Angela Lynn
Candidate for Delegate from the 25th District
“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.” -Thomas Jefferson
I decided to run for office not because I wanted to spend countless hours thanklessly campaigning, or because I wanted to call people and beg for money, or because I wanted to make untold, hour-plus trips from the Charlottesville city limits to the Harrisonburg city limits. I decided to run because I knew someone had to take a stand to make sure that we were being taken care of in the best way possible, which I don’t feel is happening.
My opponent and I have different ways of heeding Mr. Jefferson’s words above. For instance, I support expanding Medicaid. Through expansion we can create 30,000 permanent jobs, cover 400,000 Virginians (27,000 of which are in our district), and recoup the $5 million dollars per day of Virginia tax-payer money that we are losing. There is an investment associated with expansion but experts agree that expansion would actually provide economic benefits that will more than cover the costs of expansion. Virginia’s share of the cost of Medicaid costs goes from 50% to 10% and we add $58 million a year in new revenue. The Commonwealth could generate $1.7 billion in savings through covering uninsured poor, which would reduce state costs for health care. The state could also save hundreds of millions of dollars by using Medicaid funds to pay for prison medical costs and mental health care. Finally, expansion could lead to a decrease in average health care costs per year by 48.3%. My opponent would rather not expand.
Another difference my opponent and I have is in education. Mr. Landes has served on the education committee for 19 years and been chair since 2013. During his tenure, per-pupil funding has dropped to alarmingly low levels and he has supported legislation that has forced schools to cut teachers and shutter their doors. He will try to say that we must make tough choices and that we need to balance the budget, and he is right. But the tough choices we need to make are not in cuts, but in supporting legislation that will make the Commonwealth a better place to live. For instance, we are ranked 35th in the nation with the most unfair tax code. The code is so old that $17,000 is when the top tax bracket begins. Fixing this can ease a number of financial woes. It was also allow localities to have more breathing room in their own finances. Tax reform demands that we accommodate small businesses so that they can grow and expand and compete against the large corporations who receive special breaks from the government. These issues would mean that people like me, and the donor-class would end up paying a little more, but it is a tough decision to do the right thing.
I am running for delegate because I am ready to care for human life and create happiness, and make the tough decisions that will allow life and happiness to come to fruition. I ask for your vote on November 3rd to make sure that we move our Commonwealth forward.
