Patricia Edmonson

Patricia "Pat" Edmonson is an American politician from Virginia Beach, Virginia. In May 2006 she was elected to the Virginia Beach School Board, representing the 6th (Beach) district. On January 15, 2009, Edmonson announced her candidacy as a Democrat for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.

Early life and family
Edmonson was born in Atlanta, but spent her summers in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Ms. Edmonson holds a Bachelor's degree in history and social science from Elon University, as well as a Master's degree in comparative religion from Princeton University. Ms. Edmonson is married with one son.

Community Activism and Public Service
Edmonson was elected to the Virginia Beach City Public School's School Board in May 2006, where she is currently serving her first term. She represents the city's 6th District (the Beach district), and represents approximately 450,000 people in the city of Virginia Beach. She was a two-term director at large for the National Hemophilia Association, emeritus director of the Hemophilia Association of the National Capital Area, and former director of fundraising for the National Hemophilia Association. Ms. Edmondson is a founding director of Adventures in Learning, a non-profit, community partnership, after-school program designed to address needs of at-risk youth. She is a member of The American Friends Service Committee and The American Association of University Women.

Additionally, Edmonson is the vice-chair and former outreach director of the VBDC (Best Large Democratic Committee 2007). She is a sitting member of the VBCPS School Board, in charge of 70,000 students and a $748,000,000 budget. Pat serves on the Legislative Committee, The Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities, Fundraising Director for Young Audiences of VA, Arts for Learning and Executive Committee, Boards of Friendship Village, and Parent Advisory Link.

Pat has served on the Strategic Planning Committee, rallied the Board to reject charging free and reduced lunch students for summer school, argued to have the African American male achievement gap put in the strategic plan as a goal, and is on the Board of Parent Connection.

Candidacy for Lieutenant Governor
On January 15, 2009, Patricia “Pat” Edmonson announced her candidacy as a Democrat for the office of Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Pat Edmonson enters the race for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor as a true progressive voice for Virginia's future. Pat knows that it will take real political courage to move Virginia through our budget crisis both this year and next, and Pat will be that voice that refuses to abandon the needs of vulnerable Virginians in a time of economic crisis. Pat Edmonson made her announcement in a video emailed to supporters and posted on her website.

"In these tough times, bureaucrats will seek to cut the funding for those that are out of sight. These are the most vulnerable people among us; those are the people that really need the protection of our government. I will protect these people, and I will be a voice for those people and their families," Pat Edmonson says in her announcement. "Times are tough, and we are facing a huge budget deficit. We have to make smart decisions about where we cut. I will not cut funding to public education.”

Pat Edmonson will lead in Richmond to truly move Virginia forward. Pat will vigorously support pulling Virginia out of "No Child Left Behind,” a series of unfunded mandates that sacrifice quality education for students across Virginia. Pat also supports repeal of the "Dillon rule," and wants to give local governments more say over how public revenue is spent. Pat knows how important Virginia's environmental treasures are to each and every Virginian, and will support investments in long term energy solutions and common sense environmental protections. "Let's not sully our gorgeous beaches with offshore drilling," says Pat Edmonson in her announcement. "This is a short term answer to a long term problem.” Pat also believes all people have inherent worth, and will work to end discrimination and ensure pay equity for all Virginians.

Pat will begin a tour of Virginia, traveling to every part of the state to bring her message of common sense reform and true progressive government for Virginia's future.

Positions
On her campaign website, Edmonson has released statements on a number of issues affecting the Commonwealth of Virginia. Among these issues include civil rights, economy, education, energy and the environment, gun ownership, health care, homeland security, immigration, prison reform, rural policy, transportation, urban policy, and women's policy issues. On March 8, 2009, she appeared on The Inside Scoop, stating many of her positions on the issues.

Homelessness
On February 9, 2009, in an effort to promote awareness about the many issues Virginians face, Pat Edmonson chose to skip the annual Democratic Jefferson Jackson dinner, and instead, she took her campaign staff to a local homeless shelter a few blocks from the Richmond Convention Center. In her place, Pat invited workers and residents from local shelters to sit at her sponsored table and engage Virginia political leaders about their plight. Each Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor provided videos to be played during the annual fundraising dinner. Pat's video took a moment to acknowledge that over 750,000 people experience homelessness every night, and that roughly 56% of those consist of families with women or children. After announcing that she has taken her campaign staff to a shelter and invited residents in their place, Pat reminded Democrats in attendance that "progressive values only mean something if they are put into action."

Virginia-Food-First
Edmonson's experience on the school board and her concern over food safety regulations in other states inspired her to craft a proposal that would keep Virginia tax dollars in Virginia, help stimulate the economy, and keep school food sources local and safe. This proposal, Virginia-Food-First, would encourage purchase of seasonal food products and provide a larger in state market for Virginia growers and producers.

Education Reform
On March 2, 2009, Edmonson released a groundbreaking education policy referred to as “E21VA,” short for “Education in a 21st Century Virginia.” The plan discusses the failures of No Child Left Behind in its lack of funding for state and local governments. E21 suggests to reform the public education system by funding Pre-K education, and expanding elementary education in terms of foreign language skills, creative arts, and comprehensive studying of math, science and language arts. For secondary education, E21 plans to reform middle and high schools into “Junior” and “Senior Academies.” The Junior Academies plan to prepare students for a track in college and/or vocational training at the Senior Academy, while the Senior Academies provide more opportunities for students, such as the opportunity to take classes at a community college while still enrolled in school, with the possibility of a dual graduation. This ultimately concludes in the receiving of a high school diploma as well as an Associate's degree. The plan also proposes the opportunity to receive an Associate's Degree from a community college at no charge to Virginia residents, whether or not they chose to take community college classes in high school. Students who decide that a path in vocational education is more fitting will be exposed to the same benefits, allowing students to be enrolled in vocational certification programs. The plan also discusses adult education opportunities, and provides a sample budget for such an education reform.

Economic and Jobs Policy
On March 9, 2009, Pat Edmonson released her comprehensive economic plan. The plan is a bipartisan attempt to create 250,000 jobs by 2011. The first section calls for a readjustment in both the state corporate and small business taxes. This provides businesses with more ease to operate and the creation of more jobs in Virginia. The second section calls for more state investment in new technology firms. This will increase the number of technology-based jobs in Virginia, particularly in Northern Virginia. The third section calls for more investment in renewable energy. This will create incentives for private corporations to develop renewable energy sources in Virginia. The fourth section calls for heavy infrastructure investment in Virginia, stemming from both transportation and education spending.