Elaine Walters, 25, of Essex County has announced her candidacy for the District 68 seat on the Virginia House of Delegates. She will be running as a Democrat against Republican incumbent Keith Hodges of Urbanna.
Walters said that sustainability and protecting the environment are of prime importance to her, including combating threats from sea level rise, pollution, and climate change. She said that working toward solutions to economic disparity affecting every level of the community would also be a priority.
On the education front, Walters said that there are a lot of barriers to success for both educators and students in rural areas, including the lack of universal access to broadband, and that addressing that disparity would be important to her. Providing protections for libraries is also important, she said, adding that libraries in some areas are losing funding and having to close down, while libraries should be expanding instead.
As she’s been canvassing the 68th District, Walter...