Making child care more affordable is "going to lift all the boats."
Del.-elect Jessica Anderson (D–Williamsburg) says personal experience taught her that the political system isn't built to help everyone. The thought helped drive her run for Virginia House District 71 — and eventually unseat a Republican leader.
Anderson has been a front office employee at a Williamsburg-James City County public elementary school for eight years. She lives in the district with her husband, who she met through a running community, and their five children. The district Anderson will represent includes the City of WIlliamsburg, a majority of James City County and eastern parts of New Kent County.
She defeated incumbent House GOP Caucus Chair Amanda Batten, who has served in the chamber since 2020, by nearly 3,000 votes last November in what was expected to be competitive rematch of a razor-thin 2023 race that Anderson lost by just over 660 votes.
VPM News Reporter Dean Mirshahi recently spoke with Anderson just outside of Colonial Williamsburg, as part of a series of interviews conducted with the newest members of Virginia's House of Delegates, elected in November of 2025. (Links to interviews with the other delegates can be found at the bottom of this story.)
Anderson talked about hopes to ease people's fears over the cost of living, how she thinks Virginia can expand education access and building relationships in her district.
This interview has been lightly edited for style and clarity.
Dean Mirshahi: Can you start by telling us about yourself and how you became a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates?
Jessica Anderson: I ran for the 71st District, which is all of the city of Williamsburg, a majority of James City County and the eastern side of New Kent. I am a lifelong Virginian. I grew up next door in Newport News, but I've resided in this district for 25 years now — first in New Kent, then after a divorce, I migrated my way to Williamsburg and James City County. I've been here ever since.
I got divorced in 2014 and had to, for the first time in my life, navigate social safety nets — namely Medicaid and SNAP — with my three young daughters. It was an eye-opening experience, and it taught me that the system is not really built to help everybody. When I returned to work, I lost my benefits in exchange for a $5,000 pay raise of taxable income. I lost $7,000 a year in EBT food benefits.
I was very fortunate to have a support system nearby, but I know that's not the case for a lot of people. That was my introduction to public policy and how it doesn't work.
Fast-forward — I met and married my now-husband, and then ended up getting a job in the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools system and I've been working in the front office at a public elementary school for eight years. I've had the opportunity to see behind the curtain. I was seeing the disparities in the city. I was seeing the lack of resources for educators and staff, the low rate of pay, and watching them battle every year to get pay raises. This is all policy-driven.
I got very close with our local Democratic committee, and in 2022, I said, "Hey, I want to run for something." And they were like, "What are your passions?" I spoke about education and reproductive access and health care costs. And they're like, "Oh, sounds like you should be running for the state House." So, I signed up immediately and ran in 2023.
I came super close, missing it by just over 600 votes, and I knew right away I was ready to do it again.
What did you learn during your campaign about what people in this district want from their delegate, and how do you plan on delivering it for them?
The top issue was always affordability. People are worried about the cost of living. People are worried about rising health care costs. People are worried about if they will be able to refinance their house to accommodate some of the other costs that are coming down the pipeline.
There are a lot of people in this area — particularly retirees who are not quite 65, so they're not at that Medicare threshold — that are dependent on things like the Affordable Care Act, which is seeing spikes in costs. They're dependent on Medicaid. They're dependent on disability.
There's a lot of fear right now around unknowns because of a bill that's been passed at the federal level that's going to have huge implications in Virginia.
You've also talked about advocating for smaller classroom sizes and making sure 3- and 4-year-olds have pre-K access. Why education, and what steps do you think the legislature can take to ensure those changes happen?
It comes down to funding education on so many different levels — not only making sure we're paying livable and competitive salaries; school infrastructure needs are also very relevant.
I'm very fortunate. I live in a district that is investing in early childhood education. We actually have two early childhood buildings being built that are going to be ready to open for the 2027–28 school year. That's going to free up space in our buildings and give us the potential for smaller classroom sizes and some redistricting opportunities.
Expanding early childhood education and making it part of the K–12 funding formula is not new to the General Assembly. This is something that's been in conversation for the last couple sessions and has been introduced. They've been making little, incremental steps to moving closer to that. I think that's going to continue to be a path.
I think people realize that if you're having to worry about the cost of child care so you can go back to the workforce and be able to pay your bills, it is going to keep you from going back into the workforce. We're talking about affecting the workforce collectively, and that's an economic concern. I think talking about these issues —protecting, funding and expanding access to education — and making it relevant no matter where you land politically is going to make our communities more robust economically. It's going to benefit us all. We're going to lift all the boats.
The messaging around these issues makes it easier for people to be more on board with the costs behind it. A lot of things are going to be expensive. We're going to have to be really responsible and strategic about these decisions — but they need to be made. Because if we're not taking care of our youngest residents and making sure they have a really great start, we're doing a disservice to our community at large.
How are you going to navigate conversations with people in your district about not getting everything that you may want in your first go-round?
I think I've been very realistic. I've said these are my big goals, but I recognize that I'm only one person out of 100 on the delegate side. Legislation may not be passed in the first session. It may take two or three sessions. That's really how the government works. I've been working to make people more cognizant of that reality.
I do think sometimes people think we are elected and overnight, all of the things we wanted are going to come true. That's just not the way things happen. That's not the way any government works. So, I'll be continuing to message on that reality, but also having the hard conversations with the people that I'm working with in the General Assembly — on the Democratic side and the Republican side. We need to be making sure that Southwest Virginia, which is heavily represented by Republicans, also has incredible access to health care and to a good education.
I'm not only benefiting my backyard, but people that have different ideologies and perspectives than me — we all want the same things for our communities.
In two years, when you look back at your first term what would you consider a success?
I think it's important to get in there and learn the landscape and understand the people that I'm going to be working with, the 99 other delegates that are going to be there with me. I think building relationships leads to good policy being passed.
My other top role that I want to focus on this session and next session are constituent services. I want the people that I'm representing to know that I am always their resource. I am always accessible, and if I don't have the answer, I will find it for you.
Policy making is kind of the glory of this game, but being available and really working hard for constituents directly in the district is something that we don't talk about enough — it's probably one of the most key components of this role.
I am the somebody that you're going to see at the grocery store. I am the somebody you're going to see and be able to come up to me while I'm running on the trails, or having dinner with my family. Please do that. I want people to know that I am someone that you're going to have a seat at the table with — no matter what the issue is, and no matter who you are.
VPM News' interviews with incoming delegates:
Del.-elect Jessica Anderson (HD-71)
Del.-elect Kacey Carnegie (HD-89)
Del.-elect Stacey Carroll (HD-64)
Del.-elect Mitchell Cornett (HD-46)
Del.-elect Lindsey Dougherty (HD-75)
Del.-elect Mark Downey (HD-69)
Del.-elect Elizabeth Guzman (HD-22)
Del.-elect John McAuliff (HD-30)
Del.-elect Leslie Mehta (HD-73)
Del.-elect May Nivar (HD-57)
Del.-elect Virgil Thornton Sr. (HD-86)
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