Summary
Current Position: Candidate for District 42
Affiliation: Republican
Candidate: 2021 Other
Ed McGovern is a retired Federal Employee and has been involved with the Northern Virginia community since 1993. He spent his Federal and Department of Army career in Resource Management coordinating Funds & Manpower at various Command levels. He spent seven years abroad in Japan and Panama serving the Federal government.
OnAir Post: Ed McGovern
News
WDVM, – March 16, 2021
LORTON, Va. (WDVM) — Republican Ed McGovern announced he’s running for a delegate seat in Virginia’s 42nd district, a district covering Mt. Vernon, Lorton, Springfield and Fairfax Station.
McGovern is a retired federal employee for the Department of the Army and has lived in Northern Virginia since 1993.
His main priorities include focusing on small business growth, improving transportation, reopening schools, advocating for school choice, protecting those with pre-existing conditions and more.
About
Ed McGovern joined the Fairfax County Republican Committee in 2017 following retirement. He is Newington Precinct Captain; and has worked on and supported campaigns for Republican candidates in Fairfax County & the 42nd District. Currently, Ed is serving his second term with his Homeowners Association Board and was involved with coaching and League Director positions with Youth Sports.
Ed is from Philly; it has been an adjustment with sports loyalties. He has a Master’s in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh; and Political Science degree from Shippensburg University. Ed likes his basketball, though his playing career was basically at lunch time. Ed resides in Fairfax County with his wife, Cindy. They raised their two kids in Fairfax County, and now their children also call NoVA home.
Web
Politics
Source: none
Issues
Source: Campaign page
Healthcare
Virginia’s healthcare system is broken and career politicians are more interested in using it to score cheap partisan points than to actually solve the problem at hand. Ed understands that our priority must be protecting people with pre-existing conditions and providing choice. Reforms to our current system are long overdue. Ed will fight Big PHARMA to lower drug prices, ensure insurance can be sold across state lines, allow doctors and patients to make their healthcare choices, and move towards market-based solutions. We need less government in our care, not more.
Covid-19
COVID-19 has brought our country, world, and way of life to a complete halt. Virginia is trailing other states in our recovery due to Governor Northam’s inability to roll out the vaccine across the Commonwealth. In Richmond, Ed will work across the aisle to reopen our schools and school activities, get business open, get workers working again, and provide much needed relief to Virginia families. The path to full recovery is long and as a lifelong civil servant with the Department of the Army, Ed will deliver on the solutions Virginians deserve, which must include an evaluation of Assisted Living facilities.
Small Businesses
The backbone of our economy is small businesses and right now they are shutting down and in dire need of help. Ed will be a champion for small businesses because he understands how critical they are to the 42nd district. COVID-19 has hit Virginia’s small businesses hard and instead of delivering relief, Democrats are set on burdening them with red tape. Our businesses thrive when they can operate without fear of government interference. Ed will get Richmond out of the way, so we can make Virginia number one for business again.
Role of Government
As a retired Federal employee, Ed knows firsthand that Virginia operates best when government is kept out of our lives. Our businesses, healthcare, and education system were once the best in the country, but Virginia’s institutions have been harmed over time by burdensome government regulations. Ed will hold Richmond accountable and ensure the legislature doesn’t overstep their Constitutional bounds. Career politicians like Ed’s opponent think otherwise. Ed is running to give the 42nd district a representative that fights for them against Richmond red tape, not the other way around.
Education
Ed’s number one priority in Richmond is to reopen our schools and get students in classrooms once again. Once Virginia schools open again, Ed will lead to return educational decisions to local control. As a resident of the community since 1993 who raised his family here, Ed believes our student’s education is decided best by their parents, not career bureaucrats. Expanding access to charter schools, increasing vocational education, and enabling choice in Virginia will help evolve an educational system that is falling behind.
Transportation
Years of failed leadership in Richmond has led to Northern Virginia not receiving its fair share of transportation dollars. In Richmond, Ed will fight to modernize our roads, metro, and tolls. With the influx of quality, high paying jobs into Northern Virginia, it’s critical that we find new ways to get people to their daily activities. As a longtime resident, Ed understands the wasted time and frustration with traffic congestion. He believes spending transportation funds in a well thought out way brings great benefits.
