Kelly Convirs-Fowler is an American politician. Since 2018, she has served 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 ...

, representing

district 21 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. She was first elected in November 2017. Fowler's legislative priorities include finding bipartisan solutions to improve coastal resiliency and prevent coastal flooding; fighting for a fair economy, good jobs, and a level playing field for working families; and expanding access to affordable healthcare and quality education regardless of sex, race, income, or background. Fowler serves on the Privileges and Elections Committee and the Science and Technology Committee.

Early life and career

Kelly Convirs-Fowler was born and raised in

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

. She is of

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

and

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

descent. She graduated from Tallwood High School and

Virginia Wesleyan College Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU) is a private university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university is nonsectarian but historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church. It enrolls 1,607 students annually in undergraduate and graduate ...

, where she majored in

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and Criminal Justice. Both schools are in Virginia Beach. After earning her

Master’s degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Education at the Old Dominion University, she began teaching at Lynnhaven Elementary. She left her job to begin a home renovation business with her husband. They specialize in serving military families.

Political career

Fowler ran to be a delegate in Virginia's 2017 election against incumbent Ron Villanueva. She won the election with 52.3% of the vote, and took office in January 2018. She and

Kathy Tran Kathy Tran (born 1978) is an American politician who currently serves in the Virginia House of Delegates. A Democrat, she has represented the 42nd House of Delegates district since 2018. Early life and career Born in Vietnam, Tran and her par ...

were the first Asian-American women to be elected to

Virginia's 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-number ...

. Fowler ran for reelection in the 2019 election. She defeated Republican Shannon D.S. Kane with 54.5% of the vote. Fowler ran for a third term in the 2021 election. In one of the closest races in Virginia that year, she defeated Tanya Gould by 1% of the vote. Fowler has introduced 29 bills in the House of Delegates since taking office in 2018. She has worked to pass

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

expansion in Virginia and a 5% pay raise for Virginia's teachers in 2018. In 2019, Fowler was the Chief Co-Patron of two bills protecting renters and homeowners that were passed into law. During the 2020 special session, Fowler abstained on HB5013 which was intended to end qualified immunity for law enforcement following the 2020 summer Black Lives Matter protests. Her abstention was due to her own husband, David Fowler, being a police officer which effectively killed the bill.

Legislative issues

Fowler has stated that her priorities for the 2020 legislative session are: *finding bipartisan solutions to improve coastal resiliency and prevent coastal flooding *fighting for a fair economy, good jobs, and a level playing field for working families *expanding access to affordable healthcare and quality education regardless of sex, race, income, or background The Virginia Education Association Fund for Children and Public Education has endorsed her because she has consistently voted for legislation supporting public education.

Personal life

She is married to David Fowler, and they have three kids. She came out as bisexual at a Pride event in Virginia Beach on June 26, 2022.

Electoral history

! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % ! , - !colspan=17, 21st Virginia House of Delegates District , - ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, , , , Kelly Convirs-Fowler , , Democratic , , 12,540 , , 52.5 , , , Ron Villanueva (

inc Inc. or inc may refer to: * Incorporation (business), as a suffix indicating a corporation * ''Inc.'' (magazine), an American business magazine * Inc. No World, a Los Angeles-based band * Indian National Congress, a political party in India * I ...

) , , Republican , , 11,309 , , 47.3 , , colspan=5, , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , , , Kelly Convirs-Fowler (

) , , Democratic , , 12,402 , , 54.5 , , , Shannon Kane , , Republican , , 10,300 , , 45.3 , , colspan=5,

References