Elizabeth Bennett-Parker

Democrat

About

Meet Elizabeth

Born in Alexandria to two Naval officers, Elizabeth is dedicated to serving her community. As the fifth member of the House of Delegates to give birth while in office (in its then 405-year history), she is deeply committed to supporting children and families, championing causes like accessible childcare, school meals for all, and affordable housing. In her two terms in the House of Delegates, she has led on disability and voting rights, passing a proposed constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights after incarceration and strengthening voting rights protections for individuals with disabilities. Elizabeth has also passed bills to better protect survivors of domestic violence and stalking, enact common-sense gun safety policies, and improve access to participation in government through virtual meetings and remote participation. She serves in leadership on the House Finance and Counties, Cities & Towns Committees and is also a member of the General Laws Committee. In her first term, she passed the most bills of any Democratic freshman and has consistently ranked at the top of legislators for her percentage of bills passed. Elizabeth has also been named a Legislative Champion by the Virginia Education Association, received a 100% score from the Virginia Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters, and earned an A+ from ReproRising (formerly NARAL Virginia). She previously served as the Vice Mayor of Alexandria and as the Chair of the Operation Board of the Virginia Railway Express. She was selected as one of Alexandria's 40 under 40 in 2017. She has served on Alexandria's Community Criminal Justice Board and the Commission on Employment, as well as the boards of the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, Agenda:Alexandria, and the United Way Regional Council for Alexandria. She is a graduate of Emerge Virginia and the Alexandria City Academy. Elizabeth is a former co-leader of Together We Bake, a non-profit job training and personal development program for underserved women. She also understands the pressures of being a small business owner. She founded Fruitcycle, a social enterprise fighting the tragic paradox that, while one in six Americans experience food-insecurity on a daily basis, 40% of our food is thrown into landfills. Elizabeth served as a Fulbright Fellow, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University, and earned a Master's from the University of London. She and her husband live in Alexandria with their toddler, and their rescue dog and cat.

Positions

Immigration Enforcement

Elizabeth has been heartbroken and livid over the recent killings of Alex Pretti and Renée Nicole Good in Minnesota by federal immigration enforcement agents, incidents that, along with images of young children detained by ICE and numerous deaths in ICE custody nationwide, highlight deeply troubling practices and a lack of accountability in federal immigration enforcement. She supports legislation to protect Virginia communities by banning 287(g) agreements and terminating existing ones, restricting immigration enforcement in sensitive spaces like schools, hospitals, and Commonwealth's Attorney offices, and prohibiting state and local law-enforcement from assisting or cooperating with ICE without a judicial warrant. Her priorities also include ensuring that no child in Virginia is denied access to a free K-12 public education because of actual or perceived immigration or citizenship status. Virginia residents deserve to live without fear of unaccountable violence, to have due process safeguarded, and to be part of communities that respect human dignity and recognize the vital contributions of immigrants.

Supporting Current and Former Federal Workers

Elizabeth is committed to helping Virginia communities respond to federal workforce reductions and budget decisions that have had devastating local impacts. Hundreds of thousands of Virginians rely on federal jobs or federal programs, and recent federal cuts have put more than 600,000 residents at risk of losing access to health care and food assistance. She supports using state revenues to backfill harmful federal cuts and stabilize critical services, including efforts to lower health insurance premiums that have surged following the failure to extend enhanced premium tax credits. Elizabeth believes we must strengthen Virginia's unemployment system so it actually supports workers during periods of job loss. Currently, unemployment benefits in Virginia replace only about 30 percent of the average weekly wage. Delegate Bennett-Parker chairs a workgroup advancing legislation to raise that benefit to 50 percent and to automatically adjust benefits each year so they keep pace with inflation. She also serves on the Commission on Unemployment Compensation, where she has worked to make the system easier to navigate so workers are not left waiting weeks for benefits while falling behind on rent and other essentials. She also supports expanding workforce development programs like NOVA Next and the Talent Capital Initiative and investing in economic development and job growth to strengthen Virginia's economy, support families, and protect communities during times of federal uncertainty.

Paid Leave

55 percent of working adults in Virginia are not eligible for even unpaid leave to care for themselves or a loved one. These policies disproportionately affect people of color, especially women. Elizabeth believes every worker deserves paid family and medical leave to care for themselves, a loved one, or a new family member. As Delegate, Elizabeth has co-patroned legislation to establish a state-run paid family and medical leave program and to require health care providers and grocery stores to provide paid sick leave.

Tax Justice

Elizabeth is working to ensure that big corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share. She passed a bill to sunset a tax credit for multimillionaires; this law will return around $5 million annually to the Commonwealth for better uses. She has also co-patroned legislation to create a higher tax bracket for the ultra-wealthy, as billionaires currently pay the same income tax rate as someone earning $17,001. She was also the chief co-patron on legislation to create a refundable state child tax credit and a co-patron on legislation to make the earned income tax credit for low-income taxpayers fully refundable.