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VOTE411 Voter Guide

Virginia Senate District 9

Duties - The Senate, with the House of Delegates, has legislative power to enact laws. The Senate has 40 members elected from separate districts.Term - 4 yearsSalary - $18,000

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    Mark E. Lewis, Jr
    (L)

  • Jennifer L. McClellan
    (Dem)

Biographical Information

What do you believe is the top priority for your district and what is your plan to address it?

What measures, if any, would you support to ensure the right to vote and election integrity?

Regarding fair redistricting (1) Do you support the proposal for a Virginia Redistricting Commission and why? (2) If the constitutional amendment is adopted, what legislation would you support to implement the commission?

Do you support the Equal Rights Amendment? If yes, what are you willing to do to ensure ratification by the Virginia General Assembly?

That solutions would you support to curb gun violence in Virginia?

In a recent public opinion poll, 82% of Virginians believe that people should be able to afford to live in the community where they work. What programs or policies would you support to promote workforce housing in Virginia?

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Address 1016 Park Avenue, Apt C
Richmond, VA 23220
Web Site http://www.votemarklewis.com
Email votemarklewis@gmail.com
Age 28
Facebook page facebook.com/MarkLewisforLiberty
The state government taxes and spends too much. In 2019, the legislature passed budget House Bill 1700, almost unanimously. It increases the 2018-2020 operating budget to $121 billion. That’s a 15% increase over the 2016-2018 budget. We should cut taxes and spending by 10% across the board. A $12.1 billion budget cut divided by a population of 8.518 million people would come to $1,420 per capita savings, money that individuals can spend the best way they see fit
I support measures that make it easy and convenient to register and vote. Sometimes people have expressed fears that non-citizens are voting illegally, but I think cases of illegal voting are rare and we don’t need a lot more government spending to fight a non-existent problem. I support ending the war on drugs which will reduce the number of felons and support allowing felons to vote. I’ve heard it said that people on average commit three felonies per day. Most just don’t get caught.
I oppose the gerrymandering that’s gone on for centuries and would support fair redistricting. We’ve heard about fair proposals for redistricting for years and it doesn’t seem to ever happen in Virginia or most other states. The root problem is that government has too much power to force people to do things they don’t want to do so people use gerrymandering and lobbying to get their way. The cure is to reduce the scope and power of government so that winning elections is less important.
I support equal rights under the law for women, minorities, the LGBTQ community and everyone. I support ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and am glad most of its intended goals are already in effect. I’m wary of additional laws the U.S. Congress and Assembly might pass to further implement it and will carefully consider all legislation to ensure the rights of all people are protected. For example, I would not want private women’s colleges to be forced to go coed.
I support the right to own guns for self-defense and to allow citizens to prevent abuse by a tyrannical government as is happening to the unarmed citizens in Venezuela and Hong Kong. I supported SB 1024 which would have allowed churches to decide whether to allow guns inside. Legalizing marijuana and tax cuts to spur better job opportunities will reduce gun violence. I’m against more restrictive gun laws.
Most high housing costs are caused by government zoning restrictions that prohibit increases in the supply of houses and apartments in existing neighborhoods. Lots of fine good people fight new housing developments and they need to be reminded that NIMBY policies hurt the poor the most, but also the middle class. Obviously, property tax cuts would help lower the cost of housing for everyone. I’m opposed to affordable housing schemes that involve more taxes and bureaucracy; they don’t help.
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