Summary
Current Position: Computer System Engineer/AnalystFormer Position
Affiliation: Republican
Candidate: Senate District 35
Mark Vafiades has been a longtime activist and advocate for citizens and families. He has worked in the private sector, the Federal and State government, owned a small business and is a retired reserve Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy, who worked in patrol for 20 years.
OnAir Post: Mark Vafiades
News
Mark Vafiades says he’s running for the Virginia Senate because he wants to promote Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda.
Vafiades is running for Senate District 35 in the November election. The 35th district includes most of Annandale and large parts of Springfield and Fairfax.
The incumbent, Sen. Dave Marsden, was first elected in 2009. Heidi Drauschak is challenging him in the Democratic Primary on June 20.
At a Republican event last week at Glory Days in Barcroft Plaza, Vafiades told Annandale Today the three main issues he is focusing on are the high cost of living, parents’ rights in education, and crime
About
Mark and his wife Mell are proud residents of Annandale. Mark has been a longtime activist and advocate for citizens and families. He has worked in the private sector, the Federal and State government, owned a small business and is a retired reserve Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy, who worked in patrol for 20 years.
Virginia families have been experiencing the highest rate of inflation and tax increases in almost 40 years! Education and crime are also in bad shape!
Much of this has been caused or exacerbated by the radical Democrat legislators in Richmond. Although the House of Delegates is now in more trustworthy hands, we need to turn over seats in the State Senate in order to straighten out this mess. That’s why Mark has decided to run. He has a broad and eclectic background which puts him at great advantage when understanding and discussing how a leftist radical agenda negatively affects the economy and therefore the citizens and families of Virginia. Mark is in this race for you, so with your support, we can win!
Senate District 35 Map
Web Links
Videos
Fairfax County Public Schools Reject Virginia DOE “Model Policies”, defying parents! Outrageous!
September 6, 2023 (04:39)
By: Mark Vafiades for Virginia State Senate- SD 35
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid has rejected the Virginia Dept. of Education’s “Model Policies” related to student and parental rights in Virginia schools. Attorney General Jason Miyares released an official advisory opinion that the State’s model policies comply with federal and state anti-discrimination laws and that local school boards are required to adopt policies that are consistent with them, #parentalrights #fairfaxcounty #Fairfaxschools
Mark Vafiades is running for the State Senate in Virginia’s 35th Senate District- A short intro
April 8, 2023 (02:55)
By: Mark Vafiades for Virginia State Senate
Mark Vafiades is running for the State Senate in Virginia’s 35th Senate District. This is a quick introduction and background video to get to know Mark. #virginiastatesenate #virginiapolitics #fairfaxcounty
Issues
Economy & Jobs
COST OF LIVING AND ENERGY
These days, it’s getting more and more difficult to make ends meet! Taxes are through the roof. My real estate taxes alone are up over 40% in just 5 years, and car taxes are obscene! Basic food items at the supermarket seem to shoot up in price from one visit to the next. The cost of electricity is rapidly increasing and home heating oil was at an all time high this winter!
The elected officials from our district have made things much worse, rather than working on solutions to make things better for us all. They are more interested in pushing a radical agenda and passing legislation that exacerbates these problems. My opponent is proud to say that he is a “2022 LCV Climate Champion” rather than a champion of the people. In supporting their radical agenda, the Democrat controlled legislature passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act in 2020, which mandates that Dominion Energy Virginia and American Electric Power are required to produce their electricity from 100 percent “renewable sources” by 2045 and 2050 respectively, but provisions of the bill begin immediately. Just after the bill was passed, Dominion Energy sent out an announcement that they would request a 25% increase in energy rates. This is anti-consumer but, for those who voted for this bill, it is a win. Disgusting!
Another bill this crowd passed was the “Clean Car” law in 2021, which couples our State, with the California law. It mandates that 35% of all new cars and trucks sold in Virginia by the 2026 model year must be electric. By 2035, 100% of all new models sold must be electric. So as electric rates go up, we are mandated to buy electric cars! Also, it is doubtful that Virginia’s infrastructure could handle the huge increase in demand so, as in California, we can expect brownouts and blackouts during high electricity demand periods. Gov. Youngkin and the House of Delegates tried to repeal this law earlier this year, but lost in the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources committee on a party-line 8-7 vote.
This is a perfect example of why I’m running. To tip the scales back in favor of the Citizens, not the radical special interest groups!
Education
Education of our children is a primary and expected use of taxpayer funds. We place our trust in the public schools, expecting that they will do what’s best for our children while in their care. We expect that students will be taught: “Reading, Writing and Arithmetic”; critical thinking skills; and basic life skills to succeed and/or go on to higher education if so desired.
Unfortunately, this has not been the case. One of the few useful and eye-opening results of the COVID lockdowns was parents becoming aware of what is being taught in the classrooms. Rather than teaching what is expected, the students are subjected to political indoctrination and social engineering. Portions of the curriculum are divisive and in some cases outright racist (CRT). History is in some cases re-written or false (1619 project) and much of what the children are exposed to is inappropriate and contrary to our values. There has been an outright encroachment of parental authority. We saw parents at school board meetings being arrested for speaking the truth, standing up for their children and their rights as parents. It’s an upside-down world and this is what has happened while we were busy working and living our lives. Also, with all the money we spend for education in Fairfax county for example, SAT scores have gone down!
So, what now can we do about it? We have to elect people who stand with parents and children, not special interest groups and radical educators. We need schools to get back to the basics of educating our children and not indoctrinating them based on a radical social agenda. We need total transparency so that parents are aware of what’s going on in the classroom. We need a parents bill of rights so that they are in charge of their children’s education and future, as it should be.
As your State Senator, I will be tireless to make this happen!
Public Safety
In the past three years, crime has soared out of control! We saw riots in the streets in the summer of 2020 and flash mobs raiding, looting and destroying retail businesses. People were murdered and countless Police and civilians were assaulted and hospitalized. It seemed that very few of the perpetrators involved were tracked down and arrested.
Throughout the Country and here in Virginia, most forms of crime were way up, in many cases changing how we live our lives. Rather than step up, address this violence and crime, and crack down on the criminals, radical politicians on the national and local level excused it away. They did the opposite. They blamed those who protect us and keep us safe from crime and anarchy, law enforcement! What an upside down world! This of course encouraged more lawlessness. Violent crime is now way up, and those in Richmond who voted for anti-police/defund the police legislation have themselves to blame!
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has discussed the “crime explosion” in DC which affects and spills over into Virgina. We need to ensure that we maintain an anti-crime stance which supports victims and protects our citizens rather than the other way around. This will discourage criminals and predators from commiting crimes in Virginia with impunity.
In 2020, the then radical-left-controlled legislature in Richmond passed “Police reform” laws which were signed by Governor Northum. My opponent was totally on-board with this, and we are now seeing the results!
Governor Youngkin and the House of Delegates recently attempted to repeal this anti-police, anti-citizen legislation but it was rejected by the (Still radically controlled) State Senate. We need to stand by our law enforcement so that they can keep us safe. If we turn over at least two or three seats in the Senate, we will all be safer! Help me win so that we can make that happen!
