Eisenberg Announces 2003 Candidacy
On Tuesday March 25, 2003 at a kickoff campaign event Al Eisenberg announced he is a candidate for the 47th District of the Virginia House of Delegates. Al made the following statement:
"Thank you for coming out tonight to share this moment with me. Tonight I announce my candidacy for the 47th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. The state is entering a crucial time in its history. I believe that I can bring a valuable set of legislative skills, experience, and vision to assist Arlington's General Assembly delegation to advance Arlington and Democratic values and to help rebuild the state Democratic Party. And I will run an active, energetic, people-0riented campaign.
My candidacy occurs in the shadow of one of the Assembly's towering figures of the last quarter century. Jim Almand has decided to leave the institution that he blessed with his service. Chaucer would have described him as a man "of sovereign value in all eyes, and though so much distinguished, he was wise...a gentle, perfect knight." Jim entered the lists, fought the good fights, and won so many of them for the betterment of our community and state. As he looks forward to serving his community in new ways, we thank him for the example he set and for achievements that we will long remember.
I know I have big shoes to fill. I pledge that if elected I will do my best to follow in Jim's footsteps and honor his service through my work for the people of Arlington County and for our state. In my quest, I am delighted and deeply honored to have the support of the entire Arlington General Assembly delegation, Arlington's constitutional officers, County Board and School Board members, and Democratic leaders throughout the county.
As we look toward Richmond, it is clear that Republican rule has made a shambles of General Assembly policymaking. Their experience makes us consider Woody Allen's observation, "We stand at a crossroads. One path leads to utter ruin. The other leads to total despair. And may God give us the wisdom to make the right choice."
Despite the heroic efforts of our delegation and their allies, the General Assembly is clueless about the real needs of Virginia's people. It spent more time peeking into bedrooms than funding classrooms. It spent more time arguing the words on a license plate than helping hungry Virginians have a full dinner plate. Its failures are legion. It has insulted immigrants, discriminated against people on the basis of sexual orientation, run good judges off the bench, and propped up a regressive tax structure so old that it that predates the invention of coat hangers, cracker jacks, and crayons, and believed that plaques of platitudes on schoolroom walls take the place of properly paid teachers and guidance counselors. In February it went home, leaving a state bereft of any progress toward fixing real problems--such as the plight of thousands of people who are ill-housed, those who have no health insurance and no running water, and those standing on unemployment lines because their workplaces have fled the state. They refused the opportunity to enact fiscally responsible ways to fund badly needed transportation improvements. They short-changed our colleges and universities, and have crafted budgets on hopes more forlorn than the Red Sox dreams of a pennant.
But, as we face the crossroads that lead in all directions to the wreckage of this General Assembly, we are the ones who must blaze the new trails to build a stronger Democratic party and a better Virginia. We occupy the higher ground, because we fight for people and for community, the fundamental values that define us as progressive Democrats and as Arlingtonians. We must shine the light on the darkness; and person by person, issue by issue, and election by election, return this state to enlightened Democratic leadership.
In the General Assembly, I will fight for Arlington and for Virginia, working hard as part of a caring, compassionate, and effective delegation team. I will:
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Press for State attention to housing needs, especially for working families and our vulnerable citizens.
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Work for smart growth, promoting transit oriented, mixed use development to enhance prosperity and our environment.
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Push for transportation funding to replace dangerous, worn out bridges, like the one at Washington Boulevard and Columbia Pike, and for more mass transit cars on the Virginia Railway Express and Metro.
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Fight against all discrimination, including an end to the Virginia Housing Development Authority's denial of mortgage loans to unrelated households.
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Support full and fair retirement benefits for public employees, particularly teachers on the front line of our children's education and the first responders and police on the front lines of our safety and security.
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Demand adequate resources for those starting out in life, needing the best education we can provide; and for those in their senior years who need assistance to remain independent in their own homes, and
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Stand up for our higher education institutions, among Virginia's greatest assets.
I'm under no illusion about the challenges facing a new state legislator in today's General Assembly. Thus, I will value the wisdom and advice of my prospective colleagues and the citizens of Arlington who know much and will well guide my service on their behalf. I will be holding listening sessions with groups of Arlington citizens across the county.
I bring some important assets to the job of delegate. I'm a lifelong Virginian, living in Tidewater, in the Richmond area, and in Northern Virginia-28 years here in Arlington, so I know the state well. I have spent substantial time at the General Assembly, serving as policy advisor to the Senate Democratic caucus and representing individual causes such as the Virginia Housing Partnership Fund and state hate crimes law, both of which I helped enact. I have spent years in the legislative arena-from U.S. Senate staffs and chief legislative director for two major national non-profit associations, to four terms on the Arlington County Board and as a senior official in the Clinton Administration. In housing, civil rights, transportation, economic development, parkland protection, and a host of other issues, I have a solid legislative record. And I will put that experienced leadership to work, for a better Arlington, for a better Virginia. Thank you for the confidence you have placed in me and for the support you have given me.