Who is running
Three candidates are running in the upcoming Virginia General Election on Nov. 7 for governor: Democrat Ralph Northam, Republican Ed Gillespie and Libertarian Clifford Hyra.
According to Northam’s campaign website, Northam wants to add to Virginia’s economy that he believes is in progress currently and “defend our values against those who want to take us back.”
Gillespie believes in what he refers to as Fairness, Accountability, Integrity, Transparency and Honesty (FAITH) in government, per Gillespie’s campaign website.
Hyra sees a need to “unleash innovation in Virginia” that focuses on the economic growth mainly in small businesses with a “smaller, more flexible, fairer government,” according to Hyra’s campaign website.
Education
Overall on education, Northam believes in early testing, raising wages for teachers to meet the national average and providing local training programs as an alternative to college.
On Aug. 29, Northam published his plan for higher education. His plan emphasizes access to all Virginians. Northam’s plan is broken up into three parts: affordability, accessibility and innovation, all achieved by investing more funding into higher education.
Northam is looking to establish a “four year promise” where students maintain the same financial package for all four years. He plans to create a website with information pertaining to for-profit colleges so prospective families are aware of what each Virginia college is offering, according to Northam’s campaign website.
“Students should not have to shoulder the burden of large tuition increases, and every student should have an option to go without oppressive debt,” according to Northam’s campaign website.
Northam also wants to establish equality in education for “students of color, students in poverty and students with disabilities.”
Gillespie is looking to establish a firm foundation with developing more opportunities for youth to prepare for the workforce.
“Ed will channel more money into the classroom, reform our system to give teachers and schools more flexibility and move Virginia toward personalized learning for all children,” as stated on Gillespie’s campaign website.
On Aug. 30, Gillespie published his three-part plan for higher education to establish partnerships with businesses and education “focused on workforce development and retention in Virginia,” relationships between individual colleges to increase access and affordability and treat families and students as consumers that colleges serve.
Hyra has proposed introducing more competition with the implementation of more Virginia charter schools. If elected, Hyra will replace Virginia’s Standards of Quality (SoQ) and Standards of Learning (SOL) with “growth measure testing at beginning and end of the school year,” according to Hyra’s campaign website.
Hyra wants to invest in expanding technical schools that he describes as “oversubscribed and turning students away.”
Taxes and Spending
Northam plans to keep the budget balanced and audit in the future to let taxpayers know where their money is going toward. Northam believes it is crucial for women to receive equal pay as men do for the same work. In doing so, Northam, if elected, will fight for legislation to produce transparent salary information, according to Northam’s campaign website.
Gillespie plans to cut individual income tax by 10 percent across the board in an effort to create more private sector jobs, according to Gillespie’s campaign website.
Hyra plans to exempt the first $60,000 from household income tax from state tax. In addition, Hyra plans to allow $30,000 exemption for individuals in the effort to avoid a marriage penalty. Ultimately, Hyra plans to freeze new state spending for two years. If elected, Hyra will “end subsidies for big business and other crony capitalism,” according to Hyra’s campaign website.
Health Care
Northam wants to keep the relationship between a woman and her doctor confidential. In addition, Northam wants to provide contraceptives to women, regardless of their ability to pay. He believes in the plan Expanding Access to Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs) in the attempt to lower teen pregnancies, according to Northam’s campaign website.
According to Gillespie’s campaign website, Gillespie sees a need for higher quality care of patients for a lower cost. He wants more transparency for what the costs are for the care a patient is receiving. In addition, Gillespie plans to expand micro-hospitals to meet the needs of rural areas without immediate access to hospitals.
Hyra wants an “innovative” health care program and repeal the Certificate of Public need regulations that “deter healthcare innovation, increase costs and reduce access to healthcare”. In addition, Hyra would like to look into all possibilities to increase price transparency that would result in a more “market-based” health care program within the state, according to Hyra’s campaign website.
Confederate Statues
In response to the Charlottesville attacks, Northam released a statement on Aug. 16 in agreement with the City of Charlottesville’s decision to remove the Confederate statue of Robert E. Lee and supports relocating Confederate statues into museums, according to Northam’s campaign website.
According to Gillespie’s campaign website, he doesn’t support the removal of Confederate monuments. This is in reference to his article published on June 12 where he stated he wasn't in favor of the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue in the City of Charlottesville.
Hyra wants to leave the decision of whether to keep or remove a Confederate statue to the local governments, according to Hyra’s campaign website.
