David Englin (45th District): Exclusive RaisingKaine Interview

By: Lowell
Published On: 3/16/2005 2:00:00 AM

David Englin is running for Virginia House of Delegates from the 45th District.  This Northern Virginia district is diverse (in terms of income, race, and ethnicity) and heavily Democratic, encompassing Fairlington, Abingdon and Shirlington precincts in Arlington; the central and Old Town portions of the City of Alexandria; the Mt. Vernon precincts of Belleview, Marlan, Kirkside, and Grosvenor; and the Lee District precincts of Mt. Eagle and Cameron in Fairfax County.  The district was well represented for over 20 years in the Virgina House of Delegates by Marian Van Landingham, a progressive Democrat who is stepping down at age 67.

Now, there are six Democrats running for this "open seat," one of only a few open seats in Virginia this year (the others being the 57th District, comprising Charlottesville and parts of Albermarle County, the 26th District comprising Harrisonburg and Rockingham County; the 63rd district of Petersberg and Dinwiddie, the 41st district of Fairfax, and the Northern Neck 99th disrict).  Contenders for the 45th District are David Englin, Libby Garvey, Richard Hobson, James Lay, Laura Mandala, and Elsie Mosqueda. 

Note: RaisingKaine takes no position on who should win this race, and welcomes interviews with the other candidates (if interested, please contact poldir@raisingkaine.com).  Having said that, we are grateful to David Englin for agreeing to an interview and for thoughtfully answering our questions. 

David Englin has an impressive biography for a young man.  A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Englin joined the Air Force at age 17. According to his campaign website, "David voluntarily deployed to the Balkans to participate in counter-genocide and peacekeeping operations. Upon his return, David helped establish and eventually directed a $2.5 million program to assist the families and civilian employers of National Guard and Reserve airmen."  In addition, David is an Eagle Scout, a "life Member of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America," a member of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, Equality Virginia, Planned Parenthood of Metro Washington, MoveOn.org, and the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). He was on duty at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

For the entire interview with David Englin, please see the RaisingKaine website.  Here are some highlights:

  • Englin is running as a proud progressive who, nevertheless, describes himself as politically in sync with both Governor Warner and DNC Chair Howard Dean. 
  • Englin describes himself as a "fiscally responsible Democrat...concerned with social justice and tolerance" and interested in "promoting fresh new ideas to improve people's lives."
  • Englin believes the death penalty should be abolished, that localities "should be able to enact their own reasonable gun safety measures," and that the so-called "Dillon Rule" (restricting localities from making their own decisions) should be repealed. 
  • Englin supports Metrorail to Dulles, exploring "creative new ideas" for solving the region's transportation mess, and looking to "additional dedicated revenue sources for transportation."  He supports maintaining "the current car tax structure" to avoid "the kinds of financial problems we had before Mark Warner turned things around."
  • More than anything, Englin says he is running to protect his five-year-old son Caleb's future "if the Republicans in the House of Delegates have their way."

    Again, thanks to David Englin for agreeing to this interview.  The primary election is scheduled for June 14.

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