In 1941, my grandparents lived in an apartment in Arlington, had one child and were looking for a better life. They pooled their money with twenty other families in Buckingham Apartments and collectively built twenty houses on twelve acres in the top dairy-producing county in the Commonwealth of Virginia - Fairfax County – and they named it Tauxemont. U.S. 1 was the major North-South road from Washington, D.C. to Richmond, was the center of commerce, and was covered with motels catering to tourists and travelers.

Mount Vernon quickly changed. My father attended Fairfax County’s public schools. Both of my parents received Virginia state-supported higher education, and they chose to settle here in our community two doors away from the home my father grew up in. I grew up in the same community and benefitted from everything that living in Virginia and Mount Vernon has to offer.

Much has changed since 1941 and today our community is a wonderful place to live. However, over the last two decades long-term investment in our public infrastructure – roads, schools, higher education, criminal justice – has languished. Moving Mount Vernon forward will require fresh, creative, and long-term thinking so that our children can have the same opportunities that we have all enjoyed.

I look forward to meeting you soon and I hope to earn your vote in November.