Last week Rod Hall, former head of legislative affairs at the Federal Aviation Administration under President Obama, announced his candidacy to become delegate of Virginia’s 31st District, seeking to replace current seat holder Elizabeth Guzman. Mr. Hall spoke with the PW Perspective about his upbringing, his vision for the district, and lessons that he learned along the way towards extraordinary success in aviation and public policy.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, education in Prince William County has undergone significant changes and has placed tremendous stress on students, teachers and administrators. What can be done to improve the educational process going forward?  

“As the father of two children in public schools, I call for improvements to early childhood education because I firmly believe it’s the key to their development and the family’s economic security,” said Hall.

“I speak from a personal standpoint. My father was robbed of us due to a stroke when I was four. My older brother went into the military and my sister was in college so that left me at home with my mother, so I can only imagine what was going through her head at this time and maintaining her job . I stayed with my grandmother and she recommended that we try  something else, so I was enrolled in an early childhood  program. Things could have turned out differently but thankfully it didn’t.”

“I think we’ve done a good job in the commonwealth, and I chat with (Virginia Secretary of Education Atif) Qarni often, but there’s more work to be done, although I’m optimistic. If honored to serve, I would like to implement universal pre-K, I will take it on with extreme passion. For working families, they need support to affordable childcare and programs, we need to explore a lot of considerations in the pandemic and post-pandemic environments.”

“I have to give a tip of the hat to our teachers and administrators for their unwavering commitment and dedication to our kids during these unprecedented times.  They are truly national treasures. My mother was a special needs aide at a school for three decades, so I understand the challenges that teachers are working with to provide innovative techniques during this time. I appreciate how they engage the students to reach their educational standards, and they have a tremendous weight on their shoulders.”

“We need to have a sustained effort to provide the online resources until we return to in-person instruction. In reference to being a state delegate, I believe it calls into question, what can we do for  broadband policy incentives at the state level to support  local efforts to provide internet access. We certainly know now how important it is especially for low-income families during and post pandemic. We need to ensure every child has affordable to internet access.”

“The county needs to continue to work with families and staff to lessen the risk of COVID transmission. It is imperative that we effectively communicate with families on  transitioning back to schools. There are some parents that may have reservations, so the choice option is a necessity. There are some educators in my immediate village, and they have childcare needs as well. We have to trust the science and I’m  glad that  teachers are included in the Commonwealth’s 1b vaccination phase.”

As Delegate how will you propose the best path towards economic recovery within the district?

“We as a commonwealth are down a quarter of a million jobs and that figure does not do justice to those individuals who have had to take a reduction in hours. It’s a snapshot of the overall impact, not only from a geographical but also the demographical impact. Pre-COVID employment will not see a full return until 2023, and that is a significant ways off.”

“In the post-COVID mix it will be a little bit different with more positions in business services and technology. There will be more access to technology and some sub sectors, such as tourism and hospitality will take a hit. A number of sectors that are thriving such as cloud computing  and data centers have really seen a lot of momentum. The question becomes how we aid the workforce in transition is key. We must ensure that our state’s re-skill and re-tooling programs have the necessary resources to accommodate a demand from those looking to rehire.”

“We lose manufacturing projects because we can’t offer prepared sites as quickly as other states, so supporting state economic development initiatives like the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program will be an area of focus. I will do whatever I can as delegate to support regional economic development initiatives.”

There are several issues within the Black and Brown that have been exemplified during the pandemic. How should be issues be addressed within Prince William County, and more specifically your district?

“With respect to affordable housing, it would be incumbent upon any delegate giving the ability to create programs with state aided programming and funding. It is my hope that regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, that policy makers of all stripes can be committed to helping people keep  a roof over their heads. It is the compassionate thing to do at any form or level of government. We are judged most in how we treat and care for the least of these.”

Housing insecurity is a real problem as the pandemic has made it more difficult for working families to cover housing expenses.  Recent CARES act funding has acknowledged this and I was pleased to see President-elect Biden propose an additional $25 billion in rental assistance and $5billion for states and localities for people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.  It is imperative that we leverage every federal dollar possible to prevent homelessness.” 

“Housing trust funds have become a go-to tool for states and localities as they can exercise greater control, leverage other funding streams and do not have to be burdened by federal restrictions that may cause undue delay.  The last thing we need is administrative delay for families who are facing eviction or foreclosure. I’m not aware of any such tool here in the county, but it is certainly a policy concept I could support as delegate.”

On a personal level, what shapes your value system in your decision making?

“I would go to my late grandmother, she was born in 1907 in East Texas and grew up as a sharecropper. I would look at her hands, hands I  considered beautifully weathered  from picking cotton over time. She had a saying ‘Although formally I have a sixth grade education, it’s by God’s grace I have a PHD in common sense.’”

“These are challenging times we are living in, so it behooves us to stay prayed up and with respect to the nexus in governing, it takes creating policy that will both make sense and moves the needle to impact the lives of the people I represent. I’ve been fortunate to serve on the Hill and under (President) Obama’s administration. I’ve learned under leadership that you are to be a voice for the voiceless, build consensus and give 100% effort to the constituency. I would awake every morning with the thought of how I can help improve the lives of the people I serve.”

Based on your experience within the infrastructure and transportation, how will you solve the challenges on a local level?

“Most of my professional life has been immersed in transportation policy and funding.  I have a great appreciation for how smart transportation investment can transform communities, improve quality of life, and jumpstart economic development.”  

“In the absence of federal leadership, states must lead the way in providing smart, forward leaning trasportation solutions in mass transit, passenger rail service, aviation, road improvements: I will support smart, transparent public private partnerships; strengthening the VA Trans infrastructure bank/revolving loan funds/line of credit tools to better support projects that have a clear, demonstrated impact on congestion reduction and improving air quality.  As delegate I want to ensure we are leveraging every dollar we can and prioritizing innovative investments in places that need new infrastructure the most, including low-income areas and communities of color, and would be designed to invest in projects that create good jobs with fair wages.” 

“I will also be a champion for additional smart scale funding administered by the CTB funding for our area.  I’d like to see more project dots for our area up on their website. Smart scale funding has been a high priority for the town of Dumfries, so I would like some smart scale funding dots here in the 31^st District. We need to ensure that we are getting our fair share.”

“For our region – metro expansion into our area has to remain a transportation priority.  In the interim – we need a focus on commuter rail – we have a crown jewel in VRE.  The system will soon celebrate its 40th anniversary.  Continued investments in its system must remain a priority: improving through-put at the Long Bridge; more frequent trains; and weekend service would all be steps in the right direction.”

If your life can be summed into one sentence, what would it be?

“I am the proverbial ‘turtle on the fence’, which means if you see one on the fence, you know he didn’t get there by himself. Someone helped him get up there.”

“My family, my church, my community saw something in me and poured into me and I’m a better human being through the grace of God.  It is why I’m so passionate about mentoring to children as I would do frequently at the Dale City Boys and Girls Club. I’ve coordinated program dialogue with law enforcement  and coordinated aviation career visits at area airports and air traffic control towers to show them what it means to be engaged on issues and to envision  what is possible. A mentor once said to me, ‘How can a child ever aspire to become a lead dog if they’ve  never seen what the front of the pack looks like?”

Hall has been endorsed by several elected officials within the county, most recently by  Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porter and Vice Chairwoman of the Prince William County School Board Loree Williams.

This evening he will be celebrating a virtual kick-off campaign and fundraiser with family and supporters, among them Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Representative Hakeem Jefferies.