Summary

About

Source: Campaign page

A son of Virginia, Len Myers believes in public service for the benefit of our great Commonwealth. As you read Len’s biography, you will quickly discover that he is passionate about three things: (1) inspiring our youth to reach their full potential, (2) creating opportunities for everyone to succeed, and (3) protecting the most vulnerable in our community.

God, Family and Our Community 
Nothing means more to Len than his relationship with God and his two adorable kids. Len has almost 20 years of continuous membership and service with Calvary Revival Church. No matter what Len finds himself doing, being a daddy remains his #1 priority. Len also wants to be a force for good in the lives of kids living in single-parent households. 

He has served as a long-time board member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia. Len has also served as a mentor to young men through a mentorship ministry at his church. Without mentors and positive role models, many kids today find it difficult to maintain a pathway to becoming responsible and productive citizens. Len wants to continue empowering as many kids as possible to make healthy decisions for healthy lives through proper resources and helping hands. 

A Leader in Virginia Law 
Len currently serves on the Virginia State Bar Council, which recommends improvements in the practice of law to the Supreme Court of Virginia. He also served as president of the South Hampton Roads Bar Association. Under his leadership, the bar was recognized as the best local bar association in the state by the Virginia Council of Local Bar Associations due to its extraordinary amount of work with the youth and senior citizens in our community. 

Len began his legal career as a prosecutor but now fights for clients as a successful consumer rights lawyer throughout the state of Virginia. Len is extremely proud of the role he played in organizing an effort to improve living standards in a subsidized housing community after two of its residents died in their sleep due to carbon monoxide poisoning. With new appliances and working carbon monoxide detectors installed throughout the community, these families are now able to finally sleep safely at night without fear of not waking up the next morning. 

Service to Virginia 
Len served our Commonwealth as an officer in the Virginia Defense Force, an integral component of the Virginia National Guard. Initially earning his commission as a JAG Officer, he continued in his service, eventually becoming a line officer and ultimately becoming the VDF Officer-In-Charge of the Joint Operations Center Augmentation Detachment during some of the most demanding state emergencies in the history of the Guard. It was through this experience that Len recognized the emerging threat of flooding and that we must act now to protect our special way of life for the future. 

His Call to Richmond 
Len wants to represent us and our neighbors in the Virginia General Assembly. You’ve read just a small portion of his track record and you now also have a sense of his heart. Len is the just friend we need in Richmond!

Web

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Politics

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Issues

Source: Campaign page

Education
Len is the proud product of a solid public school education having graduated from I.C. Norcom High School which was Portsmouth’s only magnet school at the time. Len also understands the needs for special needs children as his son excels in a public school which integrates such students into traditional classrooms. Education is the bedrock of our democracy and the key to a strong economy.

That’s why Len wants to restore state funding for public education. Students are failing and schools are crumbling because state funding has been frozen since it was slashed ten years ago during the great recession. The time has come to restore that funding, so cities like Chesapeake and Virginia Beach don’t have to take drastic measures like raising property taxes to cover the shortfall caused by the state funding gap. State funding formulas need to be fixed to reduce the student/teacher ratio and provide for more counselors in behavioral health. Teacher pay needs to be increased and more innovation should be brought into the classroom. There is so much to be done to improve education in Virginia and Len is ready to make that happen.

Flooding and the Environment
There is no greater natural threat to our district than the consequences of sea level rise in Virginia Beach. Protecting the homes, farms, and businesses in Virginia Beach is no less important than protecting our maritime ports and military bases. Virginia Beach is an integral part of our state’s tourism and agricultural industries. If nothing is done, Virginia Beach will continue to lose hundreds of millions of dollars a year due to flood damage.

Len will take our needs to the General Assembly and help bring back every dollar he can to fund the building of infrastructure to protect what makes Virginia Beach special. Sea levels are rising every year and the sooner we can act, the safer we can make our communities. Len is the new kind of leadership we need in Richmond; a leader who will listen to the concerns of his constituents and fight to protect what you have worked so hard to build in the face of this emerging threat to our community.

Len also believes in preserving the beauty and natural features that make our neck of the woods so special. That is why Len will oppose any offshore drilling, mandate greater utilization of renewable energy sources, and protect the way of life in our rural communities from the encroachment of sprawling development.

Healthcare
For far too many Virginians, the cost of healthcare is spiraling out of control. We have seen the price of prescription medications and insurance rise year after year with no real solutions on how to reign in these expenses. Many Virginians are also unable to afford long-term care insurance, placing a significant burden on Virginia Medicaid in the process.

Every Virginian should have access to quality affordable healthcare. The high cost of healthcare is not only a burden to hardworking families but also to small businesses that do their best to provide medical benefits for their employees. Len is committed to finding solutions to these problems because every Virginian has a right to quality healthcare.

Living Wage and Employee Rights
No one working 40 hours a week should be living in poverty. Yet, this is the case for far too many hardworking Virginians trying to support their families while working two and three part-time jobs below $15 an hour. A recent study found that with the current minimum wage of $7.25 an hour applied to our state’s cost of living; Virginia’s minimum wage employees earn the lowest effective incomes in the nation. In a state that ranks as one of the 10 wealthiest states in America, these working conditions are unacceptable.

Len personally understands the challenge of trying to make ends meet when times are tough. That is why he is committed to raising Virginia’s minimum wage to a living wage of $15.00 an hour. Every full-time job should be able to support a middle-class standard of living, and no parent should have to sacrifice spending time with their kids in order to support them by working multiple full-time jobs. Raising wages will help further uplift our economy and strengthen our society.

Len is also a friend to our workforce in Virginia. There is no reason why Virginia cannot remain the best state in the nation to do business while also making our Commonwealth the best place to work in America. That includes protecting the rights of our firefighters, teachers, police and corrections officers. Len will also fight to enforce workplace safety and licensing to protect our workers in the trades. Without a strong workforce, there would be no one to work for our institutions and businesses. We need new leaders like Len who will be a friend for us in the General Assembly.

Gun Safety
In May of this year alone, there were over 45 victims of gun violence in Hampton Roads. Twelve of those souls were lost during the horrific mass shooting in Virginia Beach. Len was just across the street from a Chesapeake Memorial Day Block Party when 10 partygoers were shot less than a week prior. Every day, between three and four of our neighbors die from gun violence in Virginia.

The time to protect our kids and communities from senseless gun violence is tragically overdue. Len deeply understands the grief and gravity of gun violence after having both family and friends suffer its all too now familiar and tragic consequences. Support for common sense gun safety measures is almost universal, but it will take new leaders like Len to make gun safety a reality in Virginia.