Advocate and author Andy Parker announced Thursday that he’s filed to run for the Fifth District seat in Congress.
Parker, a Democrat, will challenge the incumbent Republican, Bob Good, in the Fifth, stretches from the D.C. exurbs through Charlottesville, Albemarle and Nelson down to the North Carolina border.
“It’s become clear over the last two years that southside Virginia lacks a common-sense voice in Washington,” Parker said. “Instead of causing problems, I will work hard to fix them.”
In 2015, Parker’s daughter, journalist Alison Parker, was shot and killed on live television by a mentally ill co-worker. He channeled his grief into action, becoming a global advocate for common-sense gun legislation and took on Facebook and YouTube when they refused to remove the videos of Alison’s murder from their platforms.
Parker’s decision to run for office is inspired not just by previous advocacy for his child but what he sees as terrible leadership in Washington to protect children all across central Virginia.
“I’m running for Congress to limit the influence of giant tech companies and billionaires,” Parker said. “To make the internet safer for kids and families and make the economy fairer for everyone.“
Before his advocacy and run for Congress, Parker was an executive recruiter and was a member of the Henry County Board of Supervisors from 2004-2008. He was in the middle of a run for a second term on the board in 2015 when Alison Parker was killed. Soon after, he withdrew from the race.
“I have the local government experience necessary to help bring federal resources to the heart of Virginia,” Parker said. “Charlottesville needs upgrades to its airport. Lynchburg has problems with sewer overflow. The recently signed infrastructure bill gives us the opportunity to do great things if we work together in Washington.”
Also motivating Parker to run is the behavior exhibited by Good.
“Bob Good desecrates the Capitol every time he steps into it,” he says. “He’s one who has continually pushed the ‘Big Lie;’ he didn’t even have the decency to vote to honor the Capitol Police officers who bravely risked their lives to preserve our republic.”
Good also has been a leader in the new “Lost Cause” claiming the 2020 election was “stolen” from former President Donald Trump.
“He’s Virginia’s version of Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Parker said. “I don’t want, and I know the people of central and Southside Virginia don’t want, someone in office that isn’t respectable enough to represent them. I want to restore decency and common-sense leadership to the job.”
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