Summary
District Description: Powhatan County (All), Chesterfield County (Part), Richmond City (Part)
Current Senator: Glen Sturtevant since 2016 (R)
According to Ned Oliver of Virginia Mercury:
“Another increasingly Democratic district that Republicans barely held onto in 2015. (Democrats have carried the district in every statewide and national election since 2013.) Sturtevant, a lawyer, cast himself as a moderate, breaking with the majority of his party to back the ERA and red flag laws. Democrats say it was too little, too late, noting, among other things, his vote against universal background checks. He’ll face Hashmi, who directs a teaching center at Reynolds Community College.”
OnAir Post: VA Senate 10 – 2019 Election
VA Senate District 10
Glen Sturtevant
Current Position: State Senator for VA Senate District 10 since 2016
Affiliation: Republican
Candidate: 2019 State Senator VA Senate District 10
For more information, see Glen Sturtevant’s post.
Glen Sturtevant grew up in rural Spotsylvania County, where he learned the value of hard work while working through high school at his neighborhood grocery store. As a young man, Glen was very involved in Scouting, and after demonstrating his commitment to community service and servant leadership, he was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout.
As a proud product of Virginia public schools, Glen knows firsthand the benefits of learning from excellent teachers in neighborhood schools alongside students from diverse backgrounds. After graduating high school, Glen attended Catholic University and met his future wife Lori. They quickly became college sweethearts, and after graduation, Lori and Glen were married. As a schoolteacher, Lori put Glen through George Mason University School of Law. In law school, he served as an editor for the school’s legal journal and helped prosecute criminals in the Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney’s office.
After passing the Virginia State Bar, Glen and Lori moved to Richmond and started their family. The adoption of their children motivated Glen to get involved improving Richmond Public Schools. As a concerned parent, he helped lead the Richmond Public Schools Education Foundation, a non-profit focused on working with the private sector to support educational excellence in the school system.
Glen was elected to the Virginia Senate to succeed retiring Senator John Watkins in November 2015 and was sworn into office in January 2016. Since then, Glen has focused on making meaningful reforms to improve our public schools, ensuring that college is more affordable and accessible for Virginia students and families, reducing individuals’ tax burdens and promoting policies to grow our economy and create jobs, making healthcare more affordable, and increasing transparency and accountability in state government.
Even so, his biggest priority is being a husband and father. Glen and Lori have been married for more than a decade and the most fulfilling part of their life is raising their three beautiful children: Ethan (9), Reed (6), and Emily (5).
Ghazala Hashmi
Current Position: Founding Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) at Reynolds Community College
Affiliation: Democrat
Candidate: 2019 State Senator VA Senate District 10
For more information, see Ghazala Hashmi’s post.
Dr. Ghazala Hashmi is an experienced educator and advocate who has spent over 25 years working within Virginia’s college and university system. She currently serves as the Founding Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL) at Reynolds Community College. Ghazala immigrated to the U.S. from India 50 years ago. As an immigrant living in a small town in the South, she saw first-hand how community building and fostering important dialogue can bridge the cultural and socioeconomic divisions that we face. She later earned her PhD in English from Emory University, and she and her husband moved to the Richmond area in 1991. Their daughters were born and raised in Midlothian and educated in Chesterfield County Public Schools. Ghazala is guided by the principles of integrity, social justice, and ethics in government in her approach to public service. If elected, Ghazala Hashmi would be the first Muslim-American woman to serve in the Virginia State Senate.
Ghazala’s Path to Victory
The district has been trending increasingly more Democratic over the last several elections. The current GOP incumbent pulled out a slight victory in 2015, but the district voted for Clinton and Northam by more than 10 points. Senate District 10 is ready for a progressive leader in the State Senate who truly understands the district — its priorities, its diversity, and its potential — and is ready to fight for residents every day in Richmond. By sharing her plans on important issues like improving public education, implementing commonsense gun safety reforms, and protecting the natural beauty of our Commonwealth, Ghazala will build a meaningful connection with voters that will propel her to victory.
