
Leo Martinez: “Well listen, the first thing is that we’re here because of the doings and makings of Governor Youngkin. I mean, he put us in this situation so we we have to play by those rules. I feel very confident that I can make my case, I can deliver my message of defending democracy, civil rights, economic opportunity, you know all of the things we’ve talked about over the interview – LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, small business owners. So I think we have a way through social media and technology to spread the word about who we are, what we are about. I have a connection to very important constituents of the Democratic Party. There’s a diverse community that wants representation. So we have a strategy for that. And I think we’re going to do just fine, I think we’re going to take it over the top and win this on the conditions that we are confronting. And then Ialso have a national network of relations and a lot of organizations on the national landscape are very enthusiastic about what the election of a candidate like me could represent. So I think I’ll bring the resources to win that special election in September without a problem. So I’m not going to complain about the process, because it’s not the Democratic Party who made this mess, it’s just Youngkin that did this. And the governor did it for a reason, and we’re going to show and prove him wrong, we’re going to succeed in the primary in the firehouse primary and we’re going to succeed on September 9th. He’s bringing one of his billionaire friends to try to fund a Republican candidate in the special election. You saw that right?
Blue Virginia: “No, who is that?”
Leo Martinez: “I heard about a billionaire that is offering like a three billion [dollar] war chest to help elect the Republican here in the 11th in this special election…I heard something like that in a meeting yesterday with Democrats in Fairfax City…I mean, we’re with the people, we’re for the people, we’re the party that connects to this base and I’m ready to win the primary and I’m ready to win the special election and to bring a voice that that’s part of what Virginia is today – a very diverse place and a place that that stands out in the country for great things. And we’re going to take that to the House.”
Blue Virginia: “Well, thanks; that was very helpful, I appreciate your very thorough answers to my questions. Just 3 weeks, so I’m sure you’re going to be busy…good luck.”
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