Alexandria Vice Mayor Announces Bid For Virginia House Seat

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria Vice Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker announced Tuesday she is running for the House of Delegates District 45 seat.

The district, which includes parts of the City of Alexandria, Arlington County and Fairfax County, is represented by Del. Mark Levine (D-Alexandria). Levine previously announced his bid for lieutenant governor. Alexandria has local elections in 2021, as well as state elections for governor and Virginia House of Delegates.

"I am excited to announce my candidacy for the Virginia House of Delegates today," said Bennett-Parker in a statement. "I am running because I understand the challenges families in Northern Virginia face, especially in this pandemic. I want to be part of the solution by ensuring all Northern Virginians have access to good jobs with worker protections, helping small businesses thrive, making sure families have access to quality care and education for their children from early childhood onwards, and taking urgent action to protect our environment and build an infrastructure to respond to climate change."

Born in Alexandria to Naval officers, Bennett-Parker has served on Alexandria City Council since 2019. She is the youngest woman elected to Council in Alexandria’s history and became She is the incoming chair of the Virginia Railway Express and member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and Northern Virginia Regional Commission. She is also a co-director of the nonprofit Together We Bake, which runs a job training and personal development program for underserved women.

Bennett-Parker is a former Fulbright Scholar, attended Cornell University as an undergrad, and received a master’s degree from the University of London. She previously served on the Community Criminal Justice Board, Commission on Employment, and boards of the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, Agenda Alexandria, and United Way Regional Council. In 2017, she was chosen as one of Alexandria's 40 Under 40.

She and her husband, Stephen, live in the Rosemont neighborhood with her grandmother, their rescue cat, Julep and dog, Nori.

Another Council member, Del Pepper, announced in November she will not seek reelection to City Council in 2021. Pepper was first elected in 1985.