Patch Q&A: Don Beyer, Candidate, 8th Congressional District Democratic Primary

By Sydney Wu

Patch recently sent questions to each of the candidates running in the Democratic primary for the 8th congressional District. The primary election is June 10. There are currently seven candidates in the Democratic primary race. This is the fifth of the Q&As, with candidate Don Beyer.

1. Patch: What one thing would you hope to accomplish, more than anything, if elected?
Don Beyer: I hope to work to work across party lines to pass a national carbon tax.  This would put a pricetag on greenhouse gas pollutants as a step toward alleviating climate change.

2. Patch: What makes your platform unique from the other candidates?
Don Beyer: The greatest difference between the other candidates and me is my decades of experience in local business, in state government, in working on behalf of gubernatorial and presidential campaigns, and in international matters as an ambassador.  This experience all adds up to a greater ability to quickly be an effective member of Congress and to push forward my agenda of environmental protection, gun safety, women's rights, and economic betterment (including increasing the minimum wage and bringing manufacturing jobs back to Virginia). 

3. Patch: What is the biggest struggle you've ever overcome?
Don Beyer: The long- term mental illness of my oldest child, although this is something our whole family lives with and adapts to, rather than overcomes. It has made each of us more compassionate, more understanding, and more committed to good health care for all. 

4. Patch: What has been your biggest achievement?
Don Beyer: My greatest achievement in public life was being twice elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.

5. Patch: Who is your hero (political or otherwise)?
Don Beyer: It's hard to narrow this to one person, but one of my many heroes is my paternal grandmother. Clara Beyer was the sixth daughter of Danish immigrant farmers who worked her way through Berkeley in 1915, taught economics at Bryn Mawr and Columbia, and spent 50 years in our federal government. She worked at the U.S. Department of Labor, first leading the Children's Bureau, then organizing and leading the Bureau of Labor Standards.  At age 65, Clara signed on with USAID, and spent another 15 years traveling the globe, helping focus our international training efforts on women in developing countries.

6. Patch: What, to you, is one of the most unique qualities about the community of the 8th congressional district?
Don Beyer: The most special thing about this area, which I am reminded of time and again as I campaign, is that it is filled with deeply knowledgeable people who care very much about our government and the trajectory of our country.  No matter what the topic -- Syria, the minimum wage, gun safety, reproductive rights, immigration -- I find people in the 8th who have a professional expertise in the topic.

7. Patch: How would you describe yourself in just three words? 
Don Beyer: Proven, principled, progressive.

8. Patch: What is your definition of success?
Don Beyer: To leave the world a better place than we found it.

Also read:

• Q&A with Patrick Hope
• Q&A with Adam Ebbin
• Q&A with Bill Euille
• Q&A with Lavern Chatman
• Q&A with Mark Levine
• Q&A with Derek Hyra