Friends,

While a big focus of our work this year has been the Virginia House of Delegates, in line with Ascend’s long-term approach, we’ve also continued to identify and support local candidates across all four of our states. We’re excited to share with you five additional endorsements we’re making of candidates running for local office this fall in Virginia and Pennsylvania:

Virginia

Steve Descano, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney
Our first endorsee is Steve Descano, the Democratic nominee for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney. A West Point graduate and former U.S. Army helicopter pilot, Steve went on to attend law school, and spent six years as a federal prosecutor in the Obama Administration. He served first as a Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and later as a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Tax Division and Consumer Protection Branch where he prosecuted individuals who victimized the elderly, mentally disabled, recent immigrants, and other vulnerable populations. Locally, he helped launch the Fairfax County Police Civilian Review Panel, and spent years fighting for equal rights on the board of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia and the county NAACP’s Criminal Justice and Legal Redress Committees. Like other progressive District Attorneys we’re seeing run across the country, Steve is running to bring a progressive vision to the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, an office that in many ways can help set the tone statewide. We’re thrilled to support Steve, and excited to assist him in bringing his passion and vision to this office.

Dalia Palchik, Providence District Supervisor,
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
Our next candidate, Dalia Palchik, is running for Providence District Supervisor, aiming to represent the area she grew up in. Dalia was born in Argentina and immigrated to Fairfax County with her family when she was six years old. A product of Fairfax County Public Schools, she returned to the area after college to teach. In 2014, she began to get politically involved and ran herself in 2015, winning a seat to represent the Providence District on the Fairfax County School Board. Over the past four years, she’s worked hard to level the playing field for all children, including helping Fairfax County become one of the first 5 counties in the nation to pass a joint social and racial equity policy of the County Board of Supervisors and School Board. Now, Dalia’s running for Supervisor -- where she’ll serve on the Fairfax County Board representing Providence District -- and we’re excited to stand with her in becoming the first Latinx individual ever to serve on that board.

Tia Walbridge, Blue Ridge Supervisor,
Loudon County Board of Supervisors
Our final Virginia endorsee, Tia Walbridge, is the Democratic nominee running to represent Blue Ridge on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. Tia is a sheep farmer and small businesswoman, a mom of two daughters in the public school system, and a wife of a disabled veteran who continues to serve his country at the Department of Defense. Well-spoken, knowledgeable about the issues, and passionate to serve, Tia uniformly impressed our endorsement committee as a candidate with a unique background and a bright future. She’s been a leader in her community already, serving as a Governor’s appointee to the Virginia Agricultural Council and a Board Member of the Loudoun County Farm Bureau, and after running for State Delegate in a conservative district in 2017, she’s now running for Supervisor. If elected, she would help make the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors a majority-women body. We are excited about Tia’s prospects in this race, and are confident that it will not be her last stint in elective office.

Pennsylvania

Tom Duerr, Allegheny County Council, District 5
Our next endorsee, Tom Duerr, is a candidate for Allegheny County Council. One of our youngest endorsees yet, Tom was born and raised in the community where he is running. Seeing his peers leave, Tom returned to his hometown after attending Pennsylvania State University with the intent of helping to shape the community into one in which his generation would want to stay and raise their families. Since then, he has been actively involved in supporting Democrats in the area, leading voter outreach for the Presidential campaign, Conor Lamb’s campaign for Congress, and Pam Iovino’s successful race for State Senate. Through this work, Tom gained real insight into how to be an effective candidate and elected official, and a solid understanding of the issues facing residents in the region, including high property taxes, fleeting employment opportunities, crumbling infrastructure, and climate change. Hard working and passionate about making a difference, Tom Duerr is exactly the type of candidate we at Ascend are excited to support, and we are thrilled to help him in his bid to defeat a two-term Republican incumbent.

Dr. Monica Taylor, Delaware County Council
Our last endorsee is Dr. Monica Taylor, candidate for Delaware County Council. A standout women’s basketball player in college, Monica went on to earn a Masters’ Degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology and later her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to her work as a professor at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Monica is very active in her community. She won election in 2017 to serve on the Upper Darby School Board, where she helped flip the Board from Republican to Democrat. Since then, she’s helped expand access to free or reduced priced meals for students and has been a force in providing alternative career paths for students interested in the trades and technical fields. Like Ascend, she’s also passionate about building the bench, and over the past few years has been active in identifying and supporting other candidates as a member of the Executive Board of Delaware County’s Women’s Democratic Club. Now, she’s excited to take the next step herself, running for a seat on the Delaware County Council. If successful, the Council would become majority-Democrat for the first time since before the Civil War. We’re thrilled to support Monica in what we’re confident will be just her next step in public office.

Thank you again for all of your support of Ascend. Rebuilding our bench will not happen overnight, but every year, in key states across the country, we’re finding amazing people like Steve, Dalia, Tia, Tom, and Monica -- and you’re helping us power their campaigns.

Thank you.

Onward,
David

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David Burd
Co-Founder
Ascend PAC

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