Summary

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About

Eric Wayne Stamps is the Democratic nominee for Virginia’s House of Delegates, 14th district.

Born and raised in Danville, VA, Eric graduated from George Washington High School. A gifted athlete, he played baseball, basketball, soccer, and ran cross country, as well as coaching soccer within the local community. When he attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, he continued to volunteer as a soccer coach for children. He also created and coached an intramural soccer team at the University.

It was during his time at the University that Eric developed Spasmodic Dysphonia, a disorder affecting the voice muscles.  Despite being told he could not speak as part of his treatment, Eric learned to navigate the health care system. He discovered, even without a voice, that his need to advocate for others who needed health care was key to recovery.

After graduating with a degree in Web Design and New Media, Eric returned to Danville with a new voice and a calling to help his hometown. He continued his education and received his Master’s Degree in Media Design from Full Sail University. Although he worked in print shops after graduating, Eric spent most of his time volunteering for numerous political campaigns, including most recently Leslie Cockburn and Jennifer Lewis. He founded Indivisible Southside to focus on voter registration and engagement, and managed Dr. Gary Miller’s successful campaign for City Council.

Eric is a member of Virginia Organizing, Peoples Action Virginia, The Pittsylvania County NAACP, and The Dan River Blair’s Civic League.  He is the proud son of Wayne Stamps, a Food Service Manager and Linda Stamps, a Caretaker. Eric and Shonta are the proud parents of Liam and Autumn.

Experience

Volunteer Experience

Leslie Cockburn Political Campaign volunteer

Jennifer Lewis Political Campaign volunteer

Children’s Soccer Coach

Intramural Soccer Coach at the Academy of Art University – San Francisco 

Personal

Membership & Affiliation

Member of Virginia Organizing

Member of Peoples Action Virginia

Member of The Pittsylvania County NAACP

Member of The Dan River Blair’s Civic League

Contact

Email:

• Campaign – eric@ericstamps.com

Offices

Eric Stamps For Virginia
PO Box 104
Ringgold VA, 24586

Politics

Source: none

Issues

Civil Rights

Equal Rights for Women

“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

Virginia needs to Ratify the ERA NOW.ALL WOMEN deserve the same basic human rights that men get under the law. 

Criminal Justice Reform

So many are arrested and charged with non violent drug offenses. So many are stuck in the system due to their economic situation. So many still struggle to regain the right to vote after they have paid their debt to society.

As delegate, I will lead the effort to legalize marijuana and regulate like alcohol. Also, I will make sure that every arrest, charge, and conviction for non violent drug offenses are removed from peoples records. I will sponsor legislation to allow inmates to vote while incarcerated. Also, I lead the effort for an constitutional amendment ensuring that the right to vote can not be taken away.

Protect LGBTQIA Rights

The LGBTQIA community still faces legal discrimination when it comes to housing,  the workplace, our criminal justice, and healthcare systems. We must ensure that people are protected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.Employers and landlords should not be able to discriminate. Those in our criminal justice system should be treated with dignity and not placed in dangerous situations based on gender identity.

Democracy

Voter Rights

Put the Right to Vote in the Virginia Consitution, Rights Restoration & Early Voting

In Virginia, like in the rest of the nation, the people do not have the fundamental right to vote. It’s time to elect politicians who understand that voting is a basic human right that should not be restricted or taken away.  People should be able to vote early without giving an excuse. Early voting will allow more people, especially working people to be able to participate in our democracy. We need same-day voter registration and automatic registration for when teenagers turn 18.

Economy

Minimum Wage

The cost of goods and services continue to rise as wages remain stagnant for workers. The minimum wage is not a “starter wage” as it’s opponents like to characterize it as. It is a poverty wage which keeps too many workers having to work multiple jobs just to survive. Often times having to rely on high-interest payday loans to make ends meet. Workers should be able to make enough at one full-time job to survive and the state of Virginia should not make it impossible for localities to raise their minimum wages.

I hear from people in all political parties and economic statuses that we need a minimum wage of no less than $10 per hour. I believe that we need a living wage of at least $15 per hour and will fight to make this a reality. Whether the minimum wage is $10, $12, or $15 it will make a major difference in the lives of low wage workers. No one can survive on $7.25. Voting for Eric Stamps in November is a vote to raise the minimum wage

Public Banking

Public Banking takes our money out of the hands of wall street bankers and keeps it in our communities. Right now, the state and local governments in Virginia have our money in private banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Chase. This means that we’re giving these banks large amounts of the publics money for loans and fees. With public banking, this will no longer be the case. Instead of letting banks that caused the financial crisis to oversee our money it will be kept safely in a publicly-owned bank. Not only will this save taxpayer dollars but it will make it easier to fund our schools and infrastructure projects with the savings. It will allow people to have access to a bank that will not charge them outrageous account fees or interest for small loans. It’s the fiscally responsible and moral thing to do.

Education

K-12 Education

Through my many conversations with teachers around the state having to have a second job is all too common for teachers. You’d think that we’d pay the people that are educating future generations enough to not have to worry about having second job just to make ends meet. Lack of resources and support from the local and state level cause teachers to have to furnish their classrooms with their own money. Money which is becoming harder and harder to come across.
Education funding is still 9% behind pre-recession levels in Virginia. The unemployment rate is below 4% but education funding lags behind economic growth. This causes school boards to make extreme decisions every single year. Cutting staff, cutting youth sports, cutting art classes, & closing schools. All of this on top of more school closures because school systems can’t afford to operate at current levels. 40 students per classroom shouldn’t be the new normal in Virginia or anywhere in this country. Where’s all this education lottery money going? Seems like the bigger the jackpots get the bigger school systems deficits become.

Increased class sizes and crumbling schools affect the poor, black, and brown people the most. This unnecessary stress at school creates a need for more counselors for students. Unfortunately, a lack of counselors increases the number of students one counselor has to be responsible for. In Virginia, it’s 425 students per counselor making quality advisement nearly impossible. The Governor has proposed that teacher pay be increased by 5%. On top that a proposal to hire more school counselors and to at least restore K-12 funding to pre 2008 recession levels.It’s up to the Republican-controlled General Assembly to pass this budget. Given that they have voted down an increase in the minimum wage and equal rights for women, education funding increases may not go far. Which is one of many reasons why they have to be voted out in 2019.

Of course, we can always go further. How about a minimum salary for teachers starting at $50,000 to improve retention rates and spark more interest in the profession. How about instead of giving Amazon $2 Billion dollars and 30 years of tax incentives we put that money towards upgrading schools instead. How about we fund all schools equally so the richest and poorest children receive the same high-quality education. This is all a matter of political will to invest in what’s most important. We can’t continue to have unequal education in regards to pay and funding. Enough is enough with always putting the education of our children on the chopping block while politicians continue to put wealthy corporations above school systems. Teachers have every right to strike for better working conditions and it’s up to us to join them in order to finally make change happen for them and our children.

Environment

Green New Deal

The Green New Deal puts the U.S. on the fast-track to becoming a society that is run 100% on clean renewable energy. Not only will it create millions of good paying jobs across the country but it will save the planet as well. The United Nations says that we have 12 years to make dramatic cuts in our carbon emission or it will be too late. The planet gets hotter every year and storms are more powerful every year. We can’t continue to ignore global warming and the dangerous effects climate change has on our planet.

Clean Renewable Energy is a critical need for the people and planet. I’m a huge supporter of more locally sourced renewable energy which will lower cost for business and customers as well as cut our carbon footprint. We should be putting solar panels on every public building. Provide more tax credits for homeowners and businesses to go green with wind and solar. We should invest in methane gas converter machines that can turn gas released from trash and waste into electricity. This is the way forward..

Health Care

Health Care

• As a delegate, I will push for automatic enrollment into the Medicaid Expansion program.
• I will push for more funding for EMS programs around the state.
• I will also push for a “Medicaid Buy-In” so that people can buy into the program.
• I will fight for more oversight of all healthcare facilities in our state to ensure that the highest quality care is being provided.

Marijuana and Hemp

It’s time to legalize marijuana for adult use and regulate it like alcohol. The War on Drugs has done major damage to generations of black, brown, and poor white people. This clogs up our legal system and cost taxpayers billions of dollars due to mass incarceration of non-violent drug offenders.

I support the expungement of all records of people arrested, charged, and convicted of marijuana possession and small quantity distribution. Just legalizing “industrial hemp” isn’t enough.

Our hemp farmers need more protection than what they currently have. It’s a huge gamble for them to jump into the hemp industry because of strict testing standards and no crop insurance. We’re in an experimental phase, and overregulation should not hamper their progress. Cannabis is a cash crop, and it’s time for Virginia to catch up with other states who have ended the prohibition on marijuana. 

PO Box 104 
Ringgold VA, 24586