Summary
District Description: Cities of Chesapeake (part) and Virginia Beach (part)
Current Delegate: Kelly Convirs-Fowler since 2018 (D)
According to Ned Oliver of Virginia Mercury:
“Democrats had been angling for this seat for years. Fowler, a first-time candidate, picked it up in 2017, knocking off longtime delegate Ron Villanueva with 52 percent of the vote. This year Fowler, a real estate agent, faces Kane, a former city council member.”
District Map, candidate information, and links inside post …
OnAir Post: VA House 21 – 2019
VA House District 21
Kelly Fowler
Current Position: State Delegate for VA House District 21 since 2018
Affiliation: Democrat
Candidate: 2019 State Delegate VA House District 21
For more information, see Kelly Fowler ’s post.
Kelly Fowler’s life has always been dedicated to the service of others. She’s worked as an elementary school teacher and owns her own small real estate business specializing in military family relocation and advocacy. She has been a resident of Virginia Beach since childhood and cares deeply for her community.
As a daughter to a military family, Kelly moved to Virginia Beach at a young age. She attended public school right here in Virginia Beach and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees just up the road from her district at Virginia Wesleyan and Old Dominion.
In 2016, Kelly was fed up with the state of American politics. Donald Trump had just been elected president and her local representative was more beholden to his campaign contributors than his constituents. So she decided to take action. She organized marches, she ran for office, and on November 7th, 2017, she won.
Since being sworn in, Delegate Fowler has dedicated her public service career to creating a better future for her two young daughters, Tessa and Sophie. She was a key vote to expand Medicaid, raise teacher pay, and provide tax breaks to small businesses across Virginia. Once she is reelected with a Democratic Majority, she looks forward to passing the Equal Rights Amendment, taking steps to fight flooding and climate change, and taking bold action to curb gun violence in Virginia.
Delegate Fowler supports transparency and will serve with integrity, and will support legislation to ensure others do the same.
Shannon Kane
Current Position: Small business owner and City Council member
Affiliation: Republican
Candidate: 2019 State Delegate VA House District 21
For more information, see Shannon Kane’s post.
Candidate for the House of Delegates, Shannon Kane was elected in 2014 to Virginia Beach City Council by a huge margin, winning every district throughout Virginia Beach, and was re-elected by an even larger margin in 2016.
Councilwoman Kane has been a champion of public safety by increasing funding for police officers and firefighters, increasing local funding for schools and teachers, and has worked closely with the business community to bring higher paying jobs to Virginia Beach.
But she is best known for her passionate advocacy to fund flooding solutions in City Council budgets and now will advocate for funding these needed solutions at the State level.
Shannon Kane is a small business owner in Virginia Beach who also is a strong advocate for the value of volunteerism and nonprofit groups in the community. She is President and founder of EWR Management Group in Virginia Beach, Immediate Past President of the Alzheimer’s Association of Southeast Virginia and served on the Executive Board of the Virginia Municipal League.
One of Shannon’s initiatives on Council has been her leadership on revitalizing the Lynnhaven Parkway business corridor and working with the Lynnhaven Business Association to beautify and modernize that important economic engine and attract more business activity and investment.
Another successful initiative of Shannon’s has been the We Feed program. Over 1,500 pounds of food was collected the inaugural year for the local Foodbank for the benefit of students in Virginia Beach Schools.
Before starting her own business, she served in leadership roles in the non-profit sector. She was Senior Director of Development of Physicians for Peace, President of Junior Achievement of Greater Hampton Roads, Executive Director of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and District Director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Shannon Kane is active in many civic groups, having served as President of the Virginia Beach Jaycees (where she was bestowed the honor of Lifetime Member), Chairman of the Lynnhaven River Day of VB2007 and foundation President of the East Coast Surfing Championships. Shannon also mentors a student company at the Kempsville Entrepreneurship Academy.
She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Public Relations from James Madison University, and her favorite title of all is “wife and mother”.
