Susan Platt announced her candidacy for the Democratic Party’s nomination for lieutenant governor of Virginia Tuesday. Platt has served as a political and business authority in the state, as well as the former chief of staff to Joe Biden when he was a U.S. Senator from Delaware.
Platt has served on the Virginia Tourism Corporation Board, NARAL Virginia and the Bipartisan Election Process Improvement Commission for Fairfax County. During her time on the Fairfax County commission, Platt worked to train more poll workers and create a phone line for addressing polling problems.
“After the [2012] presidential election where there were long lines and machines breaking down, so it was a commision put together to see how can we effectively and securely create a new process,” Platt said of her role in the Bipartisan Election Process Improvement Commission. “We came up with a few solutions to mitigate as many problems as we could.”
Platt has also created statewide organizations Farm Team and EmergeVA to help the advancement of women in government. For a few years following her creation of these organizations, Platt took a break from public service to take care of her family, but was inspired to return to the political arena by Hillary Clinton’s loss in the presidential election.
“I traveled all across the state to help organize forums and classes to help teach women to be better public speakers, to be more confident on the issues, and simply how to be more effective citizens,” Platt said. “And then Nov. 8 came along and I decided it was time to take my own advice, lead by example and enter the race. There have been 40 lieutenant governors in Virginia. Six Johns, four Jameses, two Roberts and one L. Douglas. No Marys, Louises, or Susans and I intend to be the first Susan.”
Although the Lt. Governor position has little opportunity to exert official agendas through their office, Platt said she would like to provide more opportunities throughout the commonwealth.
“[As Lt. Governor] you can put forth some ideas … such as working at the local level in conjunction with the state to help close the opportunity gap and create a better opportunity platform,” she said.
Platt enters an already crowded nomination race, with former federal attorneys Gene Rossi and Justin Fairfax also vying for the position.
University Democrats does not plan to make an official endorsement for the lieutenant governor position until the fall 2017 semester, after the primary election concludes in June. University Democrats Communications Coordinator Virginia Chambers, a first-year College student, said the organization is glad to see more Democrats running.
“We are always happy to see many people running, we really love that the Democratic Party is so energetic, especially in Virginia,” Chambers said. “We really appreciate that everyone has their own ideas that they bring to the table, and it’s nice to see everyone so invested in Virginia politics, especially for the lieutenant governor position which can be overlooked.”
Platt intends to visit many college campuses during her campaign to hear ideas and concerns from students, which she believes is a way to create more effective policies.
“I think some politicians talk too much and don’t listen enough,” Platt said. “It’s time for us to sit down with you and hear your views to say how do we form a framework to pass legislation that will be more beneficial for you to be a success in life.”
In the Republican primary, state senators Bryce Reeves (Spotsylvania) and Jill Vogel (Fauquier), as well as Del. Glenn Davis (Virginia Beach) are seeking their party’s nomination for lieutenant governor.
The primaries are scheduled for June 13.
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