Hala Ayala

Hala Sophia Ayala (born April 23, 1973) is an American politician who represented the 51st district in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2018 to 2022. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2021 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election, losing to Republican nominee Winsome Sears on November 2, 2021. She was also a candidate for Virginia State Senate in the 33rd District, losing the Democratic Primary to Jennifer Carroll Foy on June 20, 2023.[1][2]

Hala Ayala
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 51st district
In office
January 10, 2018 – January 12, 2022
Preceded byRich Anderson
Succeeded byBriana Sewell
Personal details
Born (1973-04-23) April 23, 1973
Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children2
EducationUniversity of Phoenix (AS)

Early life and education

Ayala is a native of Alexandria, Virginia. Growing up, Ayala’s family struggled financially. She graduated from Woodbridge Senior High School, and has an associate’s degree in psychology from the University of Phoenix.[3][4]

Ayala's father was an immigrant from El Salvador,[5] and also has North African roots.[3] Ayala's mother was Irish and Lebanese.[3] When Ayala was pregnant, her job did not offer any health insurance but she qualified for Medicaid, which provided healthcare for her and her son.[6]

Career
Ayala at a campaign rally for Lieutenant Governor in 2021.

Ayala formerly worked for the United States Department of Homeland Security as a cybersecurity specialist. She also formerly led the Prince William County chapter of the National Organization for Women,[7] serving as chapter president in 2014.[3] She also served on the Virginia Council on Women as an appointee of Governor Terry McAuliffe for a term expiring on June 30, 2016.[8]

Ayala cites the documentary Miss Representation as inspiration for her to become involved in politics, and was a volunteer for Barack Obama's reelection campaign in 2012.[3] In 2017, Ayala was an organizer of the Women's March against Donald Trump.[9]

Ayala ran for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 2017 elections for the 51st district, which covers much of Prince William County.[7] The district specifically stretches "from just northwest of Occoquan, in eastern Prince William, to Nokesville on the county's western border."[3] District 51 was a key pickup target for Virginia Democrats because it was one of 17 House of Delegates districts that voted for Hillary Clinton in the preceding year's presidential election, but was held by a Republican state house delegate.[3] In June 2017, Ayala won the Democratic nomination for the 51st district of the Virginia House of Delegates, defeating Ken Boddye in the primary election. In the general election, Ayala defeated four-term Republican incumbent Richard L. Anderson.[7] Ayala and Elizabeth Guzman became the first Hispanic women elected to the House.[9] The victories were part of a Democratic sweep in the 2017 Virginia elections, which saw major gains for the party.[9]

In July 2020, Ayala announced her candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in the 2021 election.[10] In December 2020, she announced she would not seek reelection to her House of Delegates seat.[11] In June 2021, Ayala became the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.[2] She lost the November election to Winsome Sears.

In March 2022, Ayala announced her candidacy for Virginia State Senate for the 33rd District. She lost the June 2023 primary election to Jennifer Carroll Foy.

Legislative initiatives

Drawing on her 18 years as an information security specialist for the U.S. Coast Guard, Ayala has made information and cyber security one focus of her efforts.[12][13] Her bill requiring tax preparers to report security breaches became law.[14] Ayala has also introduced bills for creating a state interagency cybersecurity task force, training state employees, increasing security of network-connected devices, and requiring digital services to remove information about minors upon request.[13]

Committee assignments

Ayala served as a member of the Science and Technology Committee and the Finance Committee.[15]

Personal life

Ayala lives in Lake Ridge, Virginia. She has two children.[3]

Electoral history
Year Office Party Votes for Ayala  % Opponent Party Votes %
2017 Virginia House of Delegates Green tickY Democratic 15,244[16] 52.98% Rich Anderson (inc.) Republican 13,476 46.84%
2019 Green tickY Democratic 15,508[17] 54.58% Rich Anderson Republican 12,882 45.34%
2021 Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Democratic 1,597,793 49.1% Winsome Sears Green tickY Republican 1,655,511 50.8%
2023 Virginia Senate Democratic 5,473 37.15% Jennifer Carroll Foy Green tickY Democratic 9,259 62.85%

References
  1. ""Virginia Del. Hala Ayala announces bid for lieutenant governor," by Antonio Olivo, The Washington Post, July 14, 2020, retrieved July 22, 2020". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  2. "DDHQ Election Results". results.decisiondeskhq.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  3. Jill Palermo, Former Prince William NOW president launches bid for state delegate Archived July 23, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Fauquier Times (April 4, 2017).
  4. "Delegate Hala S. Ayala (D)". virginiaalmanac.gmu.edu. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  5. Fenit Nirappil, In a changing Virginia suburb, a slate of diverse Democrats hopes to show path back to power Archived November 10, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Washington Post (September 28, 2017).
  6. "Meet Hala". Hala For Virginia. November 22, 2018. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  7. Alex Koma, Ayala wins 51st District seat, defeating 4-term incumbent Archived November 8, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Inside NoVa (November 8, 2017).
  8. Council on Women Members Archived November 10, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Commonwealth of Virginia (last accessed November 10, 2017).
  9. Nuño, Stephen A. (November 8, 2017). "First Two Latinas Are Elected to Virginia House of Delegates, Making History". NBC News. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  10. Ayala, Hala. "Tweet from @HalaAyala". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  11. "Delegate Hala Ayala Endorses Briana Sewell for 51st House District". Hala for Virginia. December 16, 2020. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  12. Marks, Joseph (May 20, 2019). "These political candidates are running on their cybersecurity expertise". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  13. Wolff, Josephine (August 6, 2019). "Are Voters Ready for Politicians to Run on Cybersecurity Platforms?". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  14. Nolen, Chris (April 27, 2018). "2018 Virginia General Assembly Wrap-Up: Modest Privacy-Related Bills Adopted". McGuire Woods. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  15. "Virginia General Assembly members". Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  16. "House of Delegates District 51 (2017)". www.vpap.org. Virginia Public Access Project. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  17. "House of Delegates District 51 (2019)". www.vpap.org. Virginia Public Access Project. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
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