Dear John,

I hope everyone had a positive and restful Labor Day weekend. August was not nearly as packed as June or July, mostly because I was focused on returning to the classroom--my 21st year!

I will start with some legislative updates. . .

First, I'll begin with a legislative update on the Rosie’s gaming site in Henrico. As you may recall, during the 2025 Legislative Session, I passed SB 1223. This legislation was originally a bill that would have given the people of Henrico the opportunity to officially weigh in on the establishment of the proposed Rosie’s gaming emporium, slated to open this fall. After it was left in the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee, General Assembly budget conferees agreed to include language in the final state budget bill that would have had the same effect as the original legislation. Unfortunately, Governor Youngkin vetoed this line item budget amendment when it came to his desk. 

In the meantime, Brookland Supervisor Dan Schmitt and I have been working to identify all possible avenues and paths forward to ensuring that Henrico residents have a voice in what happens in our community. On that note, we learned recently that on Monday, September 8th, at 1pm, the Virginia Racing Commission will consider Churchill Downs and Rosie’s application to open the facility with the slot machine type, Historical Racing Terminals. Supervisor Schmitt, other members of the General Assembly delegation along with attorney’s retained by the County, will make the case that their application should be denied. We need your presence there! The meeting is set for 1pm, at the New Kent County Historic Courthouse, School Board Office, Boardroom, located at 12003 New Kent Highway, New Kent, VA 23124. We recognize that this may be inconvenient for some of you, but to the extent that you can participate, we believe it will be impactful. Rosie’s actions demonstrate a clear disregard for the voters and residents of Henrico and undermine our efforts to ensure our local community has a voice in this decision, which will impact them. We said it before and we’ll say again: Thank you for your consistent advocacy throughout this process. We could not have made it this far without your overwhelming support and willingness to act. Please stay involved, spread the word, and encourage others to speak up.

Next is an update on the work the Joint Subcommittee to Study the Consolidation and Scheduling of General Elections. Our goal is to consider all the processes and implications of moving Virginia elections to even-numbered years via discussion and testimony from experts, stakeholders, and members of the public. At the third meeting, on August 20th, we discussed the possible budgetary impacts of consolidating. At the fourth, on September 2nd, the impacts on the administration of elections and potential changes to the state code were covered. The next four meetings will take place after the legislative session in 2026. The meetings, live and recorded, are available for viewing on LIS and on the Senate of Virginia YouTube channel.

On a lighter legislative note, it was a joy to present the Senate Resolution I carried to present Karen Schwartzkopf for being the Richmond Family Magazine editor for 15 years and for being there from the magazine’s start. She helped parents across the Richmond region navigate schools, wellness, local culture, and more!

Last but not least, I want to give a shout out to our talented summer interns: Anna (not pictured), Amber, and Anabelle. They contributed enormously to the work of our office this past summer, and I hope they learned a lot in the process. Emmaline, Rachel, and I appreciate their efforts and help and wish them luck in their coming school year back at college.

Throughout the rest of the month, I enjoyed attending events across the 16th District and beyond!

On August 1st, I was honored to give the keynote speech at the Richmond Debate Institute summer camp, speaking about civic education and public dialogue. I love the work they do to bring debate to kids across the region, including many in Henrico County!

The following week, it was my pleasure to talk with Chris Saxman of Virginia Free about abundance, housing, education, and election reform. Watch the full episode here.

The next week, I enjoyed celebrating the 79th Indian Independence Day with IAVA and the Indian American community at Deep Run High! 🇮🇳🇺🇸

On August 21st, I joined some of my colleagues at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Awards Ceremony. I’m thankful that they named me Senate MVP for my work on trying to build more clean energy in Virginia. If we want to lower energy bills and protect the environment we need to build more solar!

Speaking of which, on the political and campaign front, at the August meeting of the Henrico Democratic Committee, I gave an update on the Trump and Youngkin administrations' attacks on higher education in Virginia, and how we're fighting back. I was happy to see the great turnout. People are fired up to elect Abigail Spanberger, Senator Ghazala Hashmi, and Jay Jones and our House of Delegates candidates!

Later in August, I enjoyed helping to open the Coordinated Campaign office in Western Henrico for May Nivar and the statewide ticket! There was a ton of energy in the air, and it was great to hear from our next Lieutenant Governor, Ghazala Hashmi.

I'll be back after the end of September with another update. In the meantime, my first big fundraiser since I was elected to the Virginia Senate will be on Tuesday, September 16th at 6pm at the Capital Ale House at Innsbrook. I hope you can make it, or make a donation even if you can't! I need to continue to help Democrats in Henrico win and be ready to hit the ground running when my 2027 re-election campaign kicks into gear as my seat will still be considered a battleground seat! 

If you would like to reach out and discuss any of my legislative priorities, share an opinion, or if your organization or community group would like to invite me to an event or to speak, please don't hesitate to reach out at [email protected].

To apply for the 2026 Senate Page program, go here. The completed online application is due by 5pm on Wednesday, October 1st.

For campaign or political inquiries, reach out to [email protected].  

Thanks so much for your support!

Yours in service,

Schuyler VanValkenburg, 16th District

Paid for by VanValkenburg for Virginia

VanValkenburg for Virginia
PO Box 28782
Richmond, VA 23228
United States

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