Political Quotes

“I will start by thanking my colleagues, especially Senator Murray, for organizing this effort and also for her life of being a passionate advocate for kids, especially as an early childhood educator. And I will start in another way that is a little nontraditional and just be a proud dad. I have three adult children, and I am proud of them all for different reasons. But my middle son, I am proud of him because he is my only Phi Beta Kappa, and he also is an early childhood educator. He decided that working as a childcare provider is what he wants to do, and he has worked in both pre-K classroom settings and also individually for families. I know how little he makes, 10 years out of college. I know how he loves to find some extra hours where he can make a little bit more. I was excited that he was excited, a few years ago, when he told me that he had picked up extra hours shoveling snow at the pre-K classroom. Because he lives in Minnesota, there is a lot of snow to be shoveled. So on nights or on weekends when there is snow, he is going to make a little bit more by being the snow shoveler, so that kids, parents, and teachers can come safely to school that day. The stories that I hear traveling around Virginia are the same that my colleagues have shared, but I just want to share two, one from a parent and one from a provider. Heather is in Fairfax City, in the most populous part of Virginia.…”