Second UPDATE 12/11: Former Gov. Ralph Northam endorses Tom Perriello.
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Former Gov. Ralph Northam Endorses Tom Perriello for Congress |
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| CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Former Congressman Tom Perriello today welcomed former Governor Ralph Northam’s endorsement of his campaign to represent the 5th Congressional District in Congress.
“It is my great honor to endorse my friend Tom Perriello to once again represent the hardworking people of the 5th Congressional District,” said former Gov. Ralph Northam. “Tom knew that voting for the Affordable Care Act was the right thing to do, and as a doctor, I’ve seen firsthand how this law saves lives. But now our hospitals are under threat and hundreds of thousands of Virginians will lose their coverage as a result of the MAGA attacks on Medicaid and the ACA. We need a fighter who will ensure all communities — rural and urban — have access to quality affordable health care. That fighter is Tom Perriello.” “Governor Northam has made Virginia a stronger and healthier place for working families across the commonwealth,” said Perriello. “Thanks to his transformational leadership, Virginia raised the minimum wage for the first time in more than a decade and extended access to affordable health care to more than 600,000 people through Medicaid expansion. He is a true class act; I am humbled to have his endorsement and I am honored to call him my friend.” After their gubernatorial primary in 2017, Tom Perriello became executive Director of Win Virginia, a project supporting people in every corner of Virginia who were running for the House of Delegates. In that cycle, Democrats far exceeded expectations, as Virginia voters elected 16 new members, sending one of the youngest, most diverse, and geographically inclusive classes to the House of Delegates. “Great things happen when Gov. Northam and Tom Perriello are working together,” said Paulette McElwain, Board Chair, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. “With Northam topping the ticket and Tom running WinVA in 2017, we elected a diverse class of amazing delegates across the state that helped us deliver more affordable health care access and reproductive freedom for people across Virginia. This is going to be an exciting race!” |
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### Paid for by Tom Perriello for Congress |
UPDATE 12/11: See below, courtesy of Jennifer Strozier, video of Tom Perriello’s speech last night at his campaign kickoff in Charlottesville. Here’s an excerpt from what Perriello had to say.
“I think we’ve begun to see there are some people on the other side of this fight who are starting to regret what they voted for. There are people in the middle who are sick and tired of someone like John McGuire who doesn’t show up, who doesn’t defend our institutions…We have this chance uh to have that representation. It is a moment. And I will admit, I was not in the most proactive space of my life before election day, because seeing the way in which some of these forces of darkness and evil were controlling so much and seemed to be consolidating so much power. And one of the reminders we had on election night is that voters are ready to vote for good leaders when good leaders show up. Yes, so much of democracy is about who steps up. And I believe we have people across central Virginia and Southside Virginia that are ready to be part of this.”
Very big news in VA05 – former Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA05) announces his candidacy, as has been rumored the past couple days, for his old seat…potentially in VERY different (and “bluer”) district lines if Democrats proceed with mid-decade redistricting here in Virginia. Currently, VA05 is (mis)represented by the horrendously bad Rep. John McGuire, a faaaar-right Republican, MAGA fanatic, 1/6/21 insurrectionist – not to mention a MASSIVE downgrade from what that district used to have when it was represented by Tom Perriello, who was superb.
P.S. Democratic candidates who have already announced candidacies in VA05 are Mike Pruitt, Kate Zabriskie, Adele Stichel, Suzanne Krzyzanowski and Paul Riley. Also, depending on how new district lines are drawn, Roanoke-based Del. Sam Rasoul could be a candidate in VA05. Stay tuned…
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Former Congressman Tom Perriello Announces Candidacy for 5th Congressional District |
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Watch Perriello’s launch video HERE. CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Former Congressman Tom Perriello of Charlottesville today announced his candidacy for Congress in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. “It is not right that Virginians are working harder and harder just to afford the rising cost of food, electricity, and health care. We shouldn’t have to pay more out of our pockets because John McGuire and this Congress are letting reckless tariffs and rampant corruption drive up prices,” said Perriello. “You know that I’m going to show up in every community, listen, and fight with everything I got to make sure your priorities are my priorities in Congress.” Today, 37,000 people in the 5th District are expected to lose their health care and remain uninsured, because of laws Rep. John McGuire has voted to support. Additionally 9,000 households in the district are at risk of losing their SNAP benefits, which harms families and the local businesses they support. Perriello is running to restore protections for working and middle class families. Perriello, who was born and raised in Albemarle County, has spent the past 25 years serving his community and country as a diplomat, teacher, and executive of non-profit organizations. Elected to Congress in 2008, he fought for Virginia’s 5th District by making his first priority the support for historic, streamlined investments in infrastructure, public education, law enforcement, clean energy jobs and rural internet access, which helped prevent a second depression in the wake of the housing market collapse. Perriello cast a brave vote to pass the Affordable Care Act — even though pundits predicted it would cost him the seat — because it guaranteed coverage of pre- and post-natal care, blocked insurance companies from kicking people off coverage for a pre-existing condition, and allowed young people to stay on their family insurance. He also brought his experience supporting peace negotiations to his service on the Veterans Affairs Committee where he received an A+ rating from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association. Perriello’s public service career also includes serving as the United States Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes and the Democratic Republic of the Congo under President Obama. Most recently, he served as U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and led negotiations to break the world’s largest humanitarian embargo, allowing greater emergency access to over 30 million vulnerable civilians inside Sudan. Tom has spent the intervening years leading civic organizations, championing economic opportunities for working families. During his intervening years in civil society, Tom has led organizations advancing economic fairness, civil rights, and anti-corruption reforms. Perriello’s campaign launch video is HERE. He is available for media interviews on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10. He will hold a kick-off event at Random Row in Charlottesville on Dec. 10 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. with more events to come throughout the district. The kickoff event is open to both press and the public. A headshot of Perriello is HERE and the campaign website is tomperriellova.com. |
