RICHMOND – On Friday, Nick Freitas announced that he will run a write-in campaign in the 30th district after ignoring candidate filing deadlines and failing to qualify for the ballot. In his unsuccessful attempts to qualify as the Republican nominee, Freitas has deflected blame, criticized the Board of Elections, and directed his focus everywhere but the district he claims to represent.
“Freitas and House Republicans have taken the 30th district and their slim majority for granted,” said Trevor Southerland, Executive Director of the House Democratic Caucus. “Rather than being accountable to the communities in Orange, Culpeper, and Madison, Freitas is picking fights with the bipartisan Board of Elections after his own failure to file standard paperwork. Fortunately, Ann Ridgeway is completely focused on the 30th district and her campaign to truly represent her community in Richmond.”
Democratic nominee Ann Ridgeway, the only House candidate who will appear on the ballot in November, has been campaigning in the 30th district on expanding access to health care and mental health resources and improving k-12 education.
“Our campaign is committed to improving the quality of life for ‘We the People’ by expanding access to affordable healthcare and prescription drugs, bringing high speed broadband to our rural communities, and fully funding our schools. We need a delegate who will finally pursue concrete, common-sense solutions to problems affecting our families,” said Ann Ridgeway, Democratic nominee in HD-30. “In the General Assembly, I will pursue those solutions by introducing legislation to cap insulin co-pays at $100 a month, and to enact common-sense gun reform to meet the recommendations of law enforcement.”
Ann graduated from Old Dominion University with a degree in psychology and worked as a juvenile probation counselor in Orange County. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Orange County Youth Commission and the Orange County Youth Council, working with a start-up research grant and a core group of citizens to create these vital public resources. She also served as a substitute teacher with the Orange County schools, set up an in-school-suspension program, and developed a program for teenagers with discipline problems called REACH for Orange High School.
Ann takes pride in her rural community, having served on the board of the Orange County Fair and volunteered with both the Madison 4-H and Orange 4-H. At her home, Ann launched the Locust Dale Farm Riding program for children and ran a summer camp.