by Zayd Hamid, Contributing Writer

On March 6^th, Fairfax City Hall hosted several Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor for a forum. Prosecutor Victor Salgado, State Senator Aaron Rouse, Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef, State Senator Ghazala Hashmi, and former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney gave remarks to several dozen attendees.

The first to address the crowd was Salgado, who began his remarks by calling out the tumult in Washington D.C. “It’s been a tough two months, Donald Trump is a dangerous man, and we’re fighting for the soul of our nation.” Following this, he introduced himself as a son of immigrants, a law school graduate, and a former federal lawyer at the Department of Justice.

During his time at the DOJ, Salgado prosecuted Joe Arpaio, an infamous former sheriff of Maricopa County known for “immigration round-ups” and other civil rights violations. Reflecting on that to the crowd, he compared Arpaio to the president and declared that a “son of immigrants taking down powerful men is an American story.”

Further emphasizing his legal background, Salgado also emphasized that, as lieutenant governor, he would be well-positioned to advise the governor and attorney general on how and when to sue President Trump. Outside of court battles, Salgado also positioned himself as a fighter willing to get involved directly in resistance. Alluding to the late congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis, he asserted that “if there’s a time for good trouble, I’ll be the first in handcuffs.”

Second to speak was Rouse, who began his remarks by sharing wisdom from his grandfather that inform his values: “Keep God first, work for what you want, and your word is your bond.” Reflecting on being a first-generation college graduate from Virginia Tech, he emphasized his resilience and self-sufficiency. He shared that he learned to cut his hair as a young adult before joking with the audience that he “doesn’t have that problem anymore” after joining politics, a reference to his bald head.

His political journey began on the Virginia Beach city council, where he secured significant pay raises for city staff and workers, including first responders. He further spoke on his experiences rebuking Winsome Sears, the incumbent lieutenant governor and Republican nominee for governor, and other Republicans’ efforts to mobilize opposition against him when he ran for his senate seat. Rouse further promised that he would carry Virginia Beach for the statewide ticket.

“I’m the youngest candidate in the race, I’m a union member, and I have a geographic benefit. I also have the most support from General Assembly members,” he asserted. Rouse concluded by speaking on the youth support his campaign has received, asserting that Democrats all have a responsibility to “make sure that they do not become apathetic about civic responsibility.”

Next at the podium was Lateef, who introduced himself as both a public servant and medical professional. “I’ve spent my time as chairman and as a physician hearing people, listening to their concerns, and solving the challenges they face.” He spoke on the breadth of his political leadership during crises, having been “chairman in Trump 1.0, the pandemic, and Trump 2.0” and facing threats from the Trump administration head-on.

He shared that a reporter recently asked him how Prince William County schools would respond to a letter from the Trump administration threatening a freeze on federal funds. Lateef told the reporter that PWCS would “proceed as normal” and that, should federal aid be frozen, then the president would “see us in court.” Lateef transitioned this story into a dynamic call-and-response with the audience. “If you come after my immigrant and trans kids,” Lateef prompted the audience, who enthusiastically responded with Lateef’s line: “We will see you in court!” “If you come after our libraries,” he continued. “We will see you in court,” the audience declared.

Lateef further prompted the audience to raise a hand if they knew contractors, federal workers, and others who have been furloughed because of recent executive actions—to which everyone in the room raised a hand. Speaking on recent furloughs in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Lateef told the audience that “in Prince William, where my office is, I take care of veterans all day long–I know what they’re doing, what they’re feeling.” He also shared a story from a patient who scheduled a surgery earlier than needed due to fearing loss of insurance due to the Trump administration. Being directly involved in caring for Virginians, Lateef emphasized, strongly prepares him to serve Virginians in Richmond as lieutenant governor because of how important is to “have someone who understands the pulse in the Commonwealth.”

Informed by that understanding, Lateef declared that he will “focus on unemployment, inflation, and education” and took issue with the General Assembly’s budget surplus not being invested to support education. “I have a real problem when Richmond’s surpluses aren’t given back to school districts to fully fund education,” he said, which received emphatic applause. Further applause was received when Lateef stated that the solution for investing in schools “isn’t slot machines,” and that localities, not Richmond, should make decisions on land use for casinos, data centers, and more. The only speaker to mention the other major’s party’s candidates for his race, Lateef asserted that Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity is the Republican frontrunner for lieutenant governor and touted his ability to defeat Herrity due to Lateef’s strong record of winning elections in his and Herrity’s shared home area of Northern Virginia.

Fourth to speak was Hashmi, who introduced herself as a former English teacher for J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College and affirmed that “English teachers aren’t mild-mannered. We teach the books that people want to ban.” She also spoke on her identities as an immigrant and a Muslim, sharing that she told her daughter to “keep her passport with her at all times to prove she was born and raised in Virginia” during the first Trump administration. Recognizing a need to get civically engaged, Hashmi organized academic conferences on topics relating to being Muslim in America. She eventually realized that those conferences were “talking in a bubble, not addressing the crisis at hand,” and successfully ran for a Republican-held senate seat in 2020.

Reflecting on that win in the context of the Trump administration, Hashmi said that “having that success in the heart of the Confederacy, in Richmond, showed Donald Trump’s lie” about Hashmi’s immigrant, Muslim community not being welcome in America. Hashmi used the rest of her time to cover housing and education. “One thing we know is that we have to increase housing density. Zoning is a barrier to providing and addressing housing supply. We need to address zoning issues to address density, make sure housing is affordable, and make sure that those who work in communities can live in those communities.”

Hashmi spoke on her legislative record on housing, including carrying a bill that would give faith-based groups the ability to transform their locations into affordable housing. On education, she asserted the need to “bring in top-quality businesses for opportunities for our young people and expand those opportunities to make them able to live here and grow and develop in their personal and professional lives.” She mentioned cybersecurity among other career and technical training fields as central to creating those opportunities.

Last to speak was Stoney, who began his speech by disdaining the Trump administration. “Folks, it’s been forty-five days,” he exhaustedly noted. “Only forty-five days since Trump and Musk implemented Project 2025 to dismantle the federal government.” He took further aim at the president, decrying that “Trump was always going to be for the people who have the most and were born with the most” and pointed out the need for leaders who “are in the arena to fight for those who have the least and were born with the least.”

Stoney identified himself with the latter category, sharing his background as someone born to teenage parents.  He elaborated on his childhood hardship, telling the audience about growing up as a recipient of free and reduced-price school lunches before becoming a first-generation graduate of James Madison University. Speaking on his political record, he opened his professional background by emphasizing his work on criminal justice as the Secretary of the Commonwealth, including “restoring the rights of over 200,000 former offenders who deserved the right to vote again.” On his record as mayor of Richmond, he touted reductions in poverty by implementing programs like fare-free public transportation and free community college for Richmond students.

He declared that his most proud success as mayor was removing “every damn Confederate monument in the former capital of the Confederacy,” which was met with applause across the room. Outside of that hallmark victory as mayor, Stoney also took pride in his work on criminal justice in that role, asserting that “violent crime dropped by 26% because we were tough on crime and tough on the root causes of crime.” “There’s a law enforcement answer to this,” Stoney said, “and a human services answer: focusing on after-school programs and mental health.”  

The event lasted an hour, formally ending around 9:00 p.m. Most candidates stayed for a short while after that, the longest being Lateef who stayed for approximately forty-five after to engage with attendees and answer any remaining questions that the event did not address.

Satisfied with the event and turnout for it, City of Fairfax Democratic Committee Chair Laura Stokes gave a reminder that early voting for the primary starts on May 3^rd and that the primary date is June 17^th. “It’s very important that Democrats get out and vote and make sure that they research candidates,” she said. “They can also look to their committees to help inform them and give them access to information.”