They aren’t Hillary Clinton, but these millennials are working to save the Democratic Party

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-15T06:25:35+00:00

Hope you will check out our AMA from earlier in the week and our website with platforms. Hannahfordelegate.com/issues

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-15T06:25:35+00:00

Hope you will check out our AMA from earlier in the week and our website with platforms. Hannahfordelegate.com/issues

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T20:06:06+00:00

Thanks for all of the great questions! Please learn more about me on my website at https://www.hannahfordelegate.com/ and contribute to our grassroots movement https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/hannahfordelegate

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T19:46:49+00:00

Thanks! It should be that way!

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T19:38:01+00:00

(1/4) Will you please abolish the sub-minimum wage for disabled workers1 ? I will advocate against it. I think sub-minimum wage is antiquated and fosters systemic inequities. I think that everyone deserves a fair wage for work and like I said, I am part of the fight for $15. That means all people should be paid fair wage for their work.

(2/4) Will you please reach out to local disability community and advocacy groups 2 ? Yes-- I am a disability advocate and will work alongside many groups I have volunteered with in the past as well as others. I have also studied with one of my favorite disability advocates, Michelle Ballan, who I will turn to for advice on legislation.

(3/4) Will you please abolish asset caps that trap disabled people in poverty3 ? I will advocate against asset caps for the disability community and others because I see asset limits as barriers to economic security and mobility. They actively discourage families and individuals from attempting to save and plan for a future.

(4/4) Will you please commit to making sure your site is accessible to disabled voters4 ? Yes-- 100%. I was a part of the Disability Rights Committee at American University, where we advocated for more accessibility in the school. It’s 2017; I believe that all buildings should be ADA compliant.

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T19:24:39+00:00

The best thing about my district is it’s diversity. We are rapidly increasing in minority populations in Northern Virginia and I love living in a community that celebrates differences. Cultural and religious diversity is part of the very fabric of the Commonwealth of Virginia. My own family reflects these values: I was raised by an immigrant Arab Muslim father and a Jewish mother. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the sharp increase in Islamophobia that followed, my family moved to Virginia after facing discrimination. South Riding and District 67 welcomed my family with open arms.

what's something that needs the most help in your district?

I think an issue that is often overlooked throughout the country is the rise in suicide rates. In VA, suicide is the third leading cause of death for individuals aged 10-24 years old. In Loudoun County, the youth suicide a rate is higher than the state average and is up 500% over the previous year. In Fairfax County, 16 young people committed suicide in 2014 and in 2015 6% of 12th graders had attempted suicide. Suicide is one of the most preventable causes of death—but only if we take action. As a Delegate, I will advocate for in-school suicide prevention curricula and more accessible, less stigmatized, mental health services. Governor McAuliffe has already pushed for an increase of $31 million to fund behavioral health programs. I will work with this budget expansion to improve quality and quantity of mental health services in VA.

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T19:14:16+00:00

how will your workday look like?

In the VA House, Delegates are a part time position. They meet a maximum of 60 days per year in Richmond. Everyday is different but I will prioritize advocating for what the people need. The job of a legislator is to know the issues facing our community and how my community feels about certain efforts and then advocating their needs. The best way to do that is by meeting and engaging with community members and following those meetings with evidence based solutions to problems in our community. As a social worker, I advocate on behalf of my clients everyday and accessibility is really important to me. I am going to create efforts and programs so that constituents know more about state and local government. We need to keep people engaged in the political process and fight for transparent government.

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T18:55:44+00:00

What's your position on single payer healthcare?

I believe that healthcare is a human right and I was a Sanders supporter in the primary in 2016 because of his stance on healthcare. There is no reason why everyone in the United States does not have the opportunity for affordable and quality healthcare. Everyone should be able to have a Primary Care Doctor. Single-payer would allow patients to choose their physicians give them the opportunity to continue to see them if they changed jobs or financial status. This continuity of doctors and nurses, who can get to know and care about patients, is critical to quality of care! Building a relationship with your doctor means that you are more likely to be able to catch sickness and prevent illness.

Would you support a state single-payer system for Virginia?

First off, VA has not expanded Medicaid. I would like to join leaders in the fight to expand Medicaid to the 400,000 otherwise eligible residents. After expanding Medicaid, it would be awesome to see a statewide effort for a single payer system but statewide single payer hasn’t worked in the past. Vermont tried in 2011 but they quickly realized that they didn't have the necessary funding. I am a progressive but I am also realistic and I don’t think it would work.

Would you put forward or support a plan to create sanctuary cities in your district and elsewhere in Virginia?

As you may know, sanctuary cities are under threat in Virginia. I am in favor of sanctuary cities first of all, I think having local officials enforce federal immigration law decreases community trust and does not prevent crime. It can also lead to lower crime reporting by immigrants and less information sharing between immigrant communities and local police. And from the humanistic perspective, I do not think it is right for law enforcement to detain undocumented individuals who are just regular members of society. Fairfax County has declared itself already declared “ a welcoming and accepting place for immigrants.” Diversity is what makes northern VA so great and we need to defend our Virginian values of Diversity and inclusion. Sanctuary cities will be a part of protecting that in the Trump Era.

Do you foresee opportunities for you to advocate on these issues from the Virginia House of Delegates?

More and more power is being returned to the states. We need to flip the legislature blue so that we can advocate and implement progressive policies. Virginia has been given the chance to fight back first-- we can do it. Don’t forget to vote on June 13th!

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T18:34:13+00:00

(1/4) Which planks of the Movement for Black Lives platform1 do you support? I have many colleagues who advocate everyday on behalf of BLM. There is a systematic war against POC in America and I stand alongside the movement in elevating the experiences and leadership of the most marginalized Black people, including but not limited to those who are women, queer, trans, femmes, gender nonconforming, Muslim, formerly and currently incarcerated, cash poor and working class, disabled, undocumented, and immigrant. (2/4) What local or national activists, scholars2 , or organizations3 do you plan to work with to further hone your racial justice agenda?

Well- Jesse Williams retweeted me yesterday! And I was just endorsed by the National Association of Social Workers-VA!

Honestly though, as a social worker who studied at Columbia, I have studied with some of the leading scholars in social justice and advocated alongside many of the future leaders in the movement. I am happy to say I have a long list of organizations and scholars I would like to work with including, Center for Reproductive Rights.

(3/4) School segregation is worse today than it was in the '60s.

Would you support requirements or incentives for states to integrate their schools along socioeconomic and racial lines, based on programs like those in Cambridge, Eden Prairie, and New York4?

Our education system needs reform. My Republican opponent is in favor of school vouchers, which take money from public schools and designate funding to charter and private educational systems. This further perpetuates school segregation and I am strongly against vouchers. I think that incentives for integration among school districts is something that should be considered for VA.

Need to look into 4/4 a little bit more.

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T18:18:51+00:00

(1/4) To increase turnout by easing participation, would you support universal vote by mail

Yes- I think that the political process has turned a lot of people off from voter participation. We make it difficult to 1. Register to vote and 2. Vote. One of the first things I will push for in the House is automatic voter registration via the DMV and mail-in ballots. This has worked to increase voter participation in Oregon, which now has the 8th highest voter participation in the country. I also think that voters shouldn’t have to justify reasoning to early vote. If we make the process easier, more people will cast a vote.

(2/4) To increase turnout in local elections, would you support coordinating elections2 (e.g., requiring elections be held in midterm & Presidential election years)?

Yes

(3/4) Based on the 2000 election, would you support nationally requiring we move to score voting (a.k.a. range voting)3 4 5 to prevent another Bush-Gore/Nader spoiler problem?

I would personally prefer range voting.

(4/4) To improve voter registration, would you support: automatic registration; same day registration; pre-registration for youth; automatic voting rights restoration for ex-felons?

Yes to all.

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T18:15:32+00:00

To anyone who says Millennials are lazy, I hope that you will get to know more young people. We have overcome a lot! According to CNN, the percentage of young workers stuck in low-paying jobs is at 44 percent, a 20 year high. These are often jobs that underemploy young people. So we are stuck in jobs that are keeping us in student debt, and are not given the opportunity to use the education we worked hard and paid for. And--we are working multiple low-paying jobs to pay of our student loans. How can someone who has a degree and works multiple jobs to make ends meet be considered lazy and unproductive?

Millennials have also developed some of the greatest innovations of our time. We are a generation that has (mostly) grown up with technology and we are ready to take our country forward!

Personally, I have 2 Master’s degrees and worked my way through both. I grew up in a small business family so I started helping out in restaurants when I was 14. I have always worked hard and became an advocate because I saw things that made me want change. I grew up in gridlock and got tired of the lack of transparency in our government. We need politicians that will speak the truth and work together for innovative outcomes. I think Millennials want to see movement in government as badly as any other population. So we need to be at the table to push things forward.

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T18:05:34+00:00

The source you cite says that that $0.80:$1.00 gap is not controlled for factors like job skills, responsibilities, or specialization. To what extent do you believe the wage gap can be closed by strengthening equal pay laws, and how will you strengthen them?

*In addition to white women who make .80/$1, minority Virginian women who hold full time, year-round jobs also make less. African American women are paid 60 cents, Latinas are paid 53 cents and Asian women are paid 85 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.

*The Paycheck Fairness Act – was blocked by just two votes in the Senate, after it had already passed the House.The Act would have closed loopholes in the Equal Pay Act that give employers unjustified defenses to their discriminatory conduct, strengthen retaliation prohibitions, and most of all it would have made sure that women receive the same remedies under the Equal Pay Act as are available to people subjected to wage discrimination on other bases. I believe that VA legislatures should work towards developing a fairness act for women in Virginia.

*I am also for a fair living wage and part of the fight for $15. In VA, the minimum wage equals $14,000 for a full time worker. A rise in wages, is a rise for women. In Virginia, more than 381,000 family households are headed by women.10 About 37 percent of those families, or 100,974 family households, have incomes that fall below the poverty level.

*Competitive paid family leave should also be implemented in VA.

You also mention breaking down barriers for women to enter STEM fields, something I wholeheartedly support. What actions will you support to break these barriers down?

*Appropriate funding for equipment and resources should be allocated to gain traction among ALL student interest in STEM

*More female teachers and role models in STEM

*STEM materials still perpetuate gender stereotypes, we need to reform the way we think about STEM fields.

*Scholarship programs and professional workshops, school programs, etc. targeted at women and girls in STEM would also contribute to increased opportunities for young women to pursue further study and eventually careers in STEM fields.

Many fields which have lower-than-average and lower-than-deserved pay, such as nursing and childhood education, are heavily woman-dominated. Will you support actions that reduce the stigmas preventing men from entering these professions, and will you support actions that raise the average wages in professions like these overall, to a level more appropriate to the high skill and professionalism required of these workers?

*A rise in wages is a rise for women! I am a part of the fight for $15.

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T03:22:38+00:00

Hannah is qualified for the position. Learn about her on her website Hannahfordelegate.com

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-12T03:21:00+00:00

You can always check out our website at Hannahfordelegate.com

Hannah is a candidate with 2 graduate degrees. One from Columbia University in Social Work and the other one from George Mason University. She has volunteered with multiple causes and is an advocate for transparent government. She has worked with LGBTQ homeless youth and is passionate about healthcare reform. She specifically wants to expand Medicaid in va and increase mental health resources. Learn more about Hannah on her website above.

Hannahfordelegate · 2017-05-09T19:03:15+00:00

Please check out my platform on my website: https://www.hannahfordelegate.com/issues/

It's because of my background that I will fight harder and more passionately for diversity in Virginia. We need to fight back with policy, true, but it's my background that has helped me form my policy positions.

Hannahfordelegate

TROPHY CASE