As a community leader, advocate, and special needs parent, Candi King understands the struggles of balancing one’s time to invest in the issues that matter to the people of the 2nd District. 

Recently the PW Perspective interviewed King following her victory in Democratic nomination to replace Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy, who resigned to focus on her gubernatorial campaign. 

“Life has been extremely busy,” said King. “I’m a working mother of three children, but I’m fortunate that my husband [Josh King], has allowed me the space to focus on what we need to do to keep this seat. It has been hectic at times but I’m excited about the energy that I’m hearing from people in both Stafford and Prince William County who are ready to vote on January 5.”

King reflected on what would become the start of a bright political future, reminiscing on her time at Norfolk State University, where she earned her undergraduate degree. “I was 20 years old and I remember walking up to the president of Norfolk State and said that I would do a bond referendum,” King recalls. “She asked me to come to her office and from there she enabled me to organize a student referendum campaign.” The campaign ended up raising upwards of $400 million.

As the granddaughter of sharecroppers, King shared how the value of a formal education was instilled within her from an early age by her grandparents, “They knew that for their children and grandchildren their lives would be different if we prioritized education,” said King. “They were always transparent about what life was like without having the benefit of education. It’s something I impress on my children that if you want something you have to work hard and make education a priority.”

King’s hard work ethic and advocacy for access to education would be reinforced by several of Virginia’s most prominent Black leaders throughout the start of her political career. After graduating, King would go on to intern at Virginia General Assembly for Senator Yvonne Miller (the first Black woman to serve in both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly) along with Senators Lionel Spruill and Louise Lucas. King remarked on how her early mentorship by several of Virginia’s most prominent Black leaders Virginia shaped her core values.

“Miller taught me to stand up for what is right even if you’re alone,” said King. “I learned how to show up every day authentically as myself. Being a first-generation college student coming into a new environment, they all taught me that my opinions and ideas were valuable. I realized that I belonged as much as anyone else.”

Throughout her career, King has taken pride in providing her own mentorship to young people that have come after her, instilling confidence in Black and Brown youth to become a voice in their communities during an era where the deaths of unarmed Black youth continue to make national headlines. “Being a voice in the community means to speak truth to power and be unafraid, especially for young people who grew up in extreme poverty,” she said. “When we receive an opportunity, we go all in.”

King further remarked on the need for Black and Brown youth to speak their minds, stating, “I will represent this community and speak truth to power, even if it’s an uncomfortable truth. We need more people that will say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done. The young people fuel me to always show up and fight for this community.”

Highlighting her promise of accessibility as a State Delegate, King told the PW Perspective, “I believe that we have to go where the young people are, we can’t sit in our offices and make appointments. I will be available for young people so they don’t have to come to me; I will go to them. I will listen to what they have to say.”

King went on to discuss the educational challenges many students and teachers alike continue to face amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “I have a child on the autism spectrum, so one of my greatest concerns is transition services as well as providing access for special needs children,” she said. “There’s a lot of conversation about reopening the schools, but more needs to be about what happens next. How do we support the teachers and help them recover some of the mileage that may have been lost during virtual learning? My sister has taught for 20 years, and through the summer she worked very hard. Teachers never got a break from the pandemic. Watching that, I realize that we have to listen to teachers and provide them a seat at the table. As a delegate I will be looking to teachers for solutions.”

Regarding the economic anxiety Virginians continue to face during the pandemic, King believes that there are several strategies the state can implement to help families recover as working-class residents continue to await another federal relief package. “Because of a disastrous federal response there is a chance for the state to step up. We need to do more by providing affordable housing, and in Prince William County and Stafford we need to do more to recruit more jobs closer to home so people don’t have to commute so far away. If we want to set people up for economic prosperity, then we have to address affordable housing and transportation.”

King followed up by highlighting the need for greater transportation infrastructure across the 2nd District and beyond. “We need access to the Metro,” King states directly. “We are a huge community, and the first step is expanding the Metro. We also need to address the bottleneck on [Interstate] 95 and only part of it is funded and part of it is not. When it’s done right it has a huge impact on the community.”

Highlighting the positive side of things in the 2nd District, King remarks, “We have things to celebrate. We can share our cultures and truly celebrate the diversity of the area. It’s an amazing community to live in and what makes it so great is the diversity. We have diverse culinary options, and along the Route One corridor there are so many great things taking place.”

Despite her wealth of political knowledge and experience, her challenge of reaching undecided voters persists. “I would say that to those voters we have a very short turnaround until January,” said King. “I am best positioned to hit the ground running due to my experience on day one. Also, my values reflect the values of the community. Whether it’s inclusivity, progress, or protecting our teachers and students, I know specifically what these communities need, and will best represent them because I know what they are going through and what they believe in.”

King shared that if she had to describe herself in one sentence, it would be: “Candi King is committed to doing her part to leave this place better than she found it.”

On Thursday, King held a campaign kick-off where she highlighted how her experience will guide her decision making as Delegate. For more information about her campaign, visit https://www.candikingforva.com/.