Priorities

Elizabeth understands Virginians are already working hard but not feeling valued for their effort. She will increase the minimum wage, create job opportunities for all, including apprenticeship programs for high schoolers and programs to support the next generation of farmers. Elizabeth will also work to expand childcare options, get rid of the grocery tax and car tax, and lower property taxes by increasing the Homestead Reduction exemption. She will also protect consumers by holding price gougers accountable.

Safety starts with trust and accountability. As a social worker, Elizabeth knows just how important it is to feel safe in our communities. She will address misconduct, improve accountability, and promote transparency within the police department, and is committed to creating an anonymous hotline for students to report safety issues like bullying in school. Elizabeth is committed to working to support and retain our first responders. She will fight for common-sense gun safety, reliable roads, reproductive freedom, marriage equality, and voting rights.

As a mother raising four children in the district, Elizabeth knows the vital importance of access to quality public education. She believes school choice equals no accountability, which means she will fight to ensure increasing opportunities for early childhood education and innovative solutions to growing class sizes to help all students thrive. She believes this is achieved through better schools in every neighborhood, more teachers properly paid and supported, and a focus on student excellence and parent input.

Seventy percent of people in the district commute to work, including Elizabeth! Continuing to address road safety, traffic congestion, and transportation options is important. Elizabeth is committed to boosting the public transportation system, expanding the orange line into the district, and expanding Virginia Railway Express hours during the week and adding weekend train service. She also wants to cap toll fees for commuters. She also wants to make sure our roads are biker friendly, have usable sidewalks, and are efficient. Because after all you deserve to spend less time in traffic and more time with your family.

Climate change is an urgent and undeniable threat. Protecting Virginia’s landmarks, natural spaces, and farmland is one of Elizabeth’s top priorities. As the first legislator in Virginia to pledge not to accept donations from utility companies, she is committed to advocating for a transition away from fossil fuels. Elizabeth will champion climate mitigation efforts and work to increase funding for renewable energy infrastructure to ensure a sustainable future for the Commonwealth.

Elizabeth has also witnessed a new environmental challenge emerging in the region—the rapid construction of data centers. Too often, these facilities have been built in residential areas without resident input. They disrupt neighborhoods, harm the environment, and diminish the quality of life for local residents. Elizabeth believes we need smarter, more responsible development. In Richmond, she will fight to keep data centers away from homes and schools, serving as a mediator to ensure any future projects are carefully planned, properly regulated, and sited in industrial zones where they are best suited.

Elizabeth believes we should protect family farms and ensure their viability by supporting policies that promote sustainable farming practices, access to markets, and fair prices for agricultural products. She lives on a farm and her grandparents were farmers. She understands the unique issues facing rural residents and the innovative solutions they require. Elizabeth also believes we should protect the Rural Crescent.

Rural communities often face infrastructure challenges. Elizabeth will advocate for targeted investments in rural infrastructure, including roads, bridges, broadband, and water systems. These investments can enhance economic development and quality of life.

Elizabeth supports increased funding for rural schools and hospitals. Ensuring access to quality education and healthcare services is essential for thriving rural communities.

The 22nd District is home to many veterans and their families. Elizabeth wants to ensure that we take care of them by ensuring they have access to all the services that Virginia offers. According to the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans, one million veterans currently face homelessness due to shortage of affordable housing in Northern Virginia and lack of support to transfer the skills they learned during their service. When veterans are not able to transfer their skills they are pushed into low-paying jobs that do not provide them with enough support for their families. Elizabeth will work to provide mental health services and good paying jobs for those who served our country. Elizabeth will build on her past accomplishments by working to increase the tax-free veteran pension exemption from $40,000 to $60,000 putting more money back in the pockets of those who’ve served.

Elizabeth supports broadening protections to include support for people who choose to carry pregnancies to term by advocating for policies that provide paid family leave, childcare subsidies, and protection against pregnancy discrimination. These policies help ensure that people have the support they need throughout their pregnancy and after birth. 

In an era of digital information, Elizabeth wants to ensure strict privacy protections for individuals seeking reproductive care, including abortion. She will advocate for laws that prevent law enforcement or other entities from accessing private healthcare information, including digital records, without proper legal safeguards, particularly in cases involving reproductive health.

Elizabeth believes Reproductive rights should also encompass fertility treatments like IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies. She supports policies to ensure that insurance coverage for fertility treatments is expanded, and that people pursuing these options aren’t subjected to burdensome regulations or stigmas.

Elizabeth firmly believes that the right to contraception is fundamental to reproductive freedom. She supports every individual’s ability to access birth control and make informed decisions about if, when, and how to start a family—free from government interference.

Elizabeth respects the 2nd Amendment and would never do anything to impact the lives of law-abiding gun owners, but we need reasonable gun safety reforms. Violent criminals and domestic abusers should not have the means to do greater harm again. That is why she supports red flag laws so those convicted of a crime do not have access to a gun. She believes that it is time for comprehensive background checks not only at gun shows but also for all private sales. She is in support of the Safe Virginia Initiative that aims to help keep our schools safe by examining the root cause of gun violence.