Latest news with #Felder
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Former state delegate, political newcomer square off in District 97 GOP primary
VIRGINIA BEACH — A former state delegate will square off with a political newcomer in the Republican primary for Virginia House District 97. The candidates are Tim Anderson, 50, an attorney, and Christina Felder, 28, a substitute school teacher. The seat is considered competitive. Republicans lost control of it to Democrat Michael Feggans in 2023 and are hoping to oust him to win it back. Anderson, an attorney who represented House District 83 from 2021-2023 and later ran unsuccessfully for a Virginia Senate seat, is making a bid for District 97 in an effort to flip the Democratic-controlled majority in the House. 'This seat by far is the absolutely No. 1 flippable seat in the commonwealth of Virginia,' Anderson said. 'The district is really 50/50.' Anderson wants to substantially lower the car tax that residents pay each year, and instead use Virginia's budget surplus to reimburse localities for the lost revenue. 'Basically reallocating Virginia's budget surplus to give people meaningful tax relief,' he said. He's banking on his prior experience in the state legislature and his communication skills to propel him through the primary. Anderson enjoys using social media to dissect and summarize current issues, an effort he began during the pandemic. 'I'm going to like getting back in there and being in the center of what's happening and letting people know what's going on with their government from the inside,' he said. Felder is fired up about running for state office for the first time. Last year, she ran for Virginia Beach City Council in District 3 and faced two opponents including incumbent Michael Berlucchi who held onto his seat. 'I was new, fresh, didn't really know the ropes,' she said. 757 Votes: The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press 2025 primary election guide House District 97 Republican primary: Tim Anderson faces Christina Felder Felder worked with a charitable group that helped young mothers in need and that led her to run for state office where she feels she could make a significant impact on people's lives by sponsoring bills, she said. 'I definitely want to help my community,' Felder said. 'I take it very seriously.' She has a 1-year-old child and has been a teacher in Virginia Beach Public Schools for several years. Felder is currently a substitute teacher in Virginia Beach. If elected, she would work to improve education and oppose vape shops near schools, she said. Anderson has moved to different districts in order to run for office. He moved last August near Lynnhaven Mall to run for the District 97 seat. Anderson was elected in 2021 to represent House District 83, a competitive seat that at the time covered western Virginia Beach and a sliver of Norfolk's Ocean View. He resigned in 2023 and moved because redistricting placed him in the same boundary lines as Republican Del. Rob Bloxom. But he was unsuccessful in a primary bid for Virginia Senate District 19 against fellow Republican Christie New Craig, who now holds the seat. Felder officially joined the Republican Party earlier this year. She lags far behind Anderson in campaign fundraising, with $1,152 for the first quarter of this year, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Anderson's campaign has $112,192 for the first quarter of 2025, according to VPAP. His top donor is Jeff Bruzessi, owner of the Closet Factory Hampton Roads. Bruzessi, who also ran in the 2023 Senate District 19 Republican primary, has donated $71,000 to Anderson's campaign as of March 31. Other donors to Anderson include developer Bruce Thompson, $5,000, and former Gov. Bob McDonnell, $1,000. Anderson plans to use those resources to ramp up a campaign crusade against Feggans' platforms if he wins the primary. The district includes parts of Virginia Beach and has 63,024 registered voters. Feggans ousted Republican incumbent Karen Greenhalgh with 52% of the vote in 2023. Early voting is underway leading up to the election June 17. Anderson earned his law degree from Regent University. He's a father of two sons and a recreational pilot. He often flies his Cessna for work, representing cases across Virginia. 'That's probably my happy place,' Anderson said of flying. Felder has faced questions from Anderson and others about her credentials and public statements she's made. She became defensive in explaining her affiliation with the Republican party and her personal background at the local party's city committee meeting last month, as seen on a video of the event. Felder said she's not afraid to admit she's an impassioned person. 'It shows I care,' she said. In a recording obtained by The Virginian-Pilot of a Republican breakfast forum in April, Felder stated she voted for President Barack Obama when she was 18, but Obama last ran in 2012, and Felder would have been 15 years old. The Pilot confirmed she has embellished some personal details on her campaign website, where she states that she attended Ivy League colleges and was 'the youngest homeowner in Virginia Beach in 2020.' Felder clarified those statements in an interview last week, explaining that she 'never left Virginia Beach,' and earned degrees and certifications online only including undergraduate degrees from Tidewater Community College and Old Dominion University, post-graduate degrees from Liberty University, and certifications from Yale and Oxford universities. The Pilot is in the process of verifying her degrees with the schools. As for the statement about being the youngest homeowner in 2020, Felder said her realtor at the time told her he had never worked with someone as young as her. 'I was just so happy,' she said. Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125,
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SC EOC wants to add a new system to help students be career-ready by graduation
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – This week in Columbia, the Education Oversight Committee (EOC) voted on a major update to South Carolina's education system; it's what they call the 'South Carolina Tiered Credential System.' This new initiative is designed to make students more career-ready by the time they graduate, giving them the skills and required credentials to step straight into the workforce. Basically, it's a free certificate system that is meant to ensure employers that students are prepared and ready for the workforce. 'They'll be able to really hit the ground running, as we like to say. They'll be ready to go and ready to work in these industries in South Carolina,' said Tenell Felder, who runs Communications for the EOC. The system is broken down into three tiers: Covers basic, industry-specific skills Includes credentials that boost employability Features credentials required for high-wage and high-demand careers 'It's just a nice start that gives you a heads up over other people that might be applying for a job…. If you're needing to work your way through college, it's great to have this because you're going to be able to get into a higher wage job and help pay your way through college if that's what you want to,' said Senator Ross Turner (R – Greenville). Turner, who is a member of the EOC, and Felder agree that this program would also be great for students who do not know exactly what they want to do yet. 'That might give you the opportunity to explore a little bit, to decide, especially with the tiered system, you know, you're not going straight into the, the certifications that you need for a specific industry. You can kind of explore a little bit,' Felder added They say it can also help students learn essential life skills. 'Being explained to you that you got to show up on time, you got to work hard, you've got to be participating, and there's going to be change, and you've got to accept change. Those kinds of skills are going to be good. Whatever they end up doing, even if they don't want to get into something industry specific,' said Turner. Turner said The State Department of Education, Department of Employment and Workforce, and the Southern Regional Education Board have worked with the Education Oversight Committee to develop this system. The Committee is expected to meet again in June. If the updated system is officially approved, it will go into effect in August. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Candidate Profile: Christina Miriam Felder (House District 97 Republican Primary)
Christina Miriam Felder is a candidate for House District 97 and is running as a Republican. Her name will appear on the June 17, 2025 ballot. Felder is running against challenger in the June primary. The winner will appear on the ballot for the General Election on Nov. 4. If you are voting in this election, from May 2 through June 14 you can vote early at your On Election Day, polls in Virginia are open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. Don't forget to bring your ID. to see who is on your ballot. 10 On Your Side reached out to all of the candidates running in this race, with a request for a bio and a list of questions to answer. If you do not see the candidate listed with a profile, we did not receive one. Candidate Profiles Name: Christina Miriam FelderAge: 28Website: Educator, Mother, CEO, Fresh Voice, New Leader. Christina Miriam Felder was raised in the District 3/District 97 community of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and has lived there for over 27 years. For the past 10 years, Felder has worked as an educator at all levels, K-12 and higher ed., within the field of education. Felder has become the 1st Afro-Latina Republican woman of color politician in the United States as of 2024 and continues to be the 1st Afro-Latina Republican woman of color politician for the state of Virginia. Born to an African American Father and Puerto Rican Mother, to a bright student achieving the highest of degrees while attending one of the top schools in the state of Virginia at the time, and IVY League colleges within and outside of the United States at only 25 years old and at 28 years old. To becoming an educator, public figure, Virginia local/state political leader, and Mother to her beautiful daughter, Amerie. Felder was also the youngest homeowner in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 2020 at just twenty-three years old, with over one million views on Facebook that year. Felder has experienced many events in a short time and has traveled worldwide. Now, at twenty-eight years old, Felder has seen it all, dealt with it all, and takes no nonsense. Felder is a strong Republican and Christian woman who is committed to helping her community thrive even further. Felder officially became a member of the Republican Party as of January 2025. She made history in 2024 as the first Afro-Latina woman of color to run as a Republican for her District 3 local election in Virginia Beach, Virginia, at the age of twenty-seven. Felder is making history again as the first Afro-Latina woman of color to run as a Republican for the District 97 House of Delegates seat in the state election of Virginia in 2025 at the age of twenty-eight. Additionally, Felder made history by becoming the first Afro-Latina woman of color and the youngest founder and president of the first Republican Women's Chapter of the Virginia Beach District 97 community as of April 2025. Felder is now wanting to give back her time to her home of District 3/District 97 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and be that fresh voice, new leader for her community. Felder has been and continues to be an inspiring role model for her community. Helping others is her passion in life. This is my home, this is were I grew up. I am now raising my own daughter here. I've experienced all my 1st here. I never left. It wasn't until the year of 2021, the year I would say, that our amazing District 97 had become something so dramatically different. The massive changes brought upon us by the democratic administration, those next two years would feel like hell in the streets on District 97. I seen my community becoming a smoke world environment. They started putting up smoke shops on every corner in District 97. I said 'what is going on here'! Our youth was declining at rapid speed, as well as our adults/seniors. District 97 schools now rate on Google a 3/10, we used to be 10/10 back in 2020, I couldn't believe a 3/10 score. Don't even get me started on the crime skyrocketing to levels that Virginia Beach has never seen before. Including myself, I was also a victim of a crime back in 2023 at my own home, myself and my daughter at the time 8 months old were attacked by four strangely obsessed criminals. I was brutally beaten to death in the head and had to be rushed to the hospital. On top of that, I also seen in the courts, how the new 'Democratic Laws' helped for my criminals to basically walk away FREE, with no charges at all. I am still to this day being stalked/harassed by these criminals and had to now file to be heard in a higher court, because the lower courts don't want to deal with repeated issues. It takes years for our citizens to get justice within our community now, due to democratic leadership. This is not the Virginia Beach I knew and grew up in. We as citizens pay our taxes and want things to get done correctly. My fellow community members couldn't believe how much changes the democrats rapidly had done. So, now I am here and this will 'END NOW'! District 97 will no longer be deteriorating anymore. We will be stronger again and thrive again for generations to come. Again, this is my home, I grew up here, I live through every event that happens in my community. I am the eyes and ears of my community. I am a proud product of what Virginia Beach City Public Schools District 97 Alum can become in life. I have shown my community time and time again how advanced I have become and how ready I am to serve my community of District 97. District 97 'MADE ME'! Now I am to give back my time to help my community and I feel that I have a duty to fulfill at this time. I know that God has set this time here and now is the time for me to fix my community from top to bottom. I have learned and observed and it's my time. I am ready to serve in this leadership role for my home of District 97 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I am well overly qualified! I would like to first start on bills regarding guns, taxes, and crime. That is what I want to focus on day 1. That is why there is a campaign finance report for the general public to see this information. All office leaders and candidates should be utilizing their campaign finance reports to document everything when it comes to finances. I am a Republican, but I am also to lead the community of District 97. When it comes to voting, I will vote in the best interest of my district/community citizens. The people come first in all my decision making. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats win New York state Senate race in Trump-friendly district
Democrat Sam Sutton has won a special election for a New York state Senate seat, repelling Republican efforts to flip the conservative-leaning district, Decision Desk HQ has projected. Sutton, a businessman who has led a nonprofit for years, defeated Republican Nachman Caller, an attorney who previously ran for state Assembly a decade ago. His win keeps the seat in Democratic hands after the resignation of former state Sen. Simcha Felder, who resigned from his position last month to take a seat on the New York City Council. The result seemed uncertain as Felder is a conservative Democrat who previously caucused with the state GOP conference for years. Felder repeatedly ran unopposed on the party line for the Democratic and Republican parties. State Senate District 22 encompasses a part of Brooklyn that overwhelmingly voted for President Trump in the November presidential election. But the district includes a heavily Orthodox Jewish area. Sutton has close ties to the Sephardic community as a co-leader of the Sephardic Community Federation. Sutton's main policy priorities include promoting 'community-based approaches' to public safety, increasing school funding and advancing clean energy initiatives. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Democrats win New York state Senate race in Trump-friendly district
Democrat Sam Sutton has won a special election for a New York state Senate seat, repelling Republican efforts to flip the conservative-leaning district, Decision Desk HQ has projected. Sutton, a businessman who has led a nonprofit for years, defeated Republican Nachman Caller, an attorney who previously ran for state Assembly a decade ago. His win keeps the seat in Democratic hands after the resignation of former state Sen. Simcha Felder, who resigned from his position last month to take a seat on the New York City Council. The result seemed uncertain as Felder is a conservative Democrat who previously caucused with the state GOP conference for years. Felder repeatedly ran unopposed on the party line for the Democratic and Republican parties. State Senate District 22 encompasses a part of Brooklyn that overwhelmingly voted for President Trump in the November presidential election. But the district includes a heavily Orthodox Jewish area. Sutton has close ties to the Sephardic community as a co-leader of the Sephardic Community Federation. Sutton's main policy priorities include promoting 'community-based approaches' to public safety, increasing school funding and advancing clean energy initiatives.
