Charniele Herring, Off and Running

By Josephine Varnier
Capital News Service

RICHMOND - A late start joining the General Assembly didn’t stop Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, from having a successful legislative session.

Herring, 39, who took over the 46th House District seat from Gubernatorial candidate Brian Moran, received unanimous consent to file one bill, and it passed. House Bill 2672 will rename the Department of Minority Business Enterprise as the Department of Supplier Diversity and Procurement Advocacy.
 
The agency will help small businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans and people with disabilities get state contracts. Herring’s measure makes it clear that the owners must be involved in the management and daily operation of the business.

“This will help remove the big boys for more equitable projects for small businesses,” Herring said. Her bill passed the House 92-6 and the Senate 37-1 – giving Herring her first legislative victory.

Herring faced Republican Joe Murray in a special election on Jan. 13 – the eve of the legislative session – after Moran resigned to seek the Democratic nomination for governor. The 46th District includes parts of Alexandria and Fairfax County.

Herring, an attorney and a graduate of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia, won the election by 16 votes. But House Republicans prevented her from taking office until after a recount. Herring was sworn in Jan. 26.
 
Seeing her first bill passed wasn’t the only highlight of Herring’s stay at Capitol Square.
She also was proud of her work on behalf of a proposal to help needy families pay their rent.

Although the proposal failed, it drew attention to the issue. That may pay off, Herring said, as Virginia decides how to spend its share of the federal economic stimulus plan.

“The good thing is that I’m working in the governor’s office for the stimulus budget … so there may be hope. This is one of the biggest accomplishments besides the bill that passed,” Herring said.

During the session that ended Feb. 28, the General Assembly’s main accomplishment was to revise the state’s $77 billion budget. Legislators had to plug a budget shortfall of more than $3 billion. They did that by using the federal stimulus money and by making modest cuts in expenditures.

The assembly avoided cuts to schools, Medicaid and other key services that would have negatively affected the 46th District, Herring said. “Included in the proposed budget was money for a recycling program for Alexandria,” she said. “It will also help funding for our schools, police and public safety … we’re going to be OK for the next two years..”

Virginia is the first state to pass a budget with money provided by the federal stimulus package.  “All eyes are on us to see how we handle it,” Herring said.

All eyes have been on Herring since her squeaker of an election. But she says she was treated fairly throughout the legislative session.

“My bill faced some challenges … I was treated just like everybody else,” Herring laughed.

She is already planning for next year’s session. A priority, Herring said, will be getting insurance companies to cover autism.

“The number of children with autism is increasing,” Herring said. She plans to introduce legislation to require insurers to cover about $20,000 for diagnosis, education and other costs borne by families with children who have autism.

But to carry that bill, Herring must be re-elected in November. Stephen Farnsworth, Virginia politics expert at George Mason University, predicts Herring will win.
 
According to Farnsworth, January’s special election was so close because the voter turnout was so low – under 6 percent.

But in the November election, the ballot will feature the governor’s race as well as the Virginia House election. As a result, Farnsworth estimates that the turnout in Northern Virginia in November will be at least 30 percent. That bodes well for Democrats, he said.

“The natural Democratic inclination of the area will be evident,” Farnsworth said.
 
BIO: CHARNIELE HERRING

Born: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Age: 39

Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from George Mason University; law degree from Catholic University

Occupation: Attorney in private practice, Alexandria