“Traditional American values are progressive values”

So says David Englin, who is running for the Democratic nomination for the the House of Delegates seat in the 45th District. Which just happens to be my district. He's a good guy, and the only candidate that actually came and knocked on our door. He talked to me and my wife at length about a number of issues and really impressed us. So much so that we threw a cookout for him to meet other people in our neighborhood and my wife has become a volunteer for his campaign, knocking on doors in the horrible heat and humidity we've been suffering through. Grassroots is the only way we're going to make a change in this country and David understands that fact. He takes pride in being a Progressive.

As Raising Kaine states, Englin is running as a proud progressive who, nevertheless, describes himself as politically in sync with both Governor Warner and DNC Chair Howard Dean. Englin describes himself as a “fiscally responsible Democrat…concerned with social justice and tolerance” and interested in “promoting fresh new ideas to improve people’s lives.” Englin believes the death penalty should be abolished, that localities “should be able to enact their own reasonable gun safety measures,” and that the so-called “Dillon Rule” (restricting localities from making their own decisions) should be repealed. Englin supports Metrorail to Dulles, exploring “creative new ideas” for solving the region’s transportation mess, and looking to “additional dedicated revenue sources for transportation.” He supports maintaining “the current car tax structure” to avoid “the kinds of financial problems we had before Mark Warner turned things around.” More than anything, Englin says he is running to protect his five-year-old son Caleb’s future “if the Republicans in the House of Delegates have their way.”