Contact: Ashley Hall, campaign manager (804) 651-8342; email: info@rachelfordelegate.org
Ashland, VA – Today, a long-time champion of the 55th district and nationally recognized public education advocate Rachel Levy officially launched her campaign for the Virginia House of Delegates. “I am thrilled to announce my candidacy as the sole Democratic primary candidate in the 55th district,” said Levy. “The time is now to invest in our institutions and in our people and to safeguard our well-being and our resources. I will work to make our public education system stronger and more equitable, to ensure access to affordable healthcare, to protect our environment for our children and grandchildren, and to ensure that our economy works for ALL of us. I will represent the people of Hanover, Caroline, and Spotsylvania with the same integrity and passion that represents my work as an advocate, community leader, and educator.”
“As a mother, I felt helpless when my child was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes six years ago- helpless to prevent him from getting the disease, helpless that there was no cure, and helpless about what this meant for his future. But then I realized there were legislative solutions. As a private citizen, I fought with other parent advocates for the passage of the insulin cap bill to lower and cap insulin prices to $50 dollars. But that was just a small drop in the bucket. There is so much more I can do. Diabetes, disease, healthcare needs don’t know a party. As a legislator in the House of Delegates, I will be the opposite of helpless. I will be empowered to fight for the healthcare rights of every Virginian, no matter how they vote.”
The daughter of two civil rights attorneys and long-time 55th resident, parent, teacher, and community leader, Rachel is committed to serving the community. “I believe that Virginia’s 55th District deserves independent minded, principled, service-oriented, and competent representation. The people of the 55th district deserve to be treated fairly and with respect, no matter who you are, what your background is, who you love, or how you vote. You deserve to be heard, you deserve to be treated with respect, and you deserve a representative who shows up and who works extremely hard for you.”
Rachel is a longtime member of the Hanover Democratic Committee, a leader of the group Together Hanover, and a member of the Hanover NAACP. In 2019, she was selected to serve as Jury Commissioner for the Ashland District of Hanover. Rachel also holds a PhD in education, and on education matters, she is known for her solution-oriented and evidence-based advocacy for increased and more equitable funding and making our schools more welcoming and equitable for all students. She was recognized as one of six Vox Populi (“people not afraid to speak up, and act out, for local causes they believe in”) by Richmond Magazine in 2015. She was a leader in the most recent movement to finally change the Confederate named schools and mascots in Hanover. She also has served as a leader of the group Friends of Hanover Schools, as a local PTA unit leader, on several committees of the local school districts in the 55th, on Governor-elect Ralph Northam’s PK-12 policy council, and as a local Education Association president. She is active in her synagogue where she has taught Religious School, served on the Education Committee, and currently serves on the Board of Directors.
The 55th covers western Hanover, almost all of Caroline County, and parts of Spotsylvania County. Rachel lives in the Town of Ashland with her husband and three children and can’t wait to serve the people of the 55th District in the Virginia House of Delegates.
