This Sunday afternoon, State Senator Adam Ebbin (D-30), the Pride Fund to End Gun Violence, LGBT Democrats and Arlington Democrats will come together to discuss how Democrats in Manassas Park, VA can engage with the LGBTQ+ community. This is a timely topic, as Danica Roem, the Democratic candidate, is set to compete for the 30th district state Senate seat in November. The newly redesigned district includes Manassas, Manassas Park and a swath of western Prince William County that includes Gainesville, Haymarket and the Linton Hall corridor. Roem is hoping to use her name recognition to get more voters to hear her ideas on reducing traffic, creating more jobs at the Manassas Innovation Technology Park and incorporating sexual orientation and gender identity into school policies against discrimination.
In a statement following Roem's victory on Tuesday, Marshall intentionally referred to his Democratic opponent as “he”, highlighting his skepticism and that of other social conservatives regarding people who identify as transgender. Roem has pointed out that Marshall has done little to help facilitate backups along Route 28, a main road that leads to new residential developments and strip malls in Manassas and Bristow, instead focusing on his conservative social agenda. Prince William County officials released a proposed bypass route earlier this year that would require occupying about 58 homes on Alleghany Road, Albemarle Road, Boundary Avenue and Jacobs Lane, all in the Loch Lomond area of Manassas. Quentin Kidd, director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University, said Democratic voters may have set a “too stark contrast” with Marshall by choosing Roem over three other candidates in Tuesday's primary. He said he hopes that in this year in which Virginia Democrats hope to use a wave against Trump to reduce the overwhelming majority of the Republican Party in the state legislature, political analysts say Roem could triumph against Marshall.
