Del. Eileen Filler-Corn, the first woman to serve as speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, said she will not run for re-election.
Filler-Corn, a Democrat from Fairfax County, also became the first person of the Jewish faith to lead the House. She first won her House seat in 2010, and served as speaker in 2020 and 2021.
“I proudly appointed more women and diverse individuals to leadership positions than in our entire commonwealth’s history, Filler-Corn, 58, said in a statement about her decision.
She said that when she started, 19 women served in the House, and now women make up the majority.
As for my next chapter, there are many exciting options ahead and I look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks and months.
— Eileen Filler-Corn (@EFillerCorn) March 7, 2023
I am eager and energized for the next challenge!
Read my full statement here: https://t.co/3lgJ0Q4wou (6/6) pic.twitter.com/tFGs3WOOHm
“I am proud of the transformative actions we took during my tenure. We invested in public education and transportation, made our communities safer from gun violence, supported working families, expanded reproductive freedom, rooted out discrimination, secured voting rights, protected our environment, and kept Virginia the top state for business in the nation,” she said.
“In just two years, we brought historic change to the commonwealth that followed the will of the people and remains popular today. More importantly, we did this by including diverse voices from across Virginia,” she said.
Her official portrait as House Speaker will be unveiled on March 15. It will be the first in the House of Delegates chamber to feature a woman.
“As I look ahead to my next chapter, it is clear I can have the greatest impact outside of the confines of the House of Delegates,” she said, adding that she would share more in the coming weeks, and that she was “energized for the next challenge.”
According to The Washington Post, Filler-Corn plans to work to get other Democrats elected and may run for the governor’s office in 2025.
The delegate joins other Northern Virginia politicians who will not run for reelection to state office. Sen. Janet Howell, Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, and Dels. Ken Plum and Kathleen Murphy plan to retire.
Feature image courtesy Eileen Filler-Corn/Twitter
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