From So Lim, one of the five Democratic candidates for the HD11 nomination (firehouse primary tomorrow); note that other Democratic candidates are welcome to submit statements as well:
**SO LIM FOR HD-11 DELEGATE**
*Our Community. Our Economy. Our Fight.*
**We Need a Leader Who Puts in the Work: Jobs, Affordability,
Opportunity**
Northern Virginia families are getting squeezed. Trump’s going after federal
workers. Housing costs are out of control. Small businesses can’t keep up
with the red tape. And we wake up every morning thinking our kids and our
neighbors won’t get a fair shot.
We don’t need more talk—we need someone who gets results.
**So Lim Gets It Because She’s Lived It**
So Lim immigrated here as a kid in 1977. Her family didn’t have much. But
our Northern Virginia community gave them a shot—good schools, good
neighbors, real opportunity to build something. She started a business,
raised her kids here, and sent them to college.
So Lim has lived the Northern Virginia middle-class dream. Now she’s
watching that dream slip away from her neighbors and the next
generation—and she is running for Delegate to fight like hell to get it back.
**An Opportunity Agenda:**
✓ **Defend our federal workers** from Trump’s attacks
✓ **Maintain our public schools as the envy of the nation**—every
kid deserves a pipeline to success
✓ **Make everyday life affordable again**—families and seniors
shouldn’t choose between rent and groceries and medicines and dignity
✓ **Build an economy where our kids can afford to stay**—stop the brain
drain
✓ **Cut the red tape choking small businesses**—they create jobs,
and government should catalyze that energy
**A Track Record of Connecting People to Do Big Things:**
Thirty-five years running a business taught So Lim one thing: **you create
opportunity by bringing people together and getting stuff done.**
During her three terms as Councilmember for the City of Fairfax, So Lim
worked to improve economic development and make possible the needed
resources for great public schools.
As President of the Korean American Association of the Washington
Metropolitan Area, she led a coalition of over 100 immigrant focused
nonprofits for the 4th largest Korean American community in the US**. So
Lim didn’t just talk about economic development—she built it.
**A Job Creator** Known as ‘Mayor’ of the DMV Korean American
community, So Lim organized major job fairs.
Hundreds of NOVA immigrant-owned businesses have So Lim’s imprint as
she helped them access essential small business development resources. She
has championed women business owners and recognized their contribution
to NOVA’s economy.
So Lim worked with Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon
Bulova to help establish the memorial honoring victims of human trafficking
at Fairfax Government Center, along with advocacy for small business
development, eldercare, healthcare, education, human trafficking
prevention, and women’s rights.
For years she directed the association’s annual Korean American multi-day
cultural celebration, the KORUS Festival which still brings in over 50,000
people from multiple states. The KORUS festival includes hundreds of
vendor opportunities, cultural education activities, and easy access for voter
registration.
Hundreds of NOVA elected official appearances happened at KORUS over
the years because of So Lim’s support.
*For organizing the Asian Festival on Main in the City of Fairfax: its 25,000
attendees have boosted local businesses. So Lim is called **”the
connector”** because she turns our region’s diversity and vibrancy into real
economic engines and pathways to opportunity.
✓ **Lean in on our diversity as our superpower**—it’s our competitive edge
Like all successful coalition builders, So Lim is generous with her leadership,
sharing resources with other immigrant community leaders. She knows how
to lift others as one climbs the ladder of success.
**The Bottom Line:**
The Northern Virginia community gave So Lim everything. Now she’s
fighting to give the next generation a real shot. And make sure that this
generation—our neighbors—isn’t left out in the cold.
So Lim doesn’t get bogged down debating polemics. She rolls up her sleeves
and delivers solutions. All day, every day, So Lim puts in the work.
**If you want someone representing you in Richmond who knows firsthand
what it’s like to be deep in the economic development trenches.
If you want someone who has a strong & long record of helping people build
businesses and create jobs.
If you want someone who knows firsthand as the daughter of an immigrant
household, the benefits of a strong public education system, then please, vote
for So Lim as House Delegate VA- 11 on Tuesday, December 16th.
You can find voting locations here.
