Adam Ebbin

Adam Paul Ebbin (born November 10, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Senator from the 30th District of the Virginia Senate since January 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served four terms as the Delegate from the 49th District of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2004 to 2012.

Adam Ebbin
Member of the Virginia Senate
from the 30th district
Assumed office
January 11, 2012
Preceded byPatsy Ticer
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 49th district
In office
January 14, 2004 – January 11, 2012
Preceded byL. Karen Darner
Succeeded byAlfonso H. Lopez
Personal details
Born
Adam Paul Ebbin

(1963-11-10) November 10, 1963
Huntington, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceAlexandria, Virginia
Alma materAmerican University
OccupationMarketing consultant
CommitteesCommerce and Labor
Finance and Appropriations
General Laws and Technology
Privileges and Elections
Transportation
Websiteadamebbin.com

As an openly gay man, Ebbin has made history several times through his electoral success. In 2003, he became the first openly gay person and first openly LGBT person elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia General Assembly. In 2011, he became the first openly gay person and first openly LGBT person elected to the Virginia Senate.

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

Early life

A 1985 graduate of the American University in Washington, D.C., Ebbin was a Fellow at the University of Virginia's Sorensen Institute of Political Leadership in 2000.[1][2] A longtime Democratic Party activist, Ebbin spent a decade on the party's state central committee and was a delegate to both the 2000 and 2004 Democratic national conventions. In 2012, Ebbin completed Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a David Bohnett LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow.

House of Delegates

He first sought the 49th district seat in 2003, narrowly winning a five-person Democratic primary and facing no Republican opponent in the general election.[3] He took office in January 2004 and was re-elected unopposed in 2005. Ebbin faced only an Independent Green opponent in 2007, winning easily, and ran unopposed in 2009. The district includes a large part of South Arlington, the Del Ray and Arlandria portions of the City of Alexandria and parts of Bailey's Crossroads in Fairfax County.

State Senate

Ebbin decided to give up his seat in the House of Delegates to run for the Virginia State Senate in 2011, following Patsy Ticer's announcement that she would not seek re-election. He ran in the 30th district, comprising parts of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County; the district leans heavily Democratic.[4]

He faced a heated Democratic primary election held on August 23, 2011, with two opponents: Rob Krupicka, a member of the Alexandria city council, and Libby Garvey, a member of the Arlington school board. Krupicka, who led in fundraising, was widely considered the favorite but Ebbin prevailed narrowly in what local newspapers called an "upset" and a "shocker".[5] Ebbin took 39% of the vote to Krupicka's 36% and Garvey's 25% – a margin of 335 votes.[6] The 30th district race was the second most expensive primary in the state, with the three Democratic candidates raising a combined $746,000.[7] In the general election, Ebbin faced Republican candidate Tim McGhee and prevailed easily. He took office as a Virginia state senator on January 11, 2012.

Ebbin serves on five Senate Committees: Finance and Appropriations; Commerce and Labor; Privileges & Elections; General Laws and Technology; and the Transportation Committee.[8] He serves on a number of Commissions and interim Comittees including the Task Force to Commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of Women's Right to Vote, the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, and the Joint Subcommittee to Evaluate Taxation Preferences.[8] Adam also serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science and as the Co-Chair of the General Assembly Gun Violence Prevention Caucus.

During the 2020 Legislative Session Adam passed legislation including: The Virginia Values Act, a landmark bill to provide nondiscrimination protections in housing, employment, and public accomodations for LGBTQ Virginians.[9] He also passed legislation to decriminalize marijuana,[10] allow localities to institute fees on throw away bags,[11] and create a legal avenue for employees to sue their employers for wage theft.[12]

30th State Senate district, 2011 Democratic primary election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Adam Ebbin 4,570 38.8% n/a
Democratic Rob Krupicka 4,235 35.9% n/a
Democratic Libby Garvey 2,980 25.3% n/a
Source: Virginia State Board of Elections
30th State Senate district, 2011 general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Adam Ebbin 20,968 64.7% n/a
Republican Tim McGhee 11,349 35.0% n/a
Write-in 90 0.3% n/a
Turnout 32,407 26.3%
Democratic hold Swing
Source: Virginia State Board of Elections
30th State Senate district, 2015 general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Adam Ebbin 27,274 76.7% n/a
Independent Greens James Fisher 7,431 20.9% n/a
Write-in 842 2.4% n/a
Turnout 35,547
Democratic hold Swing

Source: Virginia State Board of Elections

2014 Congressional Campaign

On January 30, 2014, Ebbin announced his candidacy in the Democratic primary for the 8th Congressional district seat being vacated by Congressman Jim Moran.[13] The 8th Congressional District is Virginia's most Democratic district, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+21, and one of the most Democratic white-majority districts in the South.[14] The heavily contested Democratic primary drew a number of challengers, including former Lt. Governor Don Beyer, State Delegate Patrick Hope, former Northern Virginia Urban League Chief Lavern Chatman, mayor of Alexandria William D. Euille, radio-talk show host Mark Levine, and Virginia Tech professor Derek Hyra.[15] Ebbin finished third in the June 10, 2014 Democratic primary with 6,262 votes, while Beyer won the primary with 17,783 votes.[16] Beyer went on to win the general election on November 7, 2014.[17]

Personal

A former president of the Virginia Partisans Gay & Lesbian Democratic Club, Ebbin was the third openly gay elected official in Virginia and the first ever openly gay member of the Virginia General Assembly.[18] His campaigns have won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.[19] He was previously employed by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network as its Director of Communications.[20]

References
  1. "Adam P. Ebbin (D)". The Washington Post. 2005-11-03.
  2. "PLP Class of 2000". Sorensen Institute. Archived from the original on 2008-06-18.
  3. "Va. elects 1st gay delegate". Washington Blade. 2003-11-07. Archived from the original on 2004-06-03.
  4. "Arlington Vote Helps Ebbin Inch Toward Victory in 30th Senate Race". Sun Gazette. August 23, 2011. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012.
  5. "Adam Ebbin Pulls Off Primary Upset: Underdog candidate pulls victory in state Senate shocker". Connection Newspapers. August 24, 2011. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011.
  6. "Ebbin beats out Krupicka, Garvey in District 30 primary". The Alexandria Times. August 23, 2011.
  7. "Race in 31st Was Pricey, But Not Priciest Among Primaries". Sun Gazette. September 18, 2011. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013.
  8. "Senate of Virginia". apps.senate.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  9. webmaster@governor.virginia.gov. "Virginia Governor Ralph Northam - April". www.governor.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  10. "Virginia: Marijuana Decriminalization Takes Effect July 1". NORML. 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  11. "LIS > Bill Tracking > SB11 > 2020 session". lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  12. "Virginia Wage Payment Act Now Provides Meaningful Remedies to Wage Theft Victims". The National Law Review. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  13. "Adam Ebbin announces Congressional run for Virginia's 8th District seat". MetroWeekly. 2014-01-30. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02.
  14. "PVI Map and District List". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  15. Parker, Ashley (2014-06-09). "For Virginia's Don Beyer, Obama Is Still a Positive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  16. "Virginia Elections Database » 2014 U.S. House Democratic Primary District 8". Virginia Elections Database. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  17. "Virginia Election Results" Check |url= value (help). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  18. "Out Candidates Make Good". The Advocate. 2003-12-09.
  19. "Victory Fund endorses record number of candidates". Washington Blade. 2007-10-26. Archived from the original on 2007-11-02.
  20. "Suite Talk June 17, 2008". The Politico. 2008-06-17.

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