This fall, Stafford voters will head to the polls to elect their representatives in the Virginia House of Delegates. All 100 seats are on the ballot, including Stafford’s 23rd, 64th, and 65th districts. Potomac Local News continues to shine the Spotlight on our local elections, inviting all of the candidates from Districts 23, 64, and 65 to a virtual interview with the same five questions; their answers have been condensed into a series of articles.
The videos are available here. This is the third article in our five-part series.
Jim Tully (R, 23):
I think that’s a state issue. Virginia’s very unique in that we have a very rural economy, and then a very metropolitan economy from the 95 corridor out to the west. We need to lean on those two areas and get our federal workforce that has been disengaged and put them into the Virginia workforce. Knocking on doors, I hear a lot of concerns about the federal workforce and what’s going to happen to them. I always suggest that they look to the Virginia Jobs website for a position in Virginia government, because there are many positions open in Virginia, and we could use their expertise here in the Commonwealth.
Paul Milde (R, 64 – Incumbent):
The state is taking the lead on that. Unemployment is federally funded through the state, and we have to pay, we want to pay, and we are reimbursed 100%. The first line of defense is obviously unemployment benefits, and then the state under Governor Youngkin has done a great job trying to connect people who are out of work with new jobs. I’m a business owner, so I happen to believe people who are good at what they do, or good workers, will land well, if not better, than they were before. This is a real problem, but I do believe that it’s also something that Democrats are intentionally using to try to use as a wedge issue in the election. They’re really playing this up. My district has many government workers, maybe a disproportionate share of that number, but I still believe we should shrink the size of the federal government. I’m not saying localities shouldn’t [do something], but I do believe the state has stepped into that void.
Cole (D, 65 – Incumbent):
I think it’s very interesting how these federal workers have very specific job training, job certifications, and some are not able to find jobs in the private sector. So it’s key upon the state government to figure out how we’re going to help them out. Whether it’s the private sector, whether it’s jobs that are able to get them other certifications, or finding them other jobs, we do have to figure out what we’re gonna do with the federal workforce. That’s the biggest thing that we’re focusing on now. I’ve been placed on the specific task force in the House that’s trying to deal with the loss of the federal workforce.
We’re losing workforce. As I’m knocking on doors, it’s amazing to see, and amazing in a negative connotation, that people are just picking up and leaving. It’s sad our neighbors who had these federal workforce jobs are now gone, and that’s going to impact our economy here in Northern Virginia and throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Those jobs are gone, which means our neighbors are leaving, which means our economy is going to be impacted. We absolutely have to figure out what our Commonwealth is going to do. While the governor said Virginia has jobs, and we can pick up the slack., the sad reality is. Some of our friends and our neighbors have specific jobs that are not able to be translated into the state government, that are not able to be translated into the private sector.
We have to ask ourselves, how are we going to be able to solve this issue, and how are we going to be able to fix this issue?
Steinway (R, 65):
I think state needs to be helping those workers. In 2023, I was a contractor with DEA and I lost my job due to cuts in our program, so I was a victim of it as well. Virginia is an at-will state.They could cut [jobs], they could do whatever, and you lose everything. It was super hard on my family- not only that is my job, but I lost all my leave, I lost everything that I had accrued. Nothing was given back to me. I think we need to help the people that are going through this, and I think that being as an at-will state, it puts a burden on people that work for the government, because they are relying on that. It honestly puts a big burden on a family, as you can imagine, so I think we need to step it up and try to help these families. For me, it was a career. I’ve done this for so long – put my life in danger, left my family, did all kinds of things that people will never even imagine. It was like, oh, you know what? We’re closing down the program, we’re making it smaller. Boom. That shouldn’t be the American way, you know? I do think that the government needs to be involved in that, in helping out the American people.
In Stafford County, early voting will be held Monday through Friday at the Registrar’s Office at 124 Old Potomac Church Road, Ste. 205, from Friday, Sept. 19, through Friday, Nov. 1, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The only Saturday voting days will be Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The deadline to register for voting or request an absentee ballot is October 24.
👉 Next in our series: How should Virginia address local revenue loss from veterans’ tax exemptions?
