With just over a month until the primary, Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy stopped in Charlottesville on Friday as part of a push for early voting.
Despite dreary weather earlier in the day, Carroll Foy attracted a couple dozen supporters Friday evening at the Free Speech Wall on the Downtown Mall. Carroll Foy, a former public defender who unseated a Republican delegate in 2017 to win her Woodbridge-area seat, is one of five candidates vying for the Democratic nomination.
Carroll Foy’s stop came a day after the third Democratic gubernatorial debate, in which she made a case for herself as a forward-looking candidate dedicated to creating public and private partnerships to expand rural broadband and fighting for a livable minimum wage, among other improvements.
As a former foster mom, a Virginia Military Institute graduate, former public defender and community organizer, Carroll Foy said she believes she would bring different life experiences to the governor’s office.
“It’s important to know that so many communities in Virginia have been ignored, neglected and left behind, just like my hometown of Petersburg,” she said. “That is why I’m running, because I want to move all Virginia forward together and make sure we all have opportunities.”
Standing distanced from the crowd of supporters, Carroll Foy gave an impassioned speech urging them to vote for her and her vision for the commonwealth. Being raised by her grandmother, Carroll Foy said her grandmother’s strong presence and eventual health issues helped show her the difficulties facing many families in Virginia.
“Having to sit at my dining room table with my aunt, trying to decide how we’re going to pay for her mortgage that month to keep a roof over our head or for the medication to keep my grandmother alive — that is when my journeys for governor began,” she said. “It was the moment I realized that so many good people, so many families are doing the right thing, but they have been ignored, neglected and left behind.”
Among the issues Carroll Foy highlighted were: expanding voter access and restoring voting rights for those convicted of felonies; bridging the digital divide by expanding rural broadband; and allowing localities to form civilian review boards that work to improve policing practices.
As a former public defender, Carroll Foy said criminal justice reform has long been a mission of hers.
“As governor, I will ensure that we have civilian review boards all throughout Virginia that are mandated,” she said. “These boards will also cover sheriff’s offices, as well, because they are the predominant law enforcement agency for many jurisdictions throughout Virginia.”
Also on hand to show support for Carroll Foy was Charlottesville City Councilor Michael Payne, who endorsed her. Citing Carroll Foy’s work to ensure affordable housing, Payne said it is imperative for localities like Charlottesville to have supporters and allies on the state level.
“Since 2017, we’ve seen some of those changes in the General Assembly, we’ve seen action on increasing the minimum wage, opening up unionization for workers, investments in renewable energy, criminal justice reform, expanding the amount of money in the statewide Affordable Housing Trust Fund,” he said. “But there’s a reason that happened and it’s because people from outside the political mainstream stepped up to run for office and won seats in the General Assembly and state Senate.”
The Democratic primary is June 8.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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