Summary

Current Position: Community organizer and activist
Affiliation: Democrat
Candidate: 2019 State Delegate

OnAir Post: Jennifer Kitchen

Twitter

About

Jennifer Kitchen 1

Source: Campaign page

Born and raised in Augusta County Jennifer has a deep love and appreciation of rural Virginia.  Jennifer grew up appreciating the time spent on farms owned by family members, and hearing stories of life working in factories from her parents.

Jennifer’s life has always been rooted in activism.  Her family is very involved in the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Jennifer has served on the Shenandoah Valley Chapter’s committee as ticket chair for many years.  Working closely with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, wildlife, and land conservation group organized and funded predominantly by hunters, Jennifer holds very close to the idea of responsible hunting as a fundamental part of conservation.

As a mother Jennifer understands the importance of instilling the values of volunteering and activism in her children.  This is why quite often the entire Kitchen family, Jennifer, Jeff, Jane, and Piper can be found at local events helping in any way needed to provide a better community for everyone.
 
 

Web

Campaign Site, Facebook, Twitter

Politics

Source: none

Issues

Source: Campaign page

RURAL BROADBAND
Broadband access is essential for economic growth.  There is no way forward for free community college, support for rural business, or enticing people to relocate established business ventures to our district without addressing the issue of internet access. There are rural broadband plans being developed across the country. There is no reason why the implementation of rural broadband access can’t be approached in the same way the Rural Electrification Programs were in the 1930s.

HEALTHCARE
Healthcare is a human right. We need to work to increase access to healthcare providers in rural areas.  This is especially urgent in the area of mental health services.​


JOBS
Jennifer fully supports a living wage – no one working afull-time job should be forced to live in poverty.  She supports the plan for a Green New Deal Virginia which outlines the goal of a just and equitable renewables plan that leaves no workers or communities behind.  As we work towards a healthier sustainable plan for combating climate change we will create jobs that benefit rural communities.

Jennifer fully supports the right of workers to organize to protect their best interest. Unions are the backbone of the middle class.

 
VIRGINIA’S GREEN NEW DEAL

Jennifer fully endorses the plan for a Green New Deal Virginia.  The plan will work to create thousands of good jobs while simultaneously addressing the issue of climate change and restoring Virginia’s environment.  The plan also outlines investments in local-scale agriculture in communities across Virginia ensuring that rural areas will benefit from economic growth as well as being ensured access to clean air and water.

EDUCATION
Jennifer supports fully funding our schools to pre-recession levels.  We need to work to provide competitive compensation for our educators in an effort to retain quality teachers.  We need to work to make technical education programs more accessible through our public education system.

We need to put more focus on making sure our schools provide a safe and welcoming environment for all students.  This will require looking at current policy and how it addresses the inclusivity of LGBTQIA+ students and policy around the presence of hate symbols in a learning environment.


EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
We can not give up on the Equal Rights Amendment(ERA). In 2020 we need to bring even more energy to Richmond to make sure the amendment is finally ratified.
Jennifer fully endorses the plan for a Green New Deal Virginia.  The plan will work to create thousands of good jobs while simultaneously addressing the issue of climate change and restoring Virginia’s environment.  The plan also outlines investments in local-scale agriculture in communities across Virginia ensuring that rural areas will benefit from economic growth as well as being ensured access to clean air and water.

PIPELINE STANCE
As a lifelong Virginian, Jennifer stands unapologetically against the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines, and any future fracked gas pipeline project.  Having grown up in the Shenandoah Valley with views of the Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountains, playing in rivers and streams, fishing, and hiking. Jennifer has pledged to fight for the right of every Virginian to have clean air and water. She will also fight for their right to maintain and own property without fear of losing their rights to private corporations. We must all work together to make sure these pipeline projects do not succeed.

FARMS & HEMP
Jennifer is also a member of the Virginia Industrial Hemp Coalition.  Virginia Industrial Hemp Coalition (VIHC) is a grassroots-driven advocacy organization whose goal is to educate, inspire and rally Virginians to restore the free market for Industrial Hemp, a low-THC oilseed and fiber crop, a variety of Cannabis.  21st-century industry uses for hemp reveal a diverse and versatile commodity crop that will add new markets and value to the Virginia economy as a feedstock for a wide range of new agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing jobs in the Commonwealth.  Along with a negative carbon footprint, industrial hemp growth could be the game changer rural Virginia has been waiting for

I-81 & INFRASTRUCTURE
I-81 has been an issue for the past two decades.  In manyinstances, the same people who are in office now were in office two decades ago when they should have begun the process of addressing this critical issue.  Now we are in a position of wasting millions of taxpayers dollars on study after study that tells us the same thing – we have to DO something. We need people in Richmond with foresight and with the fortitude to make sure we do not end up with critical issues and no plans for how to address them.  Funding must now be secured quickly as opposed to efficiently and it is all because of a legislature who is happy to kick the can instead of making tough decisions.

VIRGINIA’S PUBLIC BANK
Jennifer endorses the proposed legislation, The Bank of Virginia Act, that would help create a Public Bank in Virginia. This will keep more of our Commonwealth’s tax money and interest here in Virginia and can be used to reinvest into our communities instead of lining the wallets of Wall Street banks.