Clean Government & Ethics

Every elected official faces a clear question and a choice: who do you fight for? In Richmond, far too often the answer is special interests.  Our government is woefully influenced by special interests — handicapping the needs and voices of everyday citizens. I choose to fight for Virginians, and the time is now to put the power back into their hands. 

Too many politicians in Richmond put special interests first, boxing out the needs of everyday Virginians. We see this time and time again with politicians going out of their way for Dominion Energy at the expense of working families. But it’s not just Dominion. We have seen cable companies work to kill measures to expand rural broadband, and corporations spend millions of dollars to influence the political process. 

I’ve never accepted a dime from Dominion Energy or their corporate executives or lobbyists, and I have consistently supported legislation to reform our system. 

As state Delegate, I have:

• Co-sponsored legislation prohibiting public utilities from making non-essential expenditures like lobbying and campaign contributions
• Co-sponsored legislation prohibiting any candidate from soliciting or accepting a contribution from any public service corporation
• Supported an effort to create a public financing system for state elections

Equally as important, I have worked diligently to hear directly from my constituents and community leaders through town halls, roundtable discussions, and social media. In responding to their needs, I’ve passed legislation to clean up coal ash, establish a public defenders’ office in my district, and help small business owners advance their entrepreneurial endeavors. 

The unfortunate situation is that many of these initiatives have not been successful because of the influence of special interest groups in Richmond. That’s why I’m running for Governor. We need a Governor who isn’t going to be afraid of fighting the status quo that leaves too many Virginians behind. As Governor, I’ll fight to limit lobbyist influence in Richmond and finally reform our campaign finance system.