Arlington County

Incumbent Delegate Patrick Hope has represented the 47th District in the House of Delegates since 2009. He is a healthcare attorney who received his law degree from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. Before practicing law, Hope was a congressional staffer for several years. As an attorney, he worked with various healthcare organizations to increase access and affordability for patients. He has lived in the Buckingham community of Arlington with his wife and three daughters since 2000.

With three kids in Arlington Public Schools, Hope has served as a dedicated advocate for public education. In 2021, he voted in favor of a 5% pay raise for teachers. During the pandemic, he advocated for increased funding to help schools reopen safely and increased counselors and nurses. Hope received a 100% rating for his voting record from the Virginia Education Association. He also advocated for kids’ mental health in schools, carrying legislation to allow excused absences in public schools for mental health.

Hope also serves as the chair of the Joint Commission on Health Care, which is a bipartisan group working to make healthcare affordable and accessible to all Virginians. He voted in favor of Medicaid expansion in 2018, which granted affordable health coverage to nearly 750,000 Virginians. He voted to expand Medicaid coverage to include dental insurance in 2021. He also voted to cap the cost of insulin to $50 per month and to expand insurance coverage to include abortions.

Hope understands the urgency of the climate crisis and has voted to support environmental protections in the state. He voted for the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which commits Virginia to 100% clean energy by 2050. He supported the passage of a bill to require the production of low-emission and electric vehicles. He also helped create the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas to preserve Virginia’s natural environment for future generations. He has received multiple 100% ratings from the Sierra Club and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters during his time in office.

Hope has also introduced common sense gun violence prevention legislation. Serving as chair of the House Public and Safety Committee, he has passed bills to make universal background checks obligatory and require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms. He helped pass a bill to re-establish a one-handgun-purchase-a-month rule and increased penalties for leaving firearms unsecured in environments where they may endanger children. Additionally, he supported a successful bill to prevent individuals convicted of domestic violence offenses from owning guns.

Hope has also advocated for criminal justice reforms while in office. He strongly opposes the use of solitary confinement and the construction of for-profit private prisons in the Commonwealth. He is working to introduce a mechanism of independent oversight in Virginia’s correctional centers, such as a prison Ombudsman, as Virginia is the only state without one. In 2021, he helped pass a bill that eliminated “child support” payments charged to the parents of incarcerated youths. He also advocated for reducing crowding in prisons during COVID-19, vaccinations for incarcerated people, and the reintroduction of visiting hours during the pandemic.

Hope is running unopposed. Due to his support of affordable healthcare, criminal justice reform, gun violence prevention, and public education, Delegate Patrick Hope is the most progressive candidate. Close Window

Northern Virginia native Adele McClure is a community activist with policy expertise in breaking down systemic barriers, expanding human rights, and improving access to services in Arlington and across Virginia. As the leader of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, she has been at the forefront of developing the caucus's legislative agenda and managing its operations. Adele's lived experiences and dedication to progress make her a strong advocate for the needs of the people in Arlington and a trailblazer as the first Black and Asian representative for the region in the Virginia General Assembly.

As Executive Director of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, Adele McClure has been at the forefront of expanding the legislative agenda to address environmental justice. She championed the establishment of Virginia's Environmental Justice Council and fought for greater oversight of utility monopolies to ensure fair electricity prices for all Virginians. McClure is dedicated to making Virginia's clean energy transition just and affordable, advocating for stronger energy efficiency standards, increased funding for low-income solar and energy efficiency programs, and necessary reforms in utility regulation. Her principled stance against accepting money from utility monopolies demonstrates her commitment to serving the interests of the people.

McClure's first-hand experience during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the disparities in healthcare, inspiring her to make quality healthcare more accessible and equitable for all. As a member of the Arlington Community Services Board, she advocated for increased services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, substance use disorders, and mental health challenges. McClure will use her valuable experience to contribute to the transformation of Virginia's mental health system. She is dedicated to expanding access and affordability of health insurance and primary care for vulnerable Virginians and will fight against powerful insurance interests to prioritize patient needs.

McClure is passionate about economic equality and workers' rights. She advocates for a living wage, affordable healthcare, paid family and medical leave, retirement security, and strong workplace protections for all working Arlingtonians and Virginians. Recognizing the power of collective bargaining in reducing economic inequality, she will work to ensure that every Virginian has the right to form a union with their co-workers. Her work with the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus led to raising the minimum wage, removing outdated exemptions, and expanding collective bargaining rights during the pandemic. As a Delegate, McClure will continue to champion worker rights by repealing the "Right To Work" law, removing minimum wage exemptions for farm workers, and advocating for guaranteed paid sick leave and paid family medical leave.

As someone who has struggled with poverty and homelessness in her youth, McClure is committed to ensuring that all Virginians have access to stable, safe, and affordable housing, which is crucial for their well-being and success in various aspects of life. She has been actively involved in protecting renters and homeowners from eviction and foreclosure, serving as a point person for eviction prevention at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. As a Delegate, McClure will work to create more affordable housing, prevent evictions, expand tenant rights, eliminate housing discrimination, and increase access to funds for homeownership, especially for historically marginalized communities. Her advocacy in the housing policy space includes developing a homeownership funding program to address historical disparities.

Adele is running unopposed and is a progressive choice in this race. Close Window

Delegate Lopez has represented the 49th District since 2012 and has advocated for progressive causes his entire career. The son of an undocumented father from Venezuela, Lopez attended Vassar College and Tulane University Law School. He served as an appointee in the Obama administration and in Senator Tim Kaine’s office. In the House of Delegates, he serves as the Minority Whip of the Virginia House Democratic Caucus. He currently lives with his wife and two sons in Arlington.

As the founder and co-chair of the Virginia Latino Caucus, Delegate Lopez is a dedicated advocate for immigrant rights. He was critical to the passage of a bill to expandin-state college tuition and financial aid to all Virginia students, regardless of immigration status. He also helped pass legislation allowing undocumented Virginians to receive IDs and driver privilege cards. During the 2021 legislative session, Lopez carried legislation to expand emergency Medicaid to undocumented immigrants so that they could receive testing, treatment, and vaccination for COVID-19.

Lopez also fights to ensure Virginia remains affordable for people to live in and a great place to work. He created the Virginia Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which has been critical to preventing evictions and providing rental assistance for families, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. He voted for legislation strengthening the rights of tenants and to increase Virginia’s minimum wage. He supports protecting workers’ rights by repealing Virginia’s right-to-work laws, which undermine the strength of unions, and voted for collective bargaining rights for Virginia public employees.

Lopez works to expand environmental protections and options for renewable energy in Virginia, serving as the founder and co-chair of the Virginia Environment and Renewable Energy Caucus. He helped pass the Virginia Clean Economy Act and the Solar Freedom Act, which are critical to moving the Commonwealth to 100% clean energy. He helped pass the Virginia Green Jobs Tax Credit, incentivizing job creation in renewable energy and electric vehicles. He worked to increase funding for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund and the Agricultural Best Management Practices program which work to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

Del. Lopez also advocates for making the promise of democracy real for us all by expanding voting access to all Virginia voters. He voted for the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, which prohibits discrimination at the polls. He helped expand access to absentee voting and passed legislation that allows 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote. He voted to extend early voting in Virginia and remove the requirement for an excuse to cast an absentee ballot. He supports voting rights restoration for returning citizens.

Delegate Lopez is running against conservative Independent Mike Webb. Though not much is available on his actual stance on the issues, we were able to find out that Webb, is a native of Jersey City, New Jersey, graduated from Washington & Lee University in 1988. With experience as a conservative advocate, he served in the United States Army from 1990 to 2010. Webb is associated with organizations such as the Army and Navy Club and the 75th Ranger Regiment Association.

Due to his support of immigrants, working families, the environment, and voting rights, Delegate Lopez is the most progressive choice in this race. Close Window