Dawn Adams

Dawn Marie Adams (born November 6, 1964) is an American politician serving as the Delegate from the 68th District of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2018. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Not to be confused with Dawn Addams.
Dawn M. Adams
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 68th district
Assumed office
January 10, 2018
Preceded byManoli Loupassi
Personal details
Born (1964-11-06) November 6, 1964
Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, U.S.[1]
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Margaret "Maggie" J. Constante
ResidenceRichmond, Virginia
Alma materJames Madison University (BS), University of Virginia (MS), Old Dominion University (DNP), Virginia Commonwealth University (GradCert)
ProfessionNurse Practitioner, Small business owner, Former State Health Official, and former adjunct faculty[1]
Websitewww.delegateadams.com

Adams is a nurse practitioner and small business owner as well as a former Director of the Office of Integrated Health at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and a former Health Policy adjunct faculty at the Old Dominion University.[2]

As an openly lesbian woman, Adams is the first openly lesbian person and the fourth openly gay person elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia General Assembly (after Adam Ebbin, Mark Sickles, and Mark Levine).

Adams is one of five openly LGBT people serving in the Virginia General Assembly (alongside Adam Ebbin, Mark Sickles, Mark Levine, and Danica Roem).

Political career

In 2017, Adams challenged Republican incumbent Manoli Loupassi for the 68th district seat in the House of Delegates, ultimately winning by 336 votes of the 40,000 cast in the district.[3] Adams is Virginia's first openly lesbian member of the Virginia General Assembly,[4] and became part of a record high with 25 women elected to the House of Delegates that year (the previous record had been 19).[5]

Adams successfully passed 57 percent of her introduced legislation in 2019, and is the chief co-patron of 20 bills that became law in her first two years in office.[6]

Her committee assignments include the House Militia, Police and Public Safety, and The House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committees.[7]

Legislative issues

Adams has stated that her legislative priorities are healthcare, particularly around issues affecting elderly and vulnerable populations, protecting and preserving the environment, providing children with a quality, affordable education, and creating infrastructure that builds healthier communities through better policy.[8]

Healthcare

Adams has more than 30 years of healthcare experience, which she says has made her aware of the struggles that many seniors experience, from chronic health issues to aging-at-home to financial stability. She believes that legislators have a responsibility to address this problem by decreasing barriers and providing pathways to the needed wraparound supports.[9]

She co-sponsored HB2491 along with Delegate Kathy Tran, which would have reduced limits on access to third-term abortion in Virginia (the bill did not pass).[10][11] Following controversy about the bill's provisions, she apologized to constituents, saying: "I did not read a bill I agreed to co-patron and that wasn’t smart or typical. I will work harder and be better for it."[12]

Education

The Virginia Education Association Fund for Children and Public Education has endorsed her because she has consistently voted for legislation supporting public education.[13]

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See also
  • Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2017
  • Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2019

References
  1. Official biography
  2. About Dawn M. Adams at Adams's campaign site
  3. "68th District win margin". VPAP. July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  4. "Dawn Adams is first open lesbian in Virginia House". PBS Newshour. November 9, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  5. Bryan, Alix (November 9, 2017). "The historic firsts that happened as Virginia 'turned blue'". WTVR. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  6. "LIS Virginia". Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  7. "LIS > Bill Tracking > Member > 2019 session". lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  8. "About Dawn". Delegate Dawn M. Adams. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  9. Hoffmeyer, Dean (Oct 25, 2019). "Voter Guide: A Q&A with candidates in 18 Richmond-area legislative contests". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  10. "Virginia HB2491 | 2019 | Regular Session". LegiScan. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  11. Moomaw, Graham (January 30, 2019). "Virginia lawmaker says she wouldn't have co-sponsored controversial abortion bill if she had read it closely". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  12. "Message from Delegate Dawn M. Adams". us15.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  13. "General Assembly". Virginia Education Association. 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
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