Richard Lawrence Saslaw (born February 5, 1940) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...

serving as Majority Leader of the Senate of Virginia since 2020. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he 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-number ...

from 1976–80, then was elected to the Senate of Virginia. He the 35th district, made up of the city of Falls Church and portions of

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and ...

and the city of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

.Senate of Virginia bio Saslaw has been the leader of the Virginia Senate Democrats since 1998. He has served as Senate Majority Leader since 2020, having previously served from 2008 to 2012 and January to June 2014. He served as Senate Minority Leader from 1998 to 2008, 2012 to January 2014, and June 2014 to 2020. He ran for Congress in

Virginia's 8th congressional district Virginia's 8th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It comprises all of Arlington County, portions of Fairfax County and all of the independent cities of Alexandria and Falls Churc ...

in 1984. He was defeated by then-Congressman

Stanford Parris Stanford Elmer "Stan" Parris (September 9, 1929 – March 27, 2010) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. He represented Virginia's 8th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for six two year terms. He ...

Personal life

Saslaw was born and raised in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He attended Woodrow Wilson High School. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

(1958–60), before receiving a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in economics from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. After that, he went into the gasoline service station business. Saslaw and his wife, Eleanor, a retired guidance director and member of the

Virginia State Board of Education The Virginia State Board of Education is an independent board established by the state of Virginia in the United States which helps set state elementary and secondary educational policy, advocates within state government for elementary and secondar ...

, settled in northern Virginia in 1968. Their daughter, Jennifer, received her undergraduate degree from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

. and her Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School. They live in Springfield, Virginia. Saslaw is Jewish and has been active in Virginia's Jewish community for decades. He joined several other Jewish Democrats who live in Virginia in defending Israel against criticism from the Virginia State Bar.

Majority Leader

Senator Saslaw was first elected as

Virginia State Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

Floor Leader by his peers in 1996, under a power-sharing agreement that took place when the Senate was evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. In 1998, he was elected to Senate Minority Leader, and was continuously re-elected until becoming Senate Majority Leader when the Democrats assumed control of the chamber in 2008. He continued as Majority Leader until 2012, when the Democrats lost control. He served as Minority Leader from 2012 through 2019, except for the first half of 2014, when he served as Majority Leader. He is currently the Majority Leader. He is Chair of the Senate's Commerce and Labor Committee, and a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary (formerly Courts of Justice), Education and Health, Finance and Appropriations, and Rules Committees.

Political positions

Gun confiscation

In 2020, Saslaw introduced SB 6, a confiscatory ban on commonly held handguns and rifles with standard capacity magazines. In response, 91 out of 95 counties, 16 out of 38 independent cities, and 42 towns adopted Second Amendment Sanctuary Resolutions. In the 2019 legislative session, he proposed legislation to raise the age for which a person is allowed to buy a gun in Virginia from 18 to 21, and he proposed a ban on so called "bump stocks." Republicans did not allow either of those bills to pass out of committee. In February 2011, Saslaw was one of eight senators on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee who "passed by indefinitely" House Bill 1573, suppressing the bill by an 8 to 4 margin. The bill, also known as

Castle Doctrine A castle doctrine, also known as a castle law or a defense of habitation law, is a legal doctrine that designates a person's abode or any legally occupied place (for example, a vehicle or home) as a place in which that person has protections and ...

, would have allowed "a lawful occupant use of physical force, including deadly force, against an intruder in his dwelling who has committed an overt act against him, without civil liability." Senator Saslaw is rated F by the NRA and has been a strong supporter of confiscating civilian arms. In 2019, Senator Saslaw received out of state funding for re-election from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and the Brady Campaign.

Abortion

Senator Saslaw has voted against attempts to restrict women's ability to obtain an abortion in Virginia. He has been endorsed by

NARAL NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

Virginia and by Planned Parenthood of the Greater Metropolitan Washington Area.

Medicaid expansion in Virginia

Senator Saslaw is credited with saving the Democratic push for

Medicaid expansion In the context of American public healthcare policy, Medicaid coverage gap refers to uninsured people who reside in states which have opted out of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), who are both ineligible for Medicaid unde ...

in Virginia by thwarting an attempted procedural move by Republican Senator Tommy Norment to kill the bill in committee. Norment attempted to have the bill to expand Medicaid in Virginia killed in committee a second time, which would have made the bill ineligible for presentation to the full senate. Saslaw caught the move and thwarted it, thus allowing the bill to proceed and eventually become law in Virginia in 2018. Medicaid expansion brought health insurance coverage to over 400,000 Virginians.

Environment and renewables

Saslaw has been described as a reliable ally of

Dominion Energy Dominion Energy, Inc., commonly referred to as Dominion, is a North American power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and supplies natural gas ...

, Virginia's largest electrical utility which is also notable for its influence on Virginia politics. In 2018, the Associated Press reported that Dominion had been Saslaw's largest source of campaign funds, contributing approximately $350,000 over a 15-year period. Saslaw helped push Dominion-backed legislation that would allow the firm to charge customers rates that regulators considered to be excessive. When Virginia Democratic Party criticized a Republican state senator for being too cozy with Dominion Energy, Dominion sent an email to Saslaw to complain. Saslaw responded by apologizing to Dominion and criticized his own party for failing to do its "homework" on "how generous Dominion has been to me" and the party. Saslaw was the co-patron of the Grid Transformation and Security Act of 2018, which ended the rate freeze and allowed the State Corporation Commission—Virginia's regulatory agency that oversees public utilities—to return to regularly reviewing utility rates, and for $200 million in credits to be refunded to ratepayers. The bill also declared 5,000mw of new solar energy projects to be "in the public interest," making it easier for such projects to be approved by the SCC.

Education

Education has been one of his top legislative priorities throughout his tenure. He is the ranking member of the Senate Education and Health Committee, and Chair of the Higher Education Subcommittee. In 2006, the Virginia Association of School Boards named him Legislator of the Year. In 2013, the Virginia Education Association named him Legislator of the Year for his work in commissioning a study of school funding in Virginia by JLARC (Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission). One result of Virginia expanding Medicaid in 2018 was that additional money was made available in the budget for a 3% teacher pay raise. That initial 3% was then increased to 5% in the 2019 legislative session, along with $25 million for at-risk students and $12 million for additional school counselors. Senator Saslaw has been endorsed for re-election in 2019 by the Virginia Education Association.

Transportation and Metro funding

Senator Saslaw was chief patron of a bill to resolve the battle over a dedicated revenue source for the DC-area

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

improvements and operations. The bill states that Virginia will contribute $154 million a year to Metro, with Maryland and Washington, DC contributing the remainder needed to reach $500 million annually. This bill was considered a breakthrough, since any such inter-state deal has typically stalled on the Virginia side, due to the Republican control of the General Assembly.

Controversy

In February 2019, Saslaw made headlines as the only Democratic elected official in Virginia to initially defend Virginia 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 ...

when photos on the latter's medical school yearbook page surfaced showing two men, one of whom was in blackface and one of whom was in robes resembling those of the Ku Klux Klan. Saslaw later clarified in an official statement that the pictures could only be described "as racist, as unacceptable, and as painful," and along with the Senate Democratic Caucus, issued a statement calling for Northam's resignation.

2019 Democratic primary

In September 2018,

Yasmine Taeb Yasmine P. Taeb ( fa, یاسمین طائب) is an Iranian-American human rights attorney and Democratic National Committee official. She is a senior policy counsel at the Center for Victims of Torture. In 2014 she sought the Democratic nomination ...

, an attorney at the Center for Victims of Torture, announced that she would challenge Senator Saslaw for the Democratic nomination for the 35th district in the state senate. She moved to the district "within the past year to be closer to the immigrant communities with whom she works," moving from nearby Arlington County, where she previously ran for a House of Delegates seat in 2014, finishing in last place. Karen Torrent, an environmental lawyer and long-time resident of the district, also challenged Senator Saslaw in the June 11 primary. Saslaw successfully fended off the challenges from Taeb and Torrent and won renomination during the June 11 primary

Election history

! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % ! , - !colspan=17, 8th Congressional District of Virginia , - ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, , , , Richard L. Saslaw , , Democratic , , 97,250 , , 43.3 , , ,

, ,

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, , 125,015 , , 55.7 , , colspan=5, , - !colspan=17, 35th Virginia Senate District , - ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, , , , Richard L. Saslaw , , Democratic , , 19,257 , , 57.6 , , , Robert H. Neitz , , Republican , , 13,554 , , 40.5 , , colspan=5, , - , 2003 , , , , Richard L. Saslaw , , Democratic , , 17,735 , , 82.48 , , , Charles W. Levy , , Independent , , 3,537 , , 16.45 , , colspan=5, , - , 2007 , , , , Richard L. Saslaw , , Democratic , , 16,856 , , 77.94 , , , Mario T. Palmiotto , , Independent Green , , 4,532 , , 20.95 , , colspan=5, , - , 2011 , , , , Richard L. Saslaw , , Democratic , , 15,905 , , 61.7 , , , Robert C. Sarvis , , Republican , , 9,272 , , 35.9 , , colspan=5, , - , 2015 , , , , Richard L. Saslaw , , Democratic , , 18,754 , , 74.4 , , , Terrence W. Modglin , , Independent Green , , 6,055 , , 24.0 , , 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 ...

, , , , Richard L. Saslaw , , Democratic , , 35,131 , , 92.5 , , , Other/Write-in , , 2,833 , , 6,055 , , 7.5 , , colspan=5,

References

External links

Constituent/campaign website

Senate of Virginia profile

Past member search for Richard Saslaw, from the Virginia House of Delegates

Richmond Sunlight website

Virginia Public Access Project

Profile at Project Vote Smart
* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Saslaw, Richard L. 1940 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Jewish American people in Virginia politics Living people Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Fairfax County, Virginia People from Washington, D.C. University of Maryland, College Park alumni Democratic Party Virginia state senators Candidates in the 1984 United States elections 21st-century American Jews