In a morning hour speech on the House Floor on Saturday, February 23, 2019, David J. Toscano, Delegate for the 57th District, announced that he will not be seeking re-election to the House of Delegates this fall.
Toscano will remain active during the remainder of the year, as a legislator and campaigning to elect a Democratic majority in the House of Delegates at the November 2019 general election. He will continue to serve the people of Charlottesville and Albemarle County through the end of his seventh term on December 31, 2019.
Here are his remarks (as prepared for delivery).
Growing up in Syracuse, New York, I never dreamed that I would have a role in politics or ever find my way to Virginia, which I only knew as a place you drove through on the way to Florida, hoping you could escape getting stopped by an overeager sheriff targeting the Yankee driver for an undeserved speeding ticket (talk about stereotypes). For me at the time, it was all about studies, sports, rock and roll, and working in my dad’s tuxedo rental store (yes, it is true that I measured Terry McAuliffe for his high school prom tuxedo).
Then, the sixties happened — and my world (heck, the world) turned upside down. I came of age when race relations, civil rights, and the war in Vietnam occupied center stage. I felt a calling to change the world. Initially, that meant academia and teaching, and then the law. Eventually, I found my way to Charlottesville, my wife’s hometown. I got elected to local office, and after 12 years in local government, won election to this body, the House of Delegates. Between my family and public service in a community that is special in so many ways, I have been (and continue to be) the luckiest guy alive.
I am proud of my contributions over the last 25 years of public service. But there comes a time to write a new chapter. And for me, that time is now. I have decided that I will retire from this office at the end of my term, and therefore will not be seeking reelection this fall. [Read more…]