Summary
Current Position: Behavioral therapist at a major hospital in Northern Virginia.
Former Positions: FBI and Adjunct professor at UVA
Affiliation: Republican
Candidate: Senate District 33
I am seeking election to the 33rd State Senate District to help Virginia be the best it can be by ensuring the health, safety, and education of all Virginians is the top priority. Every Virginian has a right to expect that their leaders are working to promote their freedoms through adhering to the constitution, protecting their liberties, and placing their well-being above all other endeavors. This expectation includes the promotion of prosperity through responsible spending and taxation. Every Virginian has the right to feel safe in their community by ensuring Virginia has the best trained and equipped First Responders in the nation. Virginians also have the right to expect the best education of their children, knowing that our future lies with our children. To be competitive not only in this nation, but worldwide, we must work to make our public education system unparalleled. I have spent my entire career in the service of this great nation, and I seek to continue this service as a Virginia State Senator. After a career in the military, police, FBI, and now as a behavioral therapist combating our addiction epidemic, I hope that you will join me in this journey of making Virginia the best possible place for prosperity in this great nation.
Source: Campaign website
OnAir Post: Mike Van Meter
About
Source: Campaign site
I received my Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida in Political Science in August of 1988. After graduation, I was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy and served 8 years as a helicopter pilot. While on active duty, I earned my Master of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma in Human Relations in 1998. I also served as a Police Officer for the Metropolitan Police Department, Washington, DC prior to entering duty with the FBI on January 3, 1999. I served in the Dallas, Texas Division of the FBI where I investigated various violations and also served as a pilot flying surveillance missions in support of Dallas Division cases.
In August of 2008, I transferred to FBI Headquarters and in June of 2010, transferred to the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia where I taught new FBI Agents Interviewing and Interrogation techniques. I then became an instructor teaching Police Executives at the FBI National Academy beginning in 2011 where I taught Interviewing and Interrogation, Public Speaking, Officer Involved Shootings, and later created a course titled Leading At-Risk Employees. This course focused on understanding alcoholism, prescription drug abuse, PTSD, suicide, and domestic violence as it relates to programs, policies, and procedures for law enforcement agencies. In order to teach these courses, I became an Adjunct Professor for the University of Virginia.
In January of 2017, I transferred to the National Joint Terrorism Task Force, Civil Aviation Security Program. In this capacity, I served as the Program Manager of over 450 Airport Liaison Agents located at federally controlled airports around the United States. I continued to serve as an Employee Assistance Program Counselor and provided presentations regarding alcoholism and recovery nationwide.
In July of 2019, I retired from the FBI after 20 years of dedicated service. I continued with my vision to educate and help the public overcome addiction, remove the stigma associated with addiction, and help those suffering from addiction achieve and maintain sobriety in order to live healthy and productive lives.I recently completed another Master of Arts degree in Addiction Counseling: Integrated Recovery for Co-Occurring Disorders from the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies in August of 2022. I currently work full-time as a behavioral therapist at a major hospital in Northern Virginia.
Senate District 33 Map
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Issues
Public Safety
Reduce Crime
In the last couple of years our Police and First Responders have been under attack. This has led to an increase of crime across the country, especially violent crime. The communities that have been negatively impacted the most are our minority communities. Defunding and attacking our police are not the answer. What we should be doing is to improve training, increase funding for specialized training units, and look for ways to assist police in not just enforcing laws, but helping and educating our community. My experience in law enforcement as well as the addiction and mental health field give me unique qualifications that very few people have. I will work very hard to make our police and first responders the best in the nation.
Economy & Jobs
Improve the Economy
The pandemic has been devastating in so many ways, not the least of which has been to our economy. It appears our government has done everything in its power to make our economic recovery more difficult. I will do everything in my power to ensure that Virginians have every opportunity to thrive in an economy that is as free as possible from government interference. We must find ways to reduce taxes and promote economic growth so that every Virginian can enjoy economic growth and prosperity. Virginia must attract and retain as much business as possible so that we can drive opportunities that will help us realize our economic potential. We must never again allow our government to overstep its authority by closing businesses and creating hardships on citizens who are already suffering.
Education
Educate not Indoctrinate
Education has become a major issue in the last couple of years and is now one of my top priorities. The United States is continuing to fall behind in producing the top technical minds in the world, and this is due to losing our focus on what our public education should be doing in the first place. Our schools should not be used for political indoctrination. Our schools should be the places where our students are learning the foundations that will make them competitive in a global marketplace. Our homes, churches, community groups, and social networks are where our students learn the values of their families and communities. We cannot tolerate a public education system that is producing students that are lacking the fundamentals that will enable them to succeed.
Human Rights
Protect the 2nd Amendment
Americans have the right to bear arms, this is enshrined in our constitution. I will protect this freedom knowing that those who hurt others should be punished and not law-abiding Virginians. I have long recognized that those who commit crimes with weapons are usually those who have had untreated or ignored psychiatric issues. In Virginia, we already have laws in place designed to prevent felons and people with diagnosed mental illness from purchasing weapons. Creating more laws is not the answer. I will work very hard to ensure that our current laws are enforced, and work just as hard to expand care for those struggling with mental health issues. We must also support our law enforcement officers as they strive to prevent those who should not possess weapons from doing so.
