Asked about her chances at winning a general election in a blue-leaning district in the Trump era, Fenty isn’t scared. The Republican nominee will be chosen by primary on June 12. Presently, Fenty will have to win out against two others for the Republican nomination: Chesapeake’s David Leon and Charles City County’s Ryan McAdams. ![]() And that’s the label we should rally under.” “But at the end of the day, we are all Americans. It’s important to identify what culture we come from, because every culture brings something amazing to the table,” she says. “You need to represent the entire district, not just one group there.”įenty, however, says her ethnic background is important, but she generally eschews labels. “There’s not only black people in the district,” says Fenty, who is African American. “I feel like he knows he’s in a Democratic district.”įenty says McEachin is not representative of the 4th, and that her family’s diverse background makes her a better fit: she has an Asian aunt, a great-grandmother from Portugal and a boyfriend and sister-in-law who are white. “I feel like he’s comfortable,” Fenty says. Of McEachin, who previously served in the Virginia House of Delegates and won 57.7 percent of the district in 2016, Fenty is critical of his voting against school choice and the tax plan passed by Congress in December. “The main reason that I voted for him was he is a businessperson and knew the economy would grow with him.” I voted for him for the economy,” she says. The path to citizenship should be a lot easier,” including for illegal immigrants, Fenty says.Īsked how her vote for Trump squared with her views on immigration, Fenty says it wasn’t the issue she was considering during the vote. “There needs to be a real immigration program. Immigration is another key issue for Fenty, who says current policies are problematic and expensive for those trying to obtain citizenship. “Are kids the priority, or are these unions a priority?” “I just realized that without me running and without my voice, nothing would change for a very, very long time,” Fenty says. She also advocates for school choice, saying it’s the best option for children living in the inner city. She says business owners face too much red tape, and that the federal government should provide more funding for reading programs, teacher trainings and afterschool programs. Owning a business and volunteering have informed the political issues Fenty prioritizes. She also volunteers as a mentor for socioeconomically disadvantaged young people. Today, she’s an administrative assistant for an independent claims company, Capstone ISG, and runs her own company, Fenty By Fenty, which specializes in custom suits and evening wear. “No matter where I am economically,” she says, “my kids are going to work at McDonald’s.”Īfter graduating from Monacan High in 1999, Fenty worked while attending John Tyler Community College and Strayer University to work toward her bachelor’s degree, which she’s two classes away from completing. Fenty says the lessons of entrepreneurship and hard work she learned through working there were formative. She began working at the McDonald’s at Route 60 and Woolridge Road when she was just 14 to help support her family. In taking on an established lawyer with a career in politics that goes back to 1995, Fenty believes she can represent the district – which includes parts of central Virginia and Hampton Roads – better than McEachin can.Īn administrative assistant and fashion designer, Fenty moved to Chesterfield at the age of 8. She voted for Trump, opposes the Affordable Care Act and believes the free market is the best way to achieve economic opportunity, stating, “That’s the only way that an individual can reach financial independence.”įenty announced in December that she would seek to run as a Republican in the 4th Congressional District against incumbent U.S. The 37-year-old Republican says she’s a solid believer in her party’s platform. ![]() “Don’t assume that you know who I am, or my politics,” she says. ![]() Born in Brooklyn and raised by a single mother who immigrated from the South American country Guyana, Shion Fenty knows her political beliefs can surprise people.
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