Political leaders need to meet the moment and connect with a fearful and angry Northern Virginia electorate, one county leader believes.
“The status quo is just not good enough. What are we going to do about it?” County Board member Julius “JD” Spain Sr. said during a Saturday forum sponsored by NAACP branches of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County.
Effective communication is key both for good policy and good politics, Spain said at the event, held at Roberts Memorial United Methodist Church in Alexandria. It should work both ways, flowing seamlessly from the public to its elected officials and vice versa, he argued.
“If you don’t know how to communicate, you’re not going to get through to the people you need to get through to,” Spain said.
Though the event was a nonpartisan gathering, elected officials did weigh in on the coming political battle that will see the entire House of Delegates and statewide offices of governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general on the ballot.
Control of state government in 2026 may hinge on which political party better connects with voters’ most important concerns in coming months, said Del. Marcus Simon (D-13).
“Our message has got to be, we believe in you, we believe in your potential,” Simon said of Democratic outreach efforts. “It’s about understanding where people are really struggling.”
John Chapman, a Democratic member of the Alexandria City Council, concurred in that assessment.
“Messaging is storytelling — relaying the fact that good policy matters,” he said.
For the last two years, Democrats have held slim majorities in the General Assembly, often finding themselves at loggerheads with Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).
In this year’s governor race, Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger has held a comfortable lead over Republican Winsome Earle-Sears both in fundraising and in some polling results. If Democrats can retake the governorship and hold the House of Delegates, they will control all levers of power in Richmond for the first time since 2021.
Simon, whose district runs from Baileys Crossroads west to Tysons, raised the possibility that voters will deliver a split verdict — electing Spanberger but giving Republicans control of the House of Delegates as a backstop against total Democratic dominance.
Voters “like divided government,” he said, adding that Republican legislative leaders “think they have the messaging advantage on a number of issues.”
Rep. Don Beyer (D-8), who also was part of the panel, said leaders needed to stick with their core values and relay them to the electorate.
“It’s easy to message what’s true,” Beyer said.
The panelists were quizzed on issues ranging from community policing and immigration to unemployment. A major theme was housing availability, which Chapman called “the bedrock” challenge across Northern Virginia.
Spain told attendees they needed to be a part of the solution on all the challenges being faced.
“It’s going to [have to] be all hands on deck,” he said. “Government cannot solve all the problems.”
Looking at an audience that skewed older rather than younger, Spain said it was key to bring younger people into community and civil-rights organizations.
“They need to be involved,” said Spain, a former president of the Arlington NAACP.
Not participating but attending the gathering were County Board members Takis Karantonis and Susan Cunningham.
Karantonis is the lone County Board member on the Nov. 4 ballot. He is facing four challengers after winning the Democratic primary.
The Rev. Cozy Bailey, who leads the Virginia NAACP, also was on hand, as was Rev. DeLishia Davis, president of the Arlington NAACP.
Davis recently concluded service as pastor at Calloway United Methodist Church and begins service this week at a church in Springfield. She will serve out the remainder of her term as Arlington NAACP president.
Beyer anticipates Trump will win budget fight
Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) said he expects Donald Trump will get most of what he wants out of the budget package known to Republicans as the “Big, Beautiful Bill” when it reaches a final vote in Congress.
“I’m not optimistic” the measure will be defeated, Beyer said at the June 28 NAACP forum. “So far, Trump’s been able to get done everything he wants to get done.”
With Democrats united against the budget package and Republicans holding slim majorities in both houses of Congress, Beyer said it remained possible efforts to pass the bill could collapse due to intra-GOP conflicts.
Barring that, he said, the best Democrats could hope for was winning control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.
“Next time we get the power back, we’ll reverse it as much as we are able to,” Beyer said of the budget package.
