Back in January former Virginia gubernatorial candidate and Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy announced her candidacy for the 33rd District State Senate race. On Thursday she met with several members of the AAPI community in a listening session at Zaffron’s in Woodbridge.

In front of a heavily attended event filled with elected officials and supporters from the district, which represents parts of both Prince William and Fairfax counties, she answered numerous questions from the audience, such as re-districting, involvement with non-profit organizations, and how she will address mental health issues as Senator. She thanked those in attendance and talked about why she wanted to run.

“I am fighting because the community has been ignored, neglected and left behind and those issues need to be brought to the forefront. Those who have been closest to the pain need to be closest to the people in power,” she said to the audience. “This is the first of many conversations that we will be having, not only to listen but to act.”

Among the chief issues discussed was education reform within the community. “We have the trifecta in Richmond, we have the power in the House and Senate, and we have yet to address education in the way that we should,” she stated. “In Prince William County and Fairfax, we are making huge inroads, stretching our dollars and are going far; it’s reflective of having two of the best school systems in the commonwealth, if not the country. When I go down to Richmond, I am going to support in our budget funding our standards of quality, which determines how we pay for our education. That is why I supported collected bargaining for our teachers, so they can have a seat at the table.” She also encouraged more support for technical education courses as well as reduce the focus on standardized testing, which results in teachers focusing more on test scores than academic achievement.

Healthcare was another issue that she stated would be a focus of her role as Senator. “We criminalize homelessness and mental illness in this country. When people think about healthcare, they think about it from the neck down. I want people to think about it from the neck up, because that’s what it’s really about.” One of her goals is funding more Community Service Boards to aid in emergencies, and do a warrant list community order to take individuals to a hospital where they can receive help.

Carroll Foy spoke with the PW Perspective on the importance of meeting with the AAPI community for this event, and what it meant going forward. “I am running a diverse and inclusive campaign, and I believe that policies should come from by the people that they serve. I am really excited to hear from so many diverse communities about what’s important to them. Special thanks to Mr. Siddique and Aeshah Sheikh for making this possible for us to speak and listen to the international communities, so we can have conversations how we can have economic empowerment and talk about their lived experiences so we can help them.”

Protecting these communities from discrimination and hate crimes is also near to her heart, and she talked about what she would plan to do in that regard. “As a public defender and former foster mom, I have committed my life to public service and helping the most vulnerable amongst us. That means identifying issues and an increase in anti-Asian hate has to be addressed. One of the best ways to do it is to start conversations with what we’re seeing, and what we can do about it.”

What lessons did she take from her time running as governor that will be brought into this race? “Some of the best principles that I took from that is local politics and issues matter. People care about how much time they’re spending in traffic because that could be time spent at home with their families. We need to talk about equity in business, affordable health care and child care. These are issues that I’ve heard from people over the past few years.”

As a working mother, she reflected on the challenges that other women in that position go through and lends a sympathetic ear as well as a voice to help as their legislator. “We need elected officials who know the struggle, who have gone without healthcare and know what it’s like to have child care costs almost as much as a mortgage. That’s why I’ve carried legislation such as Paid Family Medical Leave and supported ending wage theft and expand Medicaid to over 600,000 Virginians. Because when you have representatives that are of the people and you have better bills and budgets that are for the people.”

Earlier in the day Carroll Foy was endorsed by Prince William County Board of Supervisor Chair Ann Wheeler.