Reed Heddleston is the Democratic candidate for Virginia Delegate of the 51st (Nokesville, Brentsville, Lake Ridge and Occoquan) District, championing metro expansion, public education and women’s reproductive rights.
About Reed Heddleston
Heddleston spent 26 years in the United States Air Force and another 14 years with the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a Fortune 500 company located in McLean. He currently works for the Louthan Group, a financial consulting firm in Richmond as the Managing Director for Defense and Government.
He has been married to his wife, Carol, for 40 years and has three grown children, one son and two daughters, who all attended public schools in Prince William County.
On Transportation Funding
When it comes to transportation, Heddleston is supportive of the governor’s transportation bill, saying it was a long time coming.
“We haven’t done anything [to add to Virginia transportation funding] since 1987, and within a couple of years, we would lose our Federal matching funds,” Heddleston said.
Heddleston said now the challenge for the next delegate is making sure that Prince William County gets its fair share of transportation funding. He said to do that, the delegate needs to show up to work through those commissions, something he said his opponent has not done in the past.
On the Metro Expansion
He also wants to be bold in solving Prince William’s problems of traffic congestion.
“Let’s get serious about planning the metro expansion,” Heddleston said, noting that most Prince William residents are still commuting into Fairfax, Washington D.C. and nearby cities.
He believes it is “certainly feasible” to fund and build the expansion since the Dulles expansion went 24 miles out from the last stop and a Prince William expansion is only an 8-mile extension. He also wants to expand light rail.
On the Bi-County Parkway and the Rural Crescent
However, with the expansion of transportation, he does not want to cut into the Rural Crescent which is why he is opposed to the Bi-County Parkway to connect Prince William and Loudoun counties.
“The problem with the Bi-County Parkway is that we have a Rural Crescent for a reason. It needs to remain rural. [All of the citizens that I’ve spoken to say] they do not want an outer beltway,” Heddleston said.
Heddleston also wants to control traffic in the area by bringing jobs into the communities so fewer people have to commute.
On Business and the Economy
Heddleston said he is also a pro-business candidate. Having worked for 14 years within the private industry, he said he knows what both large and small employers require. He believes in keeping corporate taxes low to keep attracting high-paying jobs in Northern Virginia, but he said beyond that, Virginia also needs to be a diverse, accepting society to attract these businesses.
He believes in giving a voice to women, people of different ethnicities, people of various religious affiliations and those who are homosexual. He said that while he did not work for the most progressive business in the nation, they always emphasized these common human values.
Heddleston also believes that the Virginia General Assembly should adopt legislation that seeks to balance the needs of management and their employers.
“I support the Right to Work law, but I believe there is a place for the labor unions to have a place at the table-to have a voice. There is a role for unions and there is a role for management,” said Heddleston, adding when government skews that balance, things go wrong in society.
On Education
Heddleston brings a similar approach to public education. He believes Virginia needs to change how it funds K-12 and higher education. He notes that while Virginia is the 7th wealthiest state in the nation, it is 35thin teacher pay. He wants to see teachers receive better compensation and not be overburdened with politicians packing too many students in a classroom. He said that such demands are forcing many out of the profession.
“What we’re doing is we’re requiring so much more of our teachers, and laying on top of it the standards of learning. This is a crisis point for our younger teachers who leave for higher pay [in the private sector or in a different state,]” Heddleston said.
He would also invest in students.
“I don’t understand not investing in our students that are the future of our state,” he said, noting Virginia now spends 11 percent less per student than it did in 2008.
Heddleston is proud to have the endorsement of the Virginia Education Association (VEA) and Prince William Education Association (PWEA).
He added that his opponent can “talk” about education, but his voting record shows that he voted against millions of dollars to fund public K-8 and higher education, while voting to funnel taxpayer dollars toward private education.
Higher education is facing a similar crisis, according to Heddleston, with rising tuition placing the debt back on students, and so he would increase funding toward public Virginia colleges and universities.
On Reproductive Health and Pro-Choice Legislation
On women’s reproductive health, Heddleston is passionate that legislation should protect a woman’s healthcare choices as a private decision.
“What I hear from women, my wife, who is a registered nurse and my daughters, is a politician has no place between a woman and her doctor on her healthcare,” Heddelston said.
He explained that while Republican candidates are now downplaying their involvement in antiabortion legislation, their voting record tells altogether another story. His opponent voted for controversial anti-abortion legislation, including the nationally controversial Personhood Bill that defines “personhood” at conception-when sperm meets egg, and before it implants in the uterus.
While Del. Rich Anderson said in a recent Bristow Beat interview that he believes in a family’s right to use birth control, he voted for the Personhood Bill. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists denounced that bill, saying that among other concerns about a woman’s health, it would make many common forms of birth control, such as oral contraception, illegal.
“Rich doesn’t understand bills when it’s convenient for him not to understand bills,” Heddleston said.
Heddleston believes that Republicans are now deflecting their previous stances because they are too controversial.
He points to other anti-abortion legislation proposed and supported by Virginia Republicans within recent years, such as the requirement of transvaginal sonograms and even a bill proposed by Sen. Mark Obenshain in 2009 to require women to report their miscarriages to police, as examples of what he considers too extreme legislation.
Heddeleston said those laws would be putting women back 100 years and would alienate companies moving into the state that value diversity and acceptance, especially with more and more women CEOs.
On Marriage Equality
For many of the same reasons, Heddleston supports marriage equality. He said the young generation has already accepted that people are equal regardless of whom they love.
“It’s a generational thing. My son and daughters have already decided this issue. It’s not an issue for them,” Heddleston said.
He also rejects the idea of calling the opposition’s stance “family values,” saying, “I have a great family, but it’s not one of our values.”
Overview
Reed Heddleston believes his values represent most residents of Prince William County, helping to keep Virginia the number-one state in the nation, while being inclusive toward all his constituents.
For more information on Heddleston's campaign, or to volunteer, visit Heddlestonforthehouse.com.
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