State Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-9) spent Wednesday morning in the Town of Occoquan spreading her message in her bid for governor of Virginia.

McClellan was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2005, and she served the 71st district from 2006 until 2017 when she was elected to the Virginia State Senate. She has spent a total of 15 years in elected office, more than all of the other Democratic primary candidates combined.

While in Occoquan, McClellan sat down for a meet and greet and Q&A with community members. During the event, she shared her vision for Virginia and what she hopes to accomplish if she wins the gubernatorial race. McClellan says that she hopes to bring new perspectives to the Governor’s Mansion and to address inequities along the lines of gender, race, and region. She also noted that it’s important to acknowledge that there is no “one size fits all” solution.

One community member asked if there were any recurring themes that McClellan has noticed since she first ran for office in 2005, and she answered that people are still concerned about the same issues. What are those issues? Education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. While answering another question, she noted that the Commonwealth has made progress by expanding Medicaid and beginning to address the school-to-prison pipeline, but she said that there is still a lot more work to do.

When asked about gun control, McClellan said that there has been some progress, but the Commonwealth needs to address the root causes of gun violence. She added that domestic violence is a large contributor to the issue, and it needs to be addressed. She also stated that she believes the biggest threat in public schools is self-harm.

When asked what grade she would give Governor Ralph Northam, the current state executive, for his performance, McClellan jokingly asked, “Am I grading on a curve compared to other governors?” She went on to say that she would give him a “B” because she believes that there are areas where he could have performed better. She specifically cited the issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and how the Northam Administration and state Department of Health were slow to help people of color at the start of the pandemic.

When a former Prince William County Schools student asked about her plans to address disparity in education, McClellan cited specific areas where the entire Commonwealth can improve, stating that the legacy of Jim Crow and the lingering effects of segregation are still a problem in the public school system. Among her solutions, McClellan has stated that she would work to fully fund schools to the standards recommended by the Board of Education. She said this would include following staffing ratio recommendations, raising teacher salaries to $65,000 per year, using state funding to fill gaps that are left by the property tax funding that schools currently receive, and expanding broadband access in rural communities.

McClellan also took some time to answer some questions from the PW Perspective.

When asked how she will roll out her plan for the care economy and universal childcare, McClellan said, “First making sure we are investing in stabilizing and growing the childcare industry and making sure we are shifting our investment there because it pays for itself.” She added that investing in early childhood development rather than remediation is important because it allows the Commonwealth to save and it allows parents to get back to work. She also added that the Commonwealth can pay for early childhood care and education by using revenue from the increased internet sales tax as well as revenue from the new taxes on marijuana and casinos. She also added that it is important to expand worker’s protection to domestic workers.

During this past legislative session, McClellan championed the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which extended the Virginia Human Rights Act and workplace health and safety protections to domestic workers throughout the Commonwealth.

During the 2020 emergency session, McClellan was one of three senators who voted yes on a bill to roll back qualified immunity for police officers. When asked how she plans to gain support for legislation to repeal qualified immunity, she said that she believes she can work with the senate in order to bring them around on the idea. “I think a big part of that is working with the senators and having them hear from their communities,” she said. “This is something that I hear from communities I represent and all over Virginia. Qualified immunity has been used as a shield to protect police officers who violate human rights and injure people. We made some progress with a police reform bill, but I think there is still work to do.

When asked how important representation is for women of color in politics, McClellan quickly answered that it was very important. “We are a government by, of, and for the people. Only the needs and perspectives of people who participate are included,” she said. “When I first got to the House of Delegates as a 32-year-old Black woman in the most Democratic district in the state operating in a body that was mostly white, Republican men over fifty […] I saw things from a different perspective–I saw things they didn’t see. I had a clear understanding of our history and how it impacts our present.” She also added that her experience has helped her realize what other perspectives have been missing from the legislative process, and that has helped her work to bring those perspectives in as well.

Noting that the total amount of time McClellan has spent in public office is more than all of her opponents combined, the PW Perspective asked her how her experience in the legislature will translate to the Office of the Governor. She said that the relationships she has built over time and the work that she has done will allow her to continue to build. She also added that her experience has helped her fully see the needs of Virginia now.

If elected, Senator Jennifer McClellan will be the first Black woman elected governor of any state in the nation, and she is aware of the impact that she would have. She quickly acknowledged that she would not be able to run the campaign she is without the people who paved the way for her, and she stated that she knows that she could one day be seen as the same kind of trailblazer.

McClellan’s work on domestic workers’ rights has earned her the endorsement of Care in Action, a nonprofit group dedicated to fighting for domestic workers. McClellan has also been endorsed by Virginia New Majority, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, Virginia’s List, and the Women of Color Coalition.

McClellan will face off against Former Governor Terry McAuliffe, Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax, Delegate Lee Carter, and Former Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy in the June 8th Democratic Primary. The winner of the primary will face off against Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin in the November general election. 

More information about McClellan and her campaign can be found at https://www.jennifermcclellan.com/.