Lashrecse Dianna Aird /
ˌlɔ.ʃəˈɹis/ (née Jones; born June 22, 1986) is an American
Democratic politician who represented the
63rd District in the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
from 2016 to 2022. The district includes
Dinwiddie County and the city of
Petersburg as well as parts of the counties of
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
and
Prince George. Aird served on the General Laws, Health, Welfare and Institutions, and Appropriations committees.
She is a candidate for
Virginia's 13th Senate district
Virginia's 13th Senate district is one of 40 districts in the Senate of Virginia. It has been represented by Democrat John Bell since 2020, succeeding retiring Republican Dick Black.
Geography
District 13 covers parts of Loudoun and Prince Wi ...
in 2023 and won its Democratic primary.
Career
Aird was born on June 22, 1986. While attending
Virginia State University
Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of hi ...
, Aird met
Rosalyn Dance
Rosalyn Randolph Dance (born February 10, 1948) is an American politician, who served in the Senate of Virginia from 2014 until 2020. She was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2005 to 2014, and was mayor of Petersburg, Virginia fro ...
, who invited her to apply for an internship with her office. Aird interned with Dance throughout college and worked for Dance as a legislative assistant after college. When Dance ran for the state Senate in 2015, Aird ran to fill her vacant seat in the House of Delegates. She was the youngest woman elected to the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
.
In 2016, Aird served as a member of Virginia's Electoral College. In 2017, Aird was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee by Republican Speaker
William J. Howell
William James Howell (born May 8, 1943) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He represented Virginia's 28th House of Delegates district from 1992 until 2018 and served as Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates from ...
.
Aird is the Chair of 4th Congressional District Democratic Committee, which oversees local Democratic committees in the area between Hampton Roads and Richmond. Aird is also a member of the
Democratic Party of Virginia
The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA/VA Dems) is the Virginia affiliate of the Democratic Party based in Richmond, Virginia.
Historically, the Democratic Party has dominated Virginia politics. Since the 1851 Virginia gubernatorial election, the ...
Steering Committee.
In 2020, Aird was appointed to the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. In 2021, Aird worked with local leaders, fellow legislators, and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to secure a $25 million investment from
Civica Rx
Civica Rx is a nonprofit generic drug company founded in 2018 by national philanthropies and leading U.S. health systems to reduce and prevent drug shortages in the United States and the price spikes that can accompany them.
Civica's mission ...
to expand their manufacturing operations in Petersburg, Virginia.
In
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, she was narrowly defeated for reelection by Republican businesswoman
Kim Taylor in a major
upset.
In 2023, she is running for
Virginia's 13th Senate district
Virginia's 13th Senate district is one of 40 districts in the Senate of Virginia. It has been represented by Democrat John Bell since 2020, succeeding retiring Republican Dick Black.
Geography
District 13 covers parts of Loudoun and Prince Wi ...
. She is endorsed by state senators
Jennifer Boysko
Jennifer Barton Boysko (born November 16, 1966) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia. She represents the 33rd district in the Virginia Senate. Previously, she represented the 86th district in the Virginia House of Delegat ...
,
Ghazala Hashmi,
Barbara Favola
Barbara A. Favola (born June 21, 1955) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia. A Democrat, she has served in the Senate of Virginia since 2011, representing the 31st District, encompassing portions of Arlington, Fairfax, a ...
,
Janet Howell
Janet Denison Howell (born May 7, 1944 in Washington, D.C.) is an American politician. A Democrat, she was elected to the Senate of Virginia in 1991, where she represents the 32nd district in Fairfax County.
Biography
She was born to Edward ...
,
Mamie Locke, and
Louise Lucas
Lillie Louise Lucas ( Boone; born January 22, 1944) is an American politician serving as a Virginia state senator, representing the 18th District in the southeast of the state since 1992. Democrats won a majority of seats in the 2019 Virginia ...
. She won the Democratic primary against incumbent Morrissey by a 40% margin.
Political positions
In 2019, Aird passed HB 2005 which expanded eligibility for temporary assistance for needy families. Also in 2019, Aird passed HB 2317 establishing a safety protocol wherein a parent may request the presence of a law enforcement officer during a custody exchange.
In 2020, Aird joined
Luke Torian as chief co-patron on HB 1250, also known as the Virginia Community Policing Act. Prior to 2020, employers in the Commonwealth of Virginia were not required to provide documentation to their employees showing the number of hours worked or how gross and net pay were calculated. During the 2020 Legislative Session, Aird passed HB 689 which now compels employers to provide paystubs to their workers.
Also during the 2020 Session, Aird passed HB 757, which deals with criminal records searches for prospective employees. Aird passed HB 690 which repealed the prohibition on increasing the amount of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) that a family receives upon the birth of a child during the period of TANF eligibility. Aird joined Republican
Christopher Collins
Christopher Charles Collins (born Christopher Lawrence Latta; August 30, 1949 – June 12, 1994) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known as the voice of Cobra Commander in the ''G.I. Joe'' animated series and Starscream in ...
as Chief Co-Patron on HB 2655 which established the Eviction Diversion Pilot Program.
During the 2021 Session, Aird joined
Marcia Price
Marcia Simone "Cia" Price (born July 20, 1980) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. On November 3, 2015, she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 95th district, which includes parts of the cities of Hamp ...
as a co-patron on HB 1864 (also known as the Virginia Human Rights act) which expanded the definition of "employer" to include people who employ domestic workers. The act also prohibits workplace discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and other factors.
Education
![Aird with children LR JHWL2243](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Aird_with_children_LR_JHWL2243.jpg)
Aird has placed a significant emphasis on education through both legislation and by advocating for money for school systems in her district.
In 2018, Aird proposed a budget amendment to increase funding for the state's At-Risk Add-On program, which would substantially increase state funding for schools with low-income students.
In 2021, Aird joined
Jennifer McClellan
Jennifer Leigh McClellan (born December 28, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Virginia state senator from the 9th district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she was previously elected to the Virginia House of ...
to reintroduce legislation to require the state to meet the funding obligations prescribed by the State Board of Education. In 2021, Aird joined
Danica Roem
Danica Anthony Roem ( ; born September 30, 1984) is an American journalist and politician of the Democratic Party. In the 2017 Virginia elections she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, winning the Democratic primary for the 13th di ...
as a co-patron on her bill to require all eligible school districts to participate in the Federal After School Meals Program (HB 2135).
In 2021, Aird passed HB 1930 which prohibits most state universities from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history during the initial admissions process (a policy commonly referred to as
Ban the Box Ban the Box is the name of an American campaign by advocates for ex-offenders aimed at removing the check box that asks if applicants have a criminal record from hiring applications. Its purpose is to enable ex-offenders to display their qualificat ...
). On June 3, 2021 Governor
Ralph Northam
Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf").
The most common forms ...
joined Aird to ceremonially sign the bill at
Dinwiddie High School in
Dinwiddie, Virginia
Dinwiddie is an unincorporated community, census-designated place, and the county seat of Dinwiddie County, Virginia, United States.” It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 619.
History
The town was the site of t ...
.
Environment
Aird co-patroned HB 1526, also known as The
Virginia Clean Economy Act. The VCEA is framed around four policy areas with the goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions: capping carbon pollution, establishing energy efficiency resource standards, incentivizing small scale rooftop solar energy, and develop a 100% clean energy grid.
In 2019, Aird sponsored and passed HB 2741, which created the Virginia Clean Energy Advisory Board and created a pilot program to distribute loans and rebates for the installation of solar energy infrastructure. In 2020, Aird sponsored and passed HB 1707 to increase the board's membership. The law dictated that the new members "shall be an expert with experience implementing low-income and middle-income incentive and loan programs for distributed renewable energy resources and that the other new member shall be an attorney who maintains a legal practice dedicated to rural development, rural electrification, and energy policy."
Public health
In 2019 Aird joined
Marcia Price
Marcia Simone "Cia" Price (born July 20, 1980) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. On November 3, 2015, she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 95th district, which includes parts of the cities of Hamp ...
to introduce a resolution "recognizing the maternal and infant mortality crisis in the h States." The Resolution included language addressing root causes of maternal mortality including stating that maternal and infant mortality "is exacerbated by factors such as poverty, gender inequality, age, and multiple forms of discrimination, as well as factors such as lack of access to adequate health facilities and technology and lack of infrastructure." In 2020 Aird passed HB 687 which established a state certification program for doulas and expanded eligibility for patients seeking to access doula services.
In 2021, Aird passed HJ 538, a resolution that recognizes access to clean, potable, and affordable water is a necessary human right and established initiatives to ensure no Virginian goes without access to this essential need. Aird is an advocate for
reproductive freedom
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:
Reproductive rights rest on ...
and serves on the board of the Virginia League for
Planned Parenthood
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
.
COVID-19 response
After speaking with first responders about the challenges they faced in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, Aird passed HB 1989, which directed the
Virginia Department of Health to share real time public health data with emergency medical personnel to help reduce their risk of exposure to the virus.
In January 2021, Aird joined
Lamont Bagby
Lamont Bagby (born December 21, 1976) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. On November 3, 2015, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 74th district, which includes Charles City County, parts of Henrico ...
as a co-patron of HB 2333 which established a program to enable eligible health care providers to volunteer to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to residents of the Commonwealth during the state of emergency.
Voting rights
In 2021, Aird served as a chief co-patron of Marcia Price's HB 1890, also known as the
Voting Rights Act of Virginia.
Electoral history
References
External links
*
*
*
Official legislative website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aird, Lashrecse
1986 births
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Women state legislators in Virginia
African-American women in politics
African-American state legislators in Virginia
Living people
Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates
Politicians from Buffalo, New York
Politicians from Petersburg, Virginia
Virginia State University alumni
21st-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women