By Ruthann Carr, correspondent
Elizabeth Alcorn announced on Presidents Day (Feb. 18) that she is running for the 58th District seat in Virginia’s House of Delegates.
The Greene County dentist said it’s about time the district had a representative who was for affordable health care, criminal justice reform, paid family leave and environmental protection.
Alcorn said current Delegate Rob Bell (R-Albemarle) blocked initiatives in all those areas.
Using the term “blocked by Bell” throughout her speech, Alcorn gave a litany of proposals Bell voted against, including repealing the law suspending the driver’s license of those slow in paying court fines, “solar freedom,” and decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Kellen Squire, who ran against Bell in 2017, introduced Alcorn to about 50 people at the Fluvanna County Library.
Squire got 39 percent of the vote in his loss to Bell.
“The stakes are just as high as they were in 2016,” Squire said. “We can’t take anything for granted. Show us the blue wave. Show us what you can do in 2019.”
Fluvanna is a reliably Republican county.
In the 2018 election, Fluvanna voted for Republican Denver Riggleman to represent the 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. And while incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine won over challenger Corey Stewart, he did so by less than 200 votes. Statewide, Kaine won handily with 57 percent of the vote against Stewart’s 41 percent.
Perhaps more telling are the 2017 election results. Even though Democrats swept the top three seats of governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general statewide, Republican challengers won Fluvanna by six to as many as 10 percentage points.
Alcorn said she chose Presidents Day to announce her candidacy because rights, protections and privileges critical to democracy need to be defended in Richmond.
“Civil rights for all races, sexual orientations, women’s civil and reproductive rights, and environmental laws… Many of our legislators are funded by corporations and monopolies and use their vote to protect these moneyed interests over us. This must change,” Alcorn said.
Focusing on adequate funding for public schools, Alcorn said she recognized teachers serve a crucial role in a child’s development.
“Our public schools have some tremendous teachers and staff who are trying to serve all of these needs – far beyond the traditional scope of a school,” she said. “Support staff such as mental health counselors, nurses, social workers and additional aides must be funded from the state.”
To find out more about Alcorn, visit https://alcornfor58th.com.
The election is Nov. 5.
