Last week, we invited the two candidates running in the general election for House of Delegates race for the 45th District to write a post about why our readers should vote for them next Tuesday (Nov. 2).
Here is the unedited response from Justin “J.D.” Maddox:
I’m J.D. Maddox, and I’m the first centrist candidate for the 45th District House of Delegates in more than ten years.
I’m a small business owner, an adjunct professor at George Mason University, and a member of Alexandria’s IT Commission. I’m also a former CIA branch chief and a veteran of US Army Special Operations. My wife Lisa and I have lived in Alexandria for 21 years, and we have two young daughters. Our family loves this community for its amazing diversity of people and opportunities.
For a decade, District 45’s representative went unchallenged, pursuing a political agenda at odds with our District’s real interests.
The negative results of this one-party rule are visible everywhere. Our schools are failing. Our police have gone unsupported while crime has increased. Our population has grown to be the densest in the state, but our infrastructure does not support it. Housing is increasingly unaffordable. Dangerous flash flooding now regularly overwhelms our sewers, and human waste flows freely into the Potomac River when it rains. Yet, we pay more taxes than ever.
These are astonishing failures. My only guess is that the 45th District hasn’t had a choice other than to blindly follow the “party line” on the ballot. We have elected and re-elected politicians who take our support for granted, while they do little to address the problems we face every day. Each time we step into the voting booth, we allow them to continue, despite their failures.
If you’re an open-minded voter, I ask you to vote for me on November 2. I’ve offered concrete and specific solutions to the challenges that face our community and the Commonwealth.
I’ve developed the “4FOR4” program, which will offer free 4-year college degrees to qualified Virginians who commit to service jobs in Virginia for 4 years. I’ve submitted a 1-percent cap on homeowner property tax. I’ve offered a specific new model for affordable housing. I’ve committed to pursuing new funding to pay for sewer fixes, and I will address climate change for what it actually is.
“But I can’t vote for a Republican,” an Arlingtonian may say. And they wouldn’t be the first. The Republican Party has lost its moral high ground. It’s suffering a crisis of conscience. But while many are fleeing the scene, I’ve chosen to run toward the fire.
My proposal to you is simple: We must reassert moderation into our political system. Virginia is not all red – nor all blue. We need politicians that can bring communities together to challenge the false narrative that our government is composed only of extremes. I know that’s what the silent majority of Virginians want – and if elected, that’s what I’ll do for you.
In contrast, my opponent has demonstrated that she’ll just lead us further apart – pushing more extreme positions in the Statehouse. The Sun-Gazette recently dropped its endorsement of her – an amazing statement of disapproval – because she’s “running further out in front on the ‘woke’ scale even than some of Northern Virginia’s other increasingly loopy local governments.”
Their retraction comes after she stood by her decision to defund the Alexandria police – removing School Resource Officers from schools. Her decision ignored the recommendation of the Alexandria School Board, and contributed to a spike in violence at Alexandria City High School including an incident involving a student with a fully loaded gun on school grounds.
That is not the only time she has chosen to ignore her constituents. She chose not to participate in four candidate forums this year. These events are the only chance that voters have had to see and hear from both candidates for Delegate. I attended each one with the intent to have a principled debate, and exchange of ideas. I never got the chance, and I found her unwillingness to answer questions from our community disappointing.
As you enter the polling booth this Tuesday, consider the values of your Delegate candidates….
If you are looking for someone to reorient us politically, and to bring us back to the center, I’m your candidate.