Summary

VA House District 50

District Map (PDF)

Lee Carter

Current Position: US Senator for VA House District 50 since 2018
Affiliation: Democrat

Candidate: 2019 State Delegate VA House District 50

For more information, see Lee Carter’s post.

Lee joined the Marine Corps during the beginning of the ‘Global War on Terror’, and worked in technological repair in a Special Operations-capable support unit, completing tours in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. His unit was also one of the first to respond to Haiti, following the devastating earthquake in 2010.

Throughout Lee’s career and civic engagement his focus has been on helping others — whether that was in his service in the Marine Corps, helping provide cancer patients with consistent care by maintaining biomedical radiation therapy equipment, or assisting small local businesses with IT support.

Ian Lovejoy

Current Position: Owner of RHS, Reliant Hiring Solutions
Affiliation: Republican

Candidate: 2019 State Delegate VA House District 50

For more information, see Ian Lovejoy’s post.

Ian was raised in a working-class family in rural Appalachia. One of the first members of his family to go to college, Ian focused on academics and was Concord University’s first Rhodes Scholar nominee.  Ian went on to attend graduate school at Virginia Tech (#GOHOKIES). After college, Ian held many positions in organization leadership, including managing a national medical supply company and a local home care agency- one of our region’s largest employers. Ian knows that a quality education- be it through college, apprenticeships, trade schools or high school CTE- is pivotal to ensuring our future.  

Ian’s mother, a small business owner, instilled in her son an entrepreneurial spirit, leading Ian to establish Reliant Hiring Solutions (RHS), a specialized recruitment firm. Headquartered in Manassas, RHS has grown to be a national leader in professionally managed job fairs, helping thousands of job seekers find employment throughout our region and the nation. Ian knows the important role a quality job plays for our community and families and is committed to supporting employment in our area. 

In 2012, Ian became one of the youngest people ever elected to the Manassas City Council, a position to which he was re-elected in 2016. Ian has served in many roles on city council, including Chairman of the Economic Development and Land Use Committee, leading during a pivotal time of job creation and economic expansion in the City surrounding area. Ever an advocate for the tax payer, Ian has championed spending restraint and an “innovation before taxation” approach to governance.

As delegate, Ian will continue his commitment to serving as a voice for the entire community, work to support businesses large and small and fight to preserve the quality of life our families enjoy.

Issues

Education

Lee Carter

Ian Lovejoy

Ensure a World Class Education

As your Delegate, improving our education will be a top priority of mine. On City council, I have worked with teachers, parents, and stakeholders to improve our schools in Manassas and will continue to do so as your Delegate.

If elected to serve you:

• I will work to put more tax dollars in the classroom so that our children can receive the best education possible. By retaining great teachers and hiring additional teachers while lowering class sizes, we can work together in achieving better outcomes for our kids.
• I’ll work to pass legislation that expands education options for our kids, puts more money in the classroom, and gives our local school systems the flexibility they need to educate our kids best.
• I support a tuition freeze on colleges and universities while we work to bring down the overall cost of higher education, because Virginians should have the opportunity to pursue a degree regardless of their socioeconomic status.
• I will fight for policy that demands “Truth in Advertising” within higher education, so that prospective students are fully informed of the cost to pursue their degree and the average income level to expect once entering a specific field with their degree.

I will put our kids first in Richmond. Not every school is the same, neither are their specific needs, but that won’t stop me from working to ensure the best school for your child is the one closest to home.

Health Care

Lee Carter

Lee’s vote to expand Medicaid was one of the proudest moments of his life, and people are signing up faster than expected for the program. But there are still over half a million Virginians with no health insurance whatsoever, and over a million more who have insurance but can’t afford to use it. Lee won’t stop fighting until we achieve universal coverage in Virginia.

Ian Lovejoy

Make Healthcare Accessible and Affordable

One of the most important issues impacting our quality of life is the growing cost of healthcare. With a growing population, our region is less able to meet the rising expectations for healthcare. Our reliance on the Federal Government, to provide the access and quality healthcare we expect, must be measured going forward.

If elected to serve you:

• I will work with both parties in developing a compact with other states that allows regional insurance     companies to sell across state lines, adding options to the marketplace and lowering costs.
• I will support legislation that promotes “truth in advertising” so that consumers know how much they will be
• charged before they get the bill, and forcing different healthcare systems to compete with each other, lowering prices for all.
• I will fight to expand micro-hospitals in Prince William County in order to save time for those who currently must travel longer distances than necessary for medical treatment.
• I will work with local stakeholders to ensure the proposed medical school at George Mason is built, ensuring expanded access to quality care in our area.

Our elected leaders can and should do more than stand by waiting for Washington DC to get its healthcare policies right. We must work together in finding ways to improve healthcare while lowering its financial burden. As your Delegate, I will do just that in the General Assembly.

Infrastructure

Lee Carter

Lee believes we need to build a world-class mass transit system capable of providing for Northern Virginia’s ever-growing population and reducing commuting times. Lee supports increased funding for public transportation and has consistently opposed new tolls. He supports upgrading existing intersections to alleviate bottlenecks and safety issues and will push for night and weekend service for the VRE.

Ian Lovejoy

Take Action on Traffic

Traffic congestion is a growing crisis in our area and the expensive tolls are more than a headache for commuters, they are a huge burden. Every second we spend in traffic is a second spent away from our families and detracts from or quality of life, while costly tolls is an expense that disproportionately effects hardworking Virginians.

Our legislature continues to kick the can down the road. Whether it’s funding the widening of I-28 and Prince William County Parkway or building new infrastructure, our elected leaders can’t seem to work together. Manassas and Prince William County Commuters cannot afford to wait any longer.

If elected to serve you:

• I will work to bring legislators together to identify ways we can work to solve our traffic issues by reforming the state funding formula to fix our roads, not wasteful projects that don’t ease congestion.
• A priority on traffic and transportation requires a budget that reflects this commitment and I will make it a priority of mine on day one to ease traffic congestion on rt. 28.
• I will Fight for more local autonomy over transportation dollars, which will allow us to make Rollins Ford Road and other local corridor’s safer and more prepared to handle increasing traffic.
• I will continue to oppose putting tolls on the prince William parkway and will fight to lower-or even eliminate- costly tolls on I-66 that should have never been put there in the first place.

I’m not going to Richmond with an agenda and I don’t plan to play politics; I’m dedicated to finding real solutions to our traffic problems and I am ready to take on the challenge for your family.

Civil Rights

Lee Carter

Defending and Demanding Women’s Rights

LGBTQ Equality

Lee supports immediately passing legislation to prohibit discrimination in employment, public accommodation, public contracting, apprenticeship programs, housing, banking, and insurance on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. He also supports repeal of the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, and he’ll work to remove provisions in the Code of Virginia that prohibit same-sex marriage.

Democracy

Lee Carter

Voting Rights

Voting is foundational to democracy, and Lee supports efforts to make it easier for people to vote. Lee supports repealing Virginia’s voter ID law and instituting no excuse early voting and same-day voter registration. He also supports ranked-choice voting.

Economy

Lee Carter

EconomicsLimiting Corporate Influence in Virginia Politics

Lee refuses to accept campaign contributions from all for-profit entities, including all corporate donors. He supports banning corporate contributions and establishing a system of publicly financed elections.

Consumer Protection

Lee believes elected officials should protect consumers from predatory behavior. In Virginia, loan sharks have been able to prey on vulnerable people in their times of need, and that’s why Lee was a co-patron on HB 47, the Payday Lending Prohibition Act. Lee also introduced HB 1755 to establish net neutrality in Virginia.

Environment

Lee Carter

Lee refuses contributions from the fossil-fuel industry and opposes the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and fracking. In 2019, he co-sponsored HB 1635 to stop new fossil-fuel infrastructure construction. Lee supports massive investments in green energy and believes consumers should be able to purchase or produce their own renewable energy.

Affordable Housing

Lee Carter

We have a crisis of housing affordability – housing costs are the single largest squeeze on residents of Manassas and Prince William County. Lee supports a wide variety of policies to lower the cost of housing, including cooperative ownership and a public option for housing.

Criminal Justice Reform

Lee Carter

Lee believes we need to stop criminalizing poverty, end cash bail, abolish private prisons, and end the application of the death penalty. In 2019, Lee introduced HB 2373 to legalize cannabis in Virginia. He also introduced HB 1761prohibiting government purchase of goods and services produced by prison labor.

Better Government

Ian Lovejoy