Leslie Byrne
U.S. House, VA
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A wide-open swing seat. Leslie Byrne, a progressive and tenacious lawmaker, is running in one of the top open seat opportunities of 2008: Virginia’s 11th congressional district, in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. A former member of Congress, Byrne served in the Virginia Senate and the House of Delegates, where she repeatedly went up against powerful special interests — fighting to strengthen consumer laws, provide tax relief for seniors and disabled Virginians, and expand environmental protections. She is a particularly outspoken defender of reproductive rights, which have come under repeated assault in Virginia. And she has been endorsed by more than 32 labor, women’s, and civil rights organizations and leaders.
A top takeover target. Republican incumbent Tom Davis’s retirement set off a vigorous battle to succeed him in Congress. The GOP has reason to be concerned about losing his seat: Democrats have done increasingly well here, prevailing in the last two governor’s races and the 2006 U.S. Senate race. Byrne, who narrowly lost a statewide bid for lieutenant governor in 2005, took 55 percent of the vote in this Northern Virginia district. While the electorate here is trending Democratic, House Republicans will not give this seat up without a strenuous, costly fight.
A tough primary campaign. To win the Democratic nomination, Byrne must defeat Gerry Connolly, the powerful chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Connolly, known as an over-the-top, bullying campaigner, has ties to deep-pocketed developers who can fund his campaign. This race is advancing quickly and Byrne must move fast to consolidate support before the June 10 primary. She needs immediate help from EMILY’s List members to raise her $3.5 million budget and win this seat for Democrats.
More About Leslie Byrne
Leslie Byrne, a tenacious lawmaker with a history of winning tough races, is running to replace one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress, Tom Davis, in Virginia’s 11th district. Davis’s decision to retire at the end of his seventh term creates one of 2008’s most promising opportunities to take over a GOP-held seat and expand Democrats’ narrow congressional majority. Byrne, a former member of Congress, the Virginia House of Delegates, and the Virginia Senate, is an accomplished progressive leader and the strongest Democrat to send into the November election. But before she can wrest this seat from Republicans, she must first win a difficult June 10 primary against a well-connected opponent with close ties to corporate donors.
A veteran of state politics, Byrne served in the House of Delegates for seven years before becoming the first woman elected to Congress from Virginia, which she did with support from EMILY’s List in 1992. She earned a reputation for cutting through red tape, and passed more legislation than any other newly elected representative in her congressional class — expanding childhood immunization, securing funding for mass transit projects in traffic-choked Northern Virginia, fighting cuts to federal workers’ pensions, and tightening federal oversight of the nation’s natural gas and petroleum pipelines.
After she lost her seat in the GOP landslide of 1994, Byrne returned to Richmond as a state senator, where she repeatedly went up against powerful special interests, fighting to strengthen consumer laws, provide tax relief for seniors and disabled Virginians, and expand environmental protections. She was an early critic of the war in Iraq and has always been an outspoken defender of reproductive rights, which have come under repeated assault in Virginia.
And Byrne has demonstrated grit and courage in taking on the male political establishment whose grip over Virginia’s state government has only recently started to loosen. In 2001, 22 Republican men were in charge of redrawing legislative boundaries. Their map threatened the seats of Democratic women, most of them Byrne’s colleagues from Northern Virginia, which is considerably more progressive than other parts of the commonwealth. Byrne called the leadership out on their “gender gerrymandering” and demanded that Republican leaders redistrict fairly. “You’ve got a majority composed entirely of white men who think they rule the roost,” Byrne said. “In the 21st century, they don’t rule the roost.”
The Political Situation
Virginia’s 11th congressional district is a swing seat in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. It has the nation’s highest median income and a large and growing immigrant population. It is one of the most Democratic of the 29 GOP-held open seats up for grabs in this election, with a Democratic performance (the percentage of voters who have historically voted for the Democrat in the general election) of 52.8 percent. Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine both won their governor’s races with 56 percent of the vote here, and in the 2006 U.S. Senate race, Democrat Jim Webb bested incumbent Republican George Allen 55 to 44 percent in the 11th congressional district. A known and admired figure in the district, Byrne took 55 percent of the vote here in her 2005 bid for lieutenant governor (a race she lost by less than one percent statewide).
Because of Democrats’ recent success, Virginia is a targeted presidential battleground in 2008, which will be a boon as Democrats seek to take control of this House seat and solidify their majority in Congress.
Byrne’s years of public service and outspoken leadership will make her a formidable candidate in November. But first she must win the Democratic nomination against an extremely well-funded, powerful local official: Gerry Connolly, the chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. The contrasts between Byrne and Connolly couldn’t be starker: while Byrne has staked her career fighting for progressive policies that help working families, Connolly has a history of helping campaign contributors obtain lucrative contracts with Fairfax County. While Byrne is locking in the support of progressive organizations and grassroots activists, Connolly is tapping into his extensive ties to Northern Virginia developers to fund his campaign war chest.
Republicans have coalesced behind their candidate, a wealthy businessman who has already donated more than $300,000 to his campaign, in spite of not having an opponent in the primary.
Byrne has a short time to consolidate Democratic support for her race before the early June primary. She secured a high profile endorsement from U.S. Sen. Webb, whose 2006 victory certified him as a rising star in the Democratic Party. She’s also been endorsed by more than 50 labor, women’s, and civil rights organizations and leaders. Polls show the race with Connolly is tight, and it’s expected to stay neck-and-neck right up until the June 10 primary. Byrne needs immediate support from EMILY’s List members to raise the $3.5 million it will take to overcome a well-funded primary opponent and head into the general campaign strong enough to take this seat back for Democrats.
The Issues
Byrne has been dedicated to fighting for progressive change since she was a young mother working with the League of Women Voters in the 1970s and 80s, when she became aware of how “politics shaped everything from war and peace to the price of peanut butter.” In Congress, her top priorities will be ending the war in Iraq, strengthening the economy, and protecting the environment.
Byrne says the No Child Left Behind act should be amended or repealed to give local school districts and teachers more flexibility. Making college more affordable for middle- and low-income families will be part of her congressional agenda.
As a mother and grandmother, Byrne understands the struggles Americans face balancing work and family responsibilities. “One of the first congressional votes I cast was to pass the Family Medical Leave Act, after it had languished in Congress for 12 years,” she says. Government can provide incentives for businesses to enhance the family-work balance, including awarding tax credits for on-site child care.
Byrne supports a fair trade policy that protects the environment and workers’ rights. “Our national assets of education, information, and innovation should be the basis of our economic growth,” she says. “We should use the challenges we face, like climate change, to create new jobs and opportunities.” Byrne will push for fiscal discipline in Congress to pay down the national debt while restoring the government’s infrastructure. “A pay-as-you-go policy is a must if we are to get the budget under control,” she says. She will also work to make the federal tax code “progressive, fair, and transparent,” and address the rising costs of health care, and strengthen wage growth for the middle class.
A vociferous opponent of the war in Iraq, Byrne is a harsh critic of Bush’s failed military leadership. “Bush has left our military broken,” she says. “Our nation’s defense spending priorities have neglected the basic needs of service men and women. We need to return the focus to military personnel, provide the necessary protective gear when they are overseas, and ensure they receive the necessary care once they are home.” She notes that under Bush, the role of State Department agencies like USIA and USAID have been diminished. “We are not working to build goodwill as we have in the past,” she notes. “We have to rebuild our relationship with our global allies.”
Byrne is a strong defender of civil and consumer rights that are fundamental to our nation’s strength. She was director of the office of consumer affairs in the Clinton White House and worked as a legislator to strengthen domestic violence and equal pay laws. “We should start with agencies like Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and demand they do their job in enforcing the laws already on the books,” she says. And, “We must restore economic justice to the country and transparency in the government.” Byrne favors amending the Patriot Act and other measures that have chipped away at civil rights.
To fight crime, Byrne would direct federal dollars to community policing, gang intervention, and after-school programs to keep children off the streets. “When I was in Congress, I voted to put 100,000 new police officers on the street,” Byrne says. “I believe it’s time to renew that effort.”
Byrne supports universal health care. “I believe all Americans should have the same insurance available that Congress has,” she says. “By offering the federal insurance program to individuals and businesses, we would lower the cost and provide more choice.” Byrne favors allowing the government to negotiate for lower prescription drug costs for programs like Medicare Part D.
Byrne will make the environment one of her top priorities in Congress. “I will introduce legislation to increase fuel efficiency standards, cap carbon emissions, strengthen ‘polluter pays’ laws, and provide grants to coal-fired plants to develop cleaner technology.”
Byrne is a strong supporter of reproductive rights and family planning. “In the Virginia House of Delegates, in the U.S. Congress, and in the Virginia Senate I have always fought for reproductive freedom,” she says. “And I will continue the fight when I am back in Congress.”
May 2008