Martha Mugler is the Democratic candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates District 91. Her name will appear on the ballot on Nov. 2.
Candidate: Martha Mugler
Race: Virginia House of Delegates District 91
Party: Democratic
Website: muglerfordelegate.com
Biography: Martha Mugler is a mother, grandmother, banking professional, and a Democrat focused on improving our public education system, making quality healthcare more affordable, and assisting our small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mugler was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in the fall of 2019 and currently serves on the education, finance, and counties, cities and towns committees. Mugler is also the chair of the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee and serves as a member on the Fort Monroe Authority Board of Trustees, GO Virginia (Virginia Growth & Opportunity Board), Southern States Energy Board, Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy, Education Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) of the Council of State Governments (CSG), and finally is the current chair of the Virginia Arts Caucus.
Before being elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, Mugler served on the Hampton School Board from 2008 to 2019 and was chairman of the board for four of those years from 2012 to 2016.
Mugler received her bachelors of arts in communications from Radford University and is an executive assistant for financial services and strategy at Old Point National Bank. She previously worked in university admissions, public, community and media relations.
Why should Virginians re-elect you to the Virginia House of Delegates?
I am the candidate in the 91st District, and I am committed to keeping our economy strong and bringing good-paying jobs to Hampton Roads. As a community banking professional, I work every day for our small businesses and job creators. As delegate, I established the Office of Offshore Wind, creating clean energy jobs here in Virginia.
With roots in public education, I fought for a 5% pay increase for teachers and will continue to press for teacher salaries that align with the national average. I secured funding for career and technical education, so Virginians have the skills they need to earn better wages, and supported the Rebuild Virginia Program to assist small businesses in the post-coronavirus economic recovery. Virginians should re-elect me so I can return to Richmond to promote job growth and energize our economy.
What do you hope to accomplish, if elected?
When I am re-elected, I will work to secure funding for job training and technical education, which will pave the way to good-paying jobs on the Peninsula. I remain committed to raising teacher salaries in Virginia to align with the national average and lowering the cost of prescription drug prices.
What is the most important issue facing your district, and what is your position on it?
The two most important issues facing my district are assisting our small businesses recover and thrive in the post-coronavirus economy and making healthcare more affordable and more accessible. We can make healthcare more affordable by lowering the cost of prescription drugs and ensuring those with pre-existing conditions have access to high quality care. As delegate, I am proud we capped the cost of insulin co-pay to $50 per month and sponsored legislation that assisted small businesses in the post-coronavirus economic recovery.
What is your position on Virginia’s overall response to the coronavirus pandemic, and what might you have done differently?
I believe that Virginia had a very cautious and pragmatic response to the coronavirus pandemic, and as a result, we were able to save lives while also ensuring our small businesses had the resources to stay afloat. The Commonwealth has worked with the CDC and Virginia Department of Health to ensure that testing was available on a broad scale and launched vaccination sites in all parts of Virginia.
Vaccination remains a challenge in many communities and resources have been directed toward increasing vaccination rates. With hindsight, I would like to have seen more resources and funds given to the Virginia Employment Commission so that it was more prepared to handle the immense influx of newly unemployed Virginians seeking benefits. There continue to be unsettled appeals without resolution which remains a concern for many Virginians.
What are the top three issues created by the coronavirus pandemic in your district, and how would you plan to address them?
While many issues have arisen as a result of the coronavirus, the top three issues created in my district by the coronavirus are:
- Concerns about reopening our public schools. My Plan: Ensure the proper resources and safeguards are available to our schools, so our students and staff can safely return to full-time in person instruction
- Economic impact, especially for small business including hardest hit restaurants. My plan: Funding programs like the Rebuild Virginia Fund to assist small businesses in the post-coronavirus economic recovery and working on legislation to boost business growth and stability
- Outstanding and unresolved unemployment claims and appeals. My plan: Ensuring the Virginia Employment Commission has a complete review and provide necessary resources to bring claims and appeals to resolution.