Northam Cites Experience, Relationships in Lieutenant Governor Bid

Ralph Northam has spent six years in the trenches in Virginia's state Senate.

The Democrat, a pediatric neurologist in Norfolk, also served eight years in the U.S. Army and helped treat injured soldiers during Desert Storm.

Northam will face off next week against former White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra in the Democratic primary for Virginia's lieutenant governor.

"We've just lost direction in Virginia with the social agenda that rolled into Richmond, the assault on women's reproductive health, the voter suppression laws," Northam told Patch in his Fairfax Station campaign office. "The only way to block that agenda until 2015 is to have a lieutenant governor who is a Democrat."

• For more on Northram's opponent, Aneesh Chopra, see: 

Both men see winning back a Democratic majority in Richmond as a top priority, though the immediate impact they can have as lieutenant governor is driving them.

The down-ballot race has drawn a fair bit of attention this year, in part because of the two-party split in the state Senate that allows the lieutenant governor to cast tie-breaking votes, and in part because of controversial statements made by the Republican's lieutenant governor nominee.

Like his opponent, Northam said he would work to repeal legislation he believes attacks women's reproductive rights, and he wants Virginia to expand its Medicaid system as prescribed under the Affordable Care Act.

Northam also said he would support stricter gun control legislation, including universal background checks and banning assault weapons and high-volume clips. He said he would put together guidance for pediatricians and teachers to use to help educate parents about the potential effects on children spending too much time playing violent video games.

Chopra, who is seeking public office for the first time, often talks about the benefits of open government, how such initiatives can help create an entrepreneurial ecosystem where innovators and small businesses can capitalize on making large chunks of government data relevant and useful to people.

Northam said he Virginians are more concerned with transportation, education, the economy, healthcare and environmental issues.

"The innovation and the technology, that's going to come along with all of this," he said. "But we've got to focus on core Democratic values."

Northam also likes to remind people that he beat an eight-year incumbent in a competitive district in 2007 to win his Senate seat, and won reelection four years later. Democrats are gearing up for a tough November in hopes of not repeating their lackluster performance four years ago.

"I have relationships and I know how to get things done, and that's important for someone who wants to preside over the Senate," he said.

Those relationships have led to a number of endorsements, including Senate Democratic Leader Dick Saslaw and state Sen. Barbara Favola. In a May 19 editorial, the Washington Post picked Northam over Chopra, saying the senator "has a combination of legislative know-how and private-sector acumen."

Northam is perhaps best known for working on legislation that is somehow tied to healthcare.

He authored a 2009 bill that banned smoking in restaurants in Virginia. He's also worked on bills to help student athletes who have suffered concussions and to fight childhood obesity. Earlier this year, he proposed a bill that would fine someone $100 for smoking in a vehicle that contained a child under 15.

As a pediatric neurologist, Northam works with children who have epilepsy, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis, among other things. He said it was his work in the private sector that first drove him to seek office.

"I was frustrated with our healthcare system, and I figured I could either sit on the sidelines or get in there and do something about it," he said.