Richard Cabellos of Manassas is running on the Democratic ticket for local delegate to improve education and transportation in the 50th District that includes Bristow, parts of Gainesville and the City of Manassas.
Cabellos' parents migrated to the United States from South America to find a better life for their family. Through their hard work as well as his own, Cabellos attended and subsequently graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). After college, Cabellos worked several jobs to pay back his student loans.
Now, Cabellos is Director of the Southgate Community Center in Reston where he operates and oversees a variety of community programs for young people and adults. His life and work encouraged him to seek a position as a public servant.
On Education
Cabellos said he feels strongly that everyone should have the opportunity to succeed in Virginia, which is why he is running for delegate of his district. If elected, he said his first priority would be to invest in a quality public school education for Virginians.
Cabellos said that in supporting public education, he is doing something his opponent Del. Jackson Miller did not do. Miller voted to allot funds for private school vouchers as per HB320 at a cost of $620 million to Virginia Public Schools.
Cabellos does not believe that Miller’s vote reflected the will of his constituents, who are vocal about wanting to improve the quality of education in Virginia.
“Voters in my district care about a quality education for their kids. I think we need to invest more in education instead of taking money away from education as my opponent did,” Cabellos said.
Cabellos is also passionate about educational opportunities. As a director of a community center where children come to receive tutoring, the father of a 3-year-old son and the husband of a day care provider, Cabellos said he sees first hand the difference educators make in children’s lives. However, in Prince William County, where classroom sizes are above 30 students per class, he is afraid some students are falling through the cracks.
He said he would fight to get the Virginia General Assembly to bring the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), the state funds provided to help increase educators’ salaries where the cost of living is higher, back to Northern Virginia.
He also wants to give teachers more control over what they teach in the classroom.
“I’m definitely a strong believer that teachers should not be forced to teach to the test,” Cabellos said, which is also why he opposes adopting the Common Core Standards.
Moreover, he feels that extra-curricular activities such as art and music should not be sacrificed to more time on test preparation.
On Transportation
Cabellos is also leading the effort to ease transportation congestion in Northern Virginia.
He said he supports the bi-partisan effort to raise sales taxes in return for funding transportation projects in the region. He said Del. Miller was wrong to vote against that bill and is not sure why he would, considering many other Republicans supported it.
However, when it comes to fixing the traffic issues, Cabellos said the Virginia legislature needs to think beyond just widening roads and consider public transportation projects such as bringing the Metro to Gainesville.
“I’ve always been a believer that when widening roads, you will get more cars on the street,” said Cabellos. “We should invest more in public transportation. We should start by bringing public transportation into Prince William County and bringing the Orange Line into Gainesville.”
On Social Issues
Cabellos also cares about helping immigrants to succeed in this country, so he supports the Dream Act.
He also supports women’s rights and prochoice legislation.
“I’m a strong believer that government should not interfere with a woman and what she can or cannot do with her body; I’m definitely a proponent of women’s rights, which my opponent is not,” Cabellos said.
He is also a supporter of the LGBT community and would vote to bring marriage equality to Virginia. Besides allotting individuals their due equality, Cabellos said that being a “more inclusive society” would be economically beneficial to the Commonwealth.
“When employers are trying to start a business, they want a welcoming environment; they want the best education for their children and they want to make sure their employees are not discriminated against,” Cabellos said.
Cabellos believes that in all these ways, he is a very distinct candidate from Miller and hopes to earn the votes of progressives and moderates alike.
On Getting Out the Vote
So far, Cabellos said his campaign is working hard at getting the word out via phone banks and visiting neighbors door-to-door. He said that President Obama won the 50th District, so he feels assured that if he can get out the vote, he too can win a the district.
Readers can follow Richard Cabellos at cabellosfordelegate.com.
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