Delegate Tim Hugo (R-40) wrote in this paper that there had been some good news from Richmond (Connection, March 7-13, 2019). He claimed credit for HB2529 and tax relief for Virginians. He then went on — cynically — to claim credit for additional education funding.
The reality is that Delegate Hugo’s original tax bill would have resulted in drastic education funding cuts for Northern Virginia schools. Only last-minute work by Sen. George Barker prevented a terrible bill from passing that would have undermined our schools and failed to deliver tax relief to working families. We got tax relief and education funding this year in spite of Delegate Hugo, not because of him.
Time and again, we've seen Del. Hugo’s representation put partisan interests ahead of the interests of our community. In 2018, he voted against Medicaid expansion; passage of the bill in spite of his vote now means twenty-six thousand Prince William and Fairfax County residents can see a doctor if they’re sick. In 2018, he voted to deny hundreds of millions of dollars in transportation funding that would have helped relieve gridlock on RTE 28 near Braddock Rd and I-66. This year he voted for new tolls on I-66, and then failed to even show up for a vote to prevent tolling on Fairfax County Parkway. Meanwhile, he cast the deciding vote on a bill that denied equality to women across our Commonwealth, and stopped dozens of sensible gun safety bills — including the ”red flag” bill supported by the Virginia Law Enforcement Sheriffs -— from becoming law.
There wasn’t much good news coming from Richmond this year, but there is some great news for this November. This past week, a small business leader and veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, Dan Helmer, qualified for the ballot. We’re ready for new leadership in Richmond, and for actual good news in 2020.
Kimberly V. Davis
Fairfax Station