Friends,

In this week’s newsletter, we have a town hall invitation, more guidelines on filing taxes in Chesterfield and Richmond, and updates on the upcoming primaries ahead of this Fall’s General Election.

Upcoming Town Hall: A focus on mental health
Issues of mental health have been exacerbated by the COVID crisis. Recent surveys, including those collected by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), show substantial increases in self-reported behavioral health symptoms.

In my office, we continue to focus on the issues of mental health, identification of concerning behaviors and symptoms, and the resources available to individuals and families in need. Please join me for a Town Hall focused on mental health and wellbeing next week, Thursday, April 29. I’ll be joined by Dr. Catherine Franssen, a neuroscientist and the Scientist in Residence at the Science Museum of Virginia. Our discussion will center around mental health concerns, the mental and emotional challenges brought on by the pandemic, and Dr. Franssen’s work with the Science Museum’s Mind Matters exhibit. I hope you can join us for what will surely be an illuminating conversation. You can RSVP here.

Tax filing information for Chesterfield County and Richmond County residents
In addition to the information included in last week’s newsletter, we want to make sure that you know about support resources available all throughout the Tenth Senatorial District:.

Chesterfield

• The Office of the Commissioner of the Revenue (COR) provides services to help Chesterfield County citizens file their state income taxes. They are happy to prepare a State Income Tax (SIT) return, based on a completed federal return and also electronically file citizens' SIT returns where they do not have that resource available.
• The COR team is also available to answer questions and help with SIT refunds. They have a direct line to VATAX and can often get better information regarding refunds than individuals on their own. All of these services are free to any Chesterfield County residents who ask for them, and you can find those resources here.

Richmond City

• For City residents, assistance is available through the Department of Finance. The Department offers assistance with Virginia State Income Tax Return preparation, and these services include answering resident tax filing questions, assisting in resolving Department of Taxation correspondence, and walk-in tax return preparation.
• Assistance is available through email and by telephone:
  • Email: Ask Finance
  • Phone: 804.646.7000

Powhatan County

• Powhatan residents with questions about state taxes, business taxation concerns, and other issues can reach the office of the Powhatan Commissioner of the Revenue by phone at 804.598.5616.

Upcoming Democratic primaries: June 8, 2021
It’s hard to believe, but early voting for the 2021 Virginia Democratic primaries begins tomorrow, and the final primary election day is June 8, 2021. As we have seen again and again in close races across the country and throughout the Commonwealth, every vote matters. We want to make sure you know how and when to cast your ballot to choose candidates for the general statewide elections in November.

The deadline to register to vote in the primaries or to update an existing registration is Monday, May 17. Be sure to check your voter registration and make sure it’s up to date. The first day of in-person absentee voting for Democratic primaries at your local registrar's office is tomorrow, Friday, April 23. You can cast your absentee ballot in person at any point between April 23 and June 8.

Finally, you can find a list of all Democratic candidates running in the primaries here. We encourage you to do your own research on each candidate as you make your informed decisions.

I endorse the following candidates, who I believe will best represent Virginians and create a Commonwealth that works for all of us. We will be sharing more information about why I support these incredible candidates as we get closer to Election Day, as well as how you can support them.

Statewide Candidates

• Governor: Jennifer McClellan
• Lt. Governor: Sam Rasoul
• Attorney General: Mark Herring (running for reelection)

Candidates running within Senatorial District 10

• 27th House District: Debra Gardner
• 69th House District: Betsy Carr (running for reelection)
• 68th House District: Dawn Adams (running for reelection)
• Richmond City Commonwealth’s Attorney: Colette McEachin (running for reelection)

Note: Candidates running for statewide office on the GOP ticket will be nominated through a party convention rather than through the primary process. The Call to Convention has been distributed by the party.

Contacting our office
As always, if you need assistance, or if you want to schedule a Zoom or phone call with our team, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office. Email is the best way to contact us. We can be reached at [email protected].

— Ghazala Hashmi