Schuyler VanValkenburg

Schuyler Thomas VanValkenburg (born 1982) is an American teacher and politician. He won election to the Virginia House of Delegates from the 72nd District, on November 7, 2017, to replace retiring delegate Jimmie Massie.

Schuyler VanValkenburg
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 72nd district
Assumed office
January 18, 2018
Preceded byJimmie Massie
Personal details
Born1982 (age 38–39)
Johnstown, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceRichmond, Virginia
Alma materUniversity of Richmond
Virginia Commonwealth University
ProfessionTeacher
Delegate
CommitteesEducation
Privileges & Elections
School Safety

Having taught at public schools for 12 years, education is one of VanValkenburg's top legislative priorities. VanValkenburg has said he plans to bring more state aid to local school divisions in order to reduce class size, expand support staff and modernize school buildings.[1] In 2019, he was re-elected, beating Republican GayDonna Vandergriff.

Early life

Schuyler VanValkenburg grew up in Johnstown, New York. VanValkenburg attended college at the University of Richmond, and later Virginia Commonwealth University, where he obtained a Master's degree in American History, with a focus on women's history.[2]

Career

VanValkenburg taught at Short Pump Middle School and continues to teach at Glen Allen High School after his election to the House of Delegates, a part-time legislature. A Democrat, he defeated Republican candidate Edward Whitlock III as part of a Democratic wave in Virginia.[2][3]

VanValkenburg has introduced twelve education-related bills since taking office.[4]

Committee assignments
  • Education
  • Privileges & Elections[5]

Legislative issues

Education

VanValkenburg, a public school teacher for 12 years, has stated that investing in education has been one of his top legislative priorities. He aims to bring more state aid to local school divisions in order to reduce class size, expand support staff and modernize school buildings.[1] During his 2017 term as Delegate, VanValkenburg has worked to prevent student debt from causing people to lose their state professional licensure. Other issues that VanValkenburg has focused on include school safety and educational quality and inclusion.[6]

Health care

VanValkenburg supported the Medicaid expansion as part of the Affordable Care Act.[6]

Labor relations

VanValkenburg opposes the use of covenants not to compete (also known as non-compete agreements) in certain cases, such as for relatively low-wage workers or workers who do not have access to sensitive trade secrets, such as sandwich-makers, baristas, or gym trainers. He filed a bill in 2019 which would prohibit employers from enforcing non-compete agreements when no trade secrets were involved. VanValkenburg's bill would apply only to workers whose average weekly earnings were less than the state's average weekly wage.[7]

Civil liberties

In 2019, VanValkenburg announced a bill to reform Virginia's anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) laws. VanValkenburg's proposed bill came after Virginia's anti-SLAPP laws, which were intended to protect people from being intimidated or silenced by frivolous lawsuits) were criticized for being overly lax, allowing plaintiffs such as actor Johnny Depp and California Congressman Devin Nunes to file lawsuits in Virginia that may have been dismissed under California's more stringent laws.[8][9] VanValkenburg's bill, modeled after California's, would allow defendants in defamation cases to file motions to dismiss potentially-frivolous defamation suits earlier in the process. If successful, they would be able to recover attorney fees.[8]

Electoral History
Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 72nd district
Nov 7, 2017[10] General Schuyler VanValkenburg Democratic 16,655 52.71%
Eddie Whitlock Republican 14,869 47.06%
Nov 5, 2019[11] General Schuyler VanValkenburg Democratic 16,345 53.26%
GayDonna Vandergriff Republican 14,312 46.63%

References
  1. Martz, Michael (October 24, 2017). "Education drives debate between VanValkenburg, Whitlock for open House seat in Henrico". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  2. "About Schuyler". Schuyler VanValkenburg for VA's 72nd. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  3. Lappas, Tom (2017-11-07). "Blue crush: Democrats celebrate key Henrico wins". The Henrico Citizen. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  4. "LIS Virginia". Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  5. "Legislator: Schuyler VanValkenburg". www.vpap.org. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  6. Schuyler VanValkenburg profile
  7. Ress, Dave (2019-01-08). "Van Valkenburg: no to non-competes for lower-income workers". The Daily Press. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  8. Juvenal, Justin (2019-12-22). "Nunes, Depp lawsuits in Virginia seen as threats to free speech and press". The Washington post. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  9. Casey, Dan (2019-11-30). "CASEY: Easy path to SLAPP suits under scrutiny by Virginia lawmakers". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  10. "Elections: House of Delegates District 72". www.vpap.org. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  11. "Elections: House of Delegates District 2". www.vpap.org. Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
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