Preceded by Jack Rust Name Chap Petersen Succeeded by David Bulova Residence Fairfax, Virginia Party Democratic Party | Children 4 Spouse Sharon Political party Democratic Role American Politician | |
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Preceded by Jeannemarie Devolites Davis Full Name John Chapman Petersen Born March 27, 1968 (age 56)
Fairfax, Virginia, U.S. ( 1968-03-27 ) Alma mater Williams College (B.A.)
University of Virginia (J.D.) Education Williams College, University of Virginia School of Law, University of Virginia | ||
Senator Chap Petersen Demolishes Gov. Bob McDonnell's Transportation Plan
John Chapman "Chap" Petersen (born March 27, 1968, Fairfax, Virginia) is an American politician. A Democrat, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates 2002–06, was elected to the Virginia State Senate in November 2007, and was reelected in 2011. He currently represents the state's 34th district, made up of the city of Fairfax and large parts of Fairfax County.
Contents
- Senator Chap Petersen Demolishes Gov Bob McDonnells Transportation Plan
- Early life
- Political career
- 2007 State Senate election
- Campaign flyer flap
- Gun control
- Controversy over voting record
- Defense of Washington Redskins name
- References
Early life
Petersen graduated from Fairfax High School in 1986. He received a B.A. degree from Williams College in 1990 and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1994, when he began practicing law. He is currently a partner with the law firm of Surovell, Markle, Isaacs & Levy, PLC.
Petersen's wife Sharon Kim (born September 10, 1970, Daegu, South Korea), is a practicing attorney; the couple have four children.
Political career
Petersen served on the Fairfax city council 1998–2001. He was elected to two terms in the House of Delegates, both times (2001 and 2003) defeating his predecessor, Republican Jack Rust.
In 2005, Petersen ran for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He was defeated in the Democratic primary, finishing third with 22% of the vote in a four-way race, behind State Senator Leslie L. Byrne and State Delegate Viola Baskerville, but ahead of State Senator Phil Puckett.
In 2006, Petersen was a senior advisor to Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb, who defeated incumbent Republican Senator George Allen.
2007 State Senate election
Petersen announced his candidacy for the 34th district seat in the State Senate, Wednesday, January 3, 2007. He defeated incumbent Republican Jeannemarie Devolites-Davis, wife of Congressman Thomas M. Davis, in the November 2007 election, taking 55% of the vote. The district had been the most Democratic state senate district held by a Republican.
Campaign flyer flap
During the week of October 22, 2007, the Devolites-Davis campaign sent out 60,000 campaign flyers accusing Petersen of not disclosing that his former law firm was working on issues that Petersen voted on while in the House of Delegates. The flyer included a copy of a section of Petersen's Statement of Economic Interest, which he filed while serving in the House. It includes Petersen's home address, telephone number, and the names of his wife and children, which were not redacted.
Petersen held a press conference on October 26 in front of Devolites-Davis' headquarters in Fairfax. He said that "words cannot describe the anger I feel" about the flyer, and called it "shocking" that Devolites-Davis would use his personal information in such a manner. Petersen said that advertising his personal information was not in and of itself a problem, but using it in an attack ad went too far. Such tactics, Petersen said, endangered his family. Devolites-Davis said in her own press conference that Petersen himself published the names and pictures of his family, and showed a mailer from the Petersen campaign showing pictures of his children. The mailer identifies the children by name. She claimed the Petersen campaign uploaded a video to YouTube which brought up her daughter's armed robbery conviction of several years ago. According to WUSA, there is no evidence that anyone from the Petersen camp uploaded the video.
Gun control
Controversy over voting record
In mid-October 2007, Devolites-Davis, Petersen's opponent, began running television ads showing a photo of her opponent Chap Petersen with text stating "Supports Increasing the Estate Tax", "Supports a 38 cent gas tax increase", and "Voted for Concealed Weapons on School Property" superimposed. The voiceover attributed these allegations to Petersen's prior votes in the Virginia House of Delegates. Davis's website contains references to past Petersen votes. He responded that he never voted to increase the Virginia estate tax. Petersen co-sponsored bills, including SB 1309, intending to preserve the tax for Virginians in higher income brackets. Petersen also denied ever supporting a 38 cent gas tax increase. He recently explained that he supported the current law which makes it a felony to possess a gun on school grounds, but voted for a bipartisan bill, HB 2535, which gave a limited exception to parents with licensed concealed carry permits who pick up their children at school, for just school driveways. That bill was signed into law in 2005.
Defense of Washington Redskins name
As controversy has grown over the name of the Washington Redskins, Peterson has become a vocal defender of the sports team. In 2014, he initiated a "Redskins Pride Caucus" in the Virginia Legislature. Although Petersen's position is unconventional for his political party, he has said that several other Virginia Democrats have privately supported him on this issue. Citing support that he has received from individual Native Americans, Petersen has said, "I get it from all points. And listen - if somebody is offended, I'm not going to deny that that's a sincere feeling. But you can't just take that and scrub out the feelings of 100,000 other people."
When the Daily Show produced an episode that aired September 25, 2014 featuring local Redskins fans confronted by Native Americans, Petersen contacted the producers in an attempt to withdraw the fans' consent to appear. According Petersen, these fans had been misled about the nature of the segment, prior to signing their releases. Although the segment was not pulled, Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, acknowledged on air that the fans were upset with the situation.
Petersen has also represents a group opposed to other efforts to change mascots deemed offensive by Native Americans.