On the Issues

Ensuring Quality Public Education for Every Child in Virginia.

Every child in Virginia deserves access to a quality education. This is personal for Phil, not only as a parent but as a product of Virginia’s public schools, which gave him the foundation to become the first in his family to graduate from college.

As Delegate, Phil will support:

• Fully funding the Virginia Board of Education’s Standards of Quality, which reflect what is necessary to meet Virginia’s constitutional duty to provide all kids a quality education, regardless of zip code
• Increasing pay for teachers and support staff, both to help attract and retain talent
• Fighting against efforts to divert taxpayer dollars away from Norfolk’s public schools
• Expanding Virginia’s “at-risk add-on” program that delivers additional resources to high-poverty school divisions
• Prioritizing the health and safety of educators and students in our classrooms.

Protecting Our Environment and Accelerating a Clean Energy Future.

In Norfolk, the environment is deeply connected to the regional identity, local economy, and way of life. While the region faces challenges due to a changing climate, the district also has a clear opportunity to emerge as a national leader on coastal resiliency and clean energy. To this effort, Phil brings his experience serving in President Obama’s White House Office of Energy & Climate Change.

As Delegate, Phil will support:

• Building on the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which is accelerating the transition to sustainable sources of energy and propelling a fast-growing clean energy sector in Hampton Roads
• Protecting the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which is providing millions in new funding to support energy efficiency upgrades in homes and deploy cutting-edge coastal resiliency projects in our communities.
• Increasing funding for conservation, protecting the Chesapeake Bay and local waterways, and advancing environmental justice.
• Prohibiting public utilities from making political donations.

Expanding Access to Quality, Affordable Health Care.

All Virginians deserve access to quality, affordable health care. While expanding Medicaid was a critical step forward, more work remains to expand coverage, lower costs, and protect consumers, particularly in the wake of a global pandemic.

As Delegate, Phil will support:

• Establishing a paid family medical leave program that allows more Virginians to take time off from work to recover from a serious illness or care for a loved one without fear of losing their job or their financial security.
• Expanding affordable and comprehensive coverage to more Virginians, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and safeguarding consumers from “skinny” plans that can leave families with large medical bills because of major gaps in coverage.
• Improving access to mental health care, including by investing in community-based care, raising pay to address staffing shortages, and supporting the implementation of the Marcus Alert system to improve outcomes in response to mental health emergencies.
• Protecting access to reproductive health care in Virginia.

Creating an Economy that Helps Families and The Community Thrive.

When individuals and families thrive, communities thrive. With the right policies in place, Norfolk can become an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.

As Delegate, Phil will support:

• Strengthening Virginia’s minimum wage law, empowering more workers to engage in collective bargaining for better wages and working conditions, and advancing policies to bring high-quality jobs to Norfolk.
• Reforming Virginia’s upside-down tax code, making child care more affordable, and providing targeted tax relief to working families.
• Advancing occupational licensing reforms that open doors of opportunities for more Virginians, including for military spouses.
• Efforts to reduce gun violence in Hampton Roads and keep our communities safe.

Building a More Just and Inclusive Virginia.

The Norfolk community has a history of standing up for civil rights. The work continues today to make sure that all of us, regardless of who we are or where we come from, have the opportunity to thrive. Hernandez will draw on his experience working as a civil rights attorney to keep Virginia moving forward.

As Delegate, Phil will support:

• Protecting the fundamental right to vote and standing up against any efforts that create barriers to the ballot box.
• Creating a more inclusive commonwealth, including strong non-discrimination laws and policies that protect the rights of people with disabilities.
• Reforming our criminal justice system, including repealing laws that punish poverty, and supporting policies that promote rehabilitation, from expungement reform to the automatic restoration of voting rights.
• Advancing Virginia laws that make our commonwealth a leader in protecting LGBTQ+ rights, and preventing any attempts to roll back provisions of the Virginia Values Act.