David Yancey, was born and raised in Newport News. He is a 1990 graduate of Peninsula Catholic High School, and a 1995 graduate of the University of Georgia, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History.

In 2001 David returned to Newport News to work in his family’s real estate business and a few years later he started his own real estate development company.

Throughout the next decade David continued to grow his business, expanding to commercial fishing with a new business partner on the Eastern Shore.

David holds professional licenses from the Commonwealth of Virginia in Real Estate, Contracting, and Commercial Fishing.

In 2011, David was appointed to the City of Newport News Mayor’s Efficiency Task Force on city government. This one-year task force was a citizen committee designed to look at innovative ways to improve the role of government in Newport News. David worked with city employees to find ways to improve services and reduce costs for the city.

In addition, the task force looked for ways to encourage local job growth and investment in the community by small businesses.

The experiences that David had on this task force were part of the foundation for his future work in the General Assembly working to develop the economy and reduce bureaucracy for companies seeking to expand or relocate in Virginia.

Education is a key issue for David, he sees it as the cornerstone to a robust economy and improving the lives of young people. In 2011, David was also appointed to serve on the Newport News Education Foundation, where he participated in events that were designed to improve the education of students in the public schools as well as engage local businesses in the education system. The experiences he had during this time proved invaluable. Once elected to the House of Delegates, David was appointed to the Education Committee. As a result, he has been able to represent our schools in Richmond with first hand knowledge of their needs.

In the General Assembly, David serves on the House Transportation, Education, and the Commerce and Labor Committees. In 2017 he was appointed chairman of the subcommittee that oversees legislation governing the Department of Motor Vehicles.
In addition, David is the current Chairman of the Governor’s Aerospace Advisory Committee. He represents Newport News on the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization and the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission, both of which oversee transportation projects throughout the entire Hampton Roads area.

During the year, David is a volunteer Rugby Coach for the Newport News High School Rugby Football Club and the local Rugby Foundation. He has previously served as a Board member of the Virginia Rugby Union and past President of the Newport News Rugby Football Club, where he also started coaching. As a coach, he stresses the importance of staying in school and seeking a well-rounded education to be successful in the workforce.

As a member of the House Education Committee, David is an advocate for students and teachers. He has worked to reform the Standards of Learning so that the focus is on student learning and achievement instead of test taking and bureaucracy.

David has also supported budget items to increase pay for our teachers and funding for teachers’ professional development, because success in the classroom starts with a qualified teacher. He works with local school officials to address their needs in the legislature, including passing legislation that helped get qualified teachers in the classrooms.

One example of his assisting a local school is when he helped the PTA at R.O. Nelson Elementary School PTA receive a $1,500 donation from CSX Railroad. David encouraged the school to apply for Beyond Our Rails, an outreach program the company. He then reached out to CSX to help expedite the process and get the funding to the school in time to meet the student’s needs.

Shelly got her start in politics as an environmental activist working with the League of Conservation Voters. As Delegate, Shelly will be a staunch defender of our environment, and will fight to make Newport News a green city with a bright future.

She will focus her efforts on fighting for sustainable, green communities, supporting clean energy, funding City Farm, and reducing traffic by expanding transit solutions.

As your Delegate, David understands that the more time we spend sitting in traffic the less time we get to spend with our families. He also knows that to keep business growing on the Peninsula, there has to be a good transportation network. When he ran for office his priority was getting I-64 on the Peninsula expanded, and he has delivered on that promise. The expansion of I-64 is on schedule and on budget and when other politicians have tried to reallocate funding from the Peninsula, David has fought to keep the funding in place. Once completed the project will expand I-64 to three lanes in each direction all the way to Williamsburg.

Last year David led a regional effort to allocate $4.4 billion for a project that will add an extra lane in each direction to the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. To accomplish this he had to work with public officials from the region as well as with administration at Hampton University. One of his top priorities was protecting the historic areas of the university and ensuring they were involved in the entire process. This project will be complete in 2024 and will help alleviate traffic congestion on the Peninsula.

Moving forward David will continue to work with others to ensure that the Peninsula gets its fair share of transportation dollars, and helping to reduce traffic congestion on the Peninsula.

David understands the impact crime can have on a person’s life. He has experienced it first hand when his father was assaulted while walking home one evening. As a result he has worked with the local police department and victims organizations to introduce legislation that helps them do their job and put criminals behind bars. He successfully passed a law to provide victims of human trafficking privacy when they are working with law enforcement. He introduced legislation that would impose higher penalties for crimes committed by gang members selling drugs. Both of these initiatives were a direct result of his meetings with police administration and ride-alongs with the police.

Shelly knows criminal justice reform in Virginia needs to be a bipartisan effort, and she looks forward to getting to Richmond to work with Republicans on this crucial issue. Virginia has the 8th highest incarceration rate in the country, with many people convicted for nonviolent drug offenses. We spend $25,000 per inmate per year—money that could be used to fix our roads and bridges and invest in our children’s’ future. We as a state can reduce crime and save money on incarceration if we work together on adopting reforms that have already worked in other states.

Among Shelly’s priorities for Criminal Justice reform are advocating for preventative reform, and strong community policing.

Shelly is a strong advocate for civil rights and will always stand up to defend vulnerable members of our community. We need stronger leadership in the General Assembly to stand up to hatred and bigotry now more than ever.

Shelly is committed to addressing racism and religious bigotry, as well as LGBTQ rights.

Racism and Religious Bigotry
As a longtime member of the NAACP, Shelly knows we need a leader in Richmond who isn’t afraid to stand up to racism in all its forms. At a time when racism and religious bigotry are on the march across America, getting too close to home, Shelly knows we need a Delegate who will stand up to prejudice, divisiveness and hatred. Shelly will always stand strong with our minority communities and will always vigorously oppose and protest efforts to sow division based on race or creed.

LGTBQ Rights
Shelly believes members of the LGBTQ community must have equal rights before the law. She’ll always defend non-discrimination protections in the workplace. She knows how important it is that we work to create a society where our LGBTQ youth are happy and healthy, instead of disproportionately affected by mental health issues and suicide. In Richmond, she will support LGBTQ anti-discrimination bills in public service and housing.

Shelly believes healthcare is one of the defining issues of our time. Too many Virginians don’t have access to the care they need and drug prices are too high.

As Delegate, Shelly will make a priority of defending Healthcare and reducing drug prices, and making sure we protect women’s healthcare rights.