FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

CD8 Delegates Open Letter to The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA)  

 
On the eve of Virginia’s 8th Congressional District Democratic Convention, delegates for multiple presidential 
candidates came together to deliberate on the resolutions package passed by the CD8 Resolutions Committee. 
As stated in a recent Blue Virginia article written by featured author ​Cindy​, “The resolutions are meant to be a 
statement of our shared values and objectives, as members of the Democratic community…” We (the 
aforementioned members of the Democratic community) share this sentiment and have worked tirelessly to 
uphold those values, maintain policy integrity, and submit resolutions that accurately reflect our progressive, 
working-class movement. 
 
After much deliberation, we have concluded that the finalized DPVA Resolutions Package for CD8 does not 
accurately represent the welfare of our communities. The Resolutions Committee blatantly omitted the #1 voter 
issue in America—Medicare For All—which is a pillar of our progressive movement and one that unites people of 
all political backgrounds. 
 
In the midst of the historic global COVID-19 pandemic that has, to this date, infected 29,790 Virginians (with 
1,005 Virginian fatalities), our Resolutions Committee omitted a key Medicare For All resolution in favor of 
“protecting and expanding the Affordable Care Act (ACA).” While the ACA did expand coverage, it did not 
guarantee healthcare as a human right and certainly does not do so now with over 30 million fellow citizens out 
of work, without health insurance, and on the verge of medical bankruptcy. Excluding Medicare For All 
contradicts the 69% of American voters who support a single-payer healthcare system. Locally, this decision 
stands in the way of the safety and welfare of all Virginians and their families. Medicare For All is a policy that 
protects intersectionality and addresses labor rights, LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant rights, Black/Brown/Indigenous 
rights, disability rights, socio-economic rights, and the right of every human being to have healthcare. As such, 
we believe any resolutions package that does not explicitly support Medicare For All is fundamentally lacking. 
 
Furthermore, CD 8’s own representative Don Beyer is a cosponsor of Representative Jayapal’s Medicare For All 
legislation in Congress. The final healthcare resolution included in the package is a direct contradiction of 
Virginia CD 8’s own healthcare standards. In 2016, the Virginia Democratic Convention voted in favor of Medicare 
For All, yet CD 8 has now become the only Congressional District to oppose it in 2020. All other CDs with 
finalized resolution packages have come out in favor of Medicare for All (​see Table 1 attached)​ . Unfortunately, our 
efforts to amend the healthcare resolution under ​Robert's Rules of Order​ were turned down by DPVA.  
 
Our persistent efforts over the last three months to (a) request information on submitting resolutions for 
consideration at the state level, (b) address three inactive seats on the resolutions committee that already lacked 
fair representation (which was never resolved), and (c) discuss amendments to/omissions from the finalized 
package, were met with a lack of transparency that consistently hindered our decision-making process. 
 
We do not take our collective decision lightly but make it with the conviction to uphold our standards. As 
Elizabeth Warren aptly pointed out, “Real change is very very hard. But I’ve also learned that change is 
possible—if you fight for it.” Senator Sanders and Senator Warren both believe that real change must be fought 
for with integrity and determination. Senator Sanders has championed Medicare For All since 2015 and has 
rallied millions of people across the country who are “willing to fight for someone [they] don’t know.” We see our 
vote as a vote for change, a voice for the unheard, and a fight for our communities and all those we don’t know. 
Now, more than ever, America needs Medicare For All. 
 
Until Justice,  
 
Karishma Mehta, State Delegate CD8 (author) 
Zeina Hutchison, National Delegate (co-author) 
Co-Sponsors​:
Salma Makkar, National Delegate
Pamela Bertelson, State Delegate CD8
Andrew Parr, State Delegate CD8
Sohail Hasnain, ​State Delegate CD8
Wasim Entabi​, State Delegate CD8
Iris Chadab​, State Delegate CD8
John Chapman, State Delegate CD8
Tiffany Porter​, State Delegate CD8
Andrew Cuan, ​State Delegate CD8
Tim Dempsey, State Delegate Alternate CD8
Boyd Walker, State Delegate CD8
Hamid Munir, State Delegate CD8
Andrew Behr​, State Delegate CD8
Jill Klaskin​, State Delegate CD8
Ayman Eldarwish​, State Delegate CD8
Carl Holland, State Delegate CD8
Mark Schiller, State Delegate CD8
Hanna Hanania​, State Delegate CD8
Devon McRainey,​ ​State Delegate CD8
Tanner Call, State Delegate CD8
Megan Knauss, State Delegate Alternate CD8
Ernest Ambrose​, State Delegate CD8
Christopher Whiteman, ​State Delegate CD8
April Remon Hammond, State Delegate CD8
Hina Ayub, State Delegate CD8
John Chapman, State Delegate CD8
Susan Murphy, State Delegate CD8
Joseph Lowe, State Delegate CD8
Shawn Leister-Frazier, State Delegate CD8
Leroy Simi, State Delegate CD8
Voting NO to Resolutions Package​:
David Fishman, State Delegate CD8
Nadja Golding, State Delegate CD8
Charles Christiansen, ​State Delegate CD8
Maya Sapiurka, State Delegate CD8
Hamid Munir​, State Delegate CD8
Lawrence Laws​, State Delegate CD8
Daniel Shuhler​, State Delegate CD8
Jesper van den Bergh, State Delegate CD8
Samuel Goodman, State Delegate CD8
Fiona Scott, State Delegate CD8
Elizabeth Palmer Johnson, State Delegate CD8
Mary "Mollie" Montague, State Delegate CD8
Vianney Cisneros-Stenner, State Delegate CD8
Johnny Chapman, State Delegate CD8
William Warshaw, State Delegate CD8
David Stenner, State Delegate CD8
Alyssa Morin, State Delegate CD8
Madison Hassler, State Delegate CD8
Kara Haynes, ​State Delegate CD8
+
  
Salma Makkar, ​author of Table 1: Medicare For All