Schuyler VanValkenburg

Schuyler Thomas VanValkenburg (born 1982) is an American teacher and politician. He was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 72nd District on November 7, 2017, to replace retiring delegate Jimmie Massie. He defeated Republicans Eddie Whitlock and GayDonna Vandergriff in the 2017 and 2019 elections, respectively. In the 2023 state elections, VanValkenburg is running against Siobhan Dunnavant in the newly redrawn 16th District. The race is considered highly competitive for control of the State Senate.[1]

Schuyler VanValkenburg
VanValkenberg in 2023
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 72nd district
Assumed office
January 18, 2018
Preceded byJimmie Massie
Personal details
Born
Schuyler Thomas VanValkenburg

1982 (age 40–41)
Johnstown, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceRichmond, Virginia
Alma materUniversity of Richmond
Virginia Commonwealth University
ProfessionTeacher
Delegate
CommitteesEducation
Privileges & Elections
School Safety

Career

VanValkenburg taught at Short Pump Middle School and continues to teach at Glen Allen High School after his election to the House of Delegates, working as a part-time legislator. A Democrat, he defeated Republican lawyer Edward Whitlock III in 2017 as part of a Democratic wave in Virginia.[2]

VanValkenburg has introduced twelve education-related bills since taking office.[3]

Committee assignments
  • Education
  • Privileges & Elections[4]

Political positions

Labor relations

VanValkenburg opposes the use of covenants not to compete (also known as non-compete agreements) in certain cases, such as for relatively low-wage workers or workers who do not have access to sensitive trade secrets, such as sandwich-makers, baristas or gym trainers. He filed a bill in 2019 which would prohibit employers from enforcing non-compete agreements when no trade secrets were involved. VanValkenburg's bill would apply only to workers whose average weekly earnings were less than the state's average weekly wage.[5]

Civil liberties

In 2019, VanValkenburg announced a bill to reform Virginia's anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) laws. VanValkenburg's proposed bill came after Virginia's anti-SLAPP laws, which were intended to protect people from being intimidated or silenced by frivolous lawsuits, were criticized for being overly lax, allowing plaintiffs such as actor Johnny Depp and California Congressman Devin Nunes to file lawsuits in Virginia that may have been dismissed under California's more stringent laws.[6][7] VanValkenburg's bill, modeled after California's, would allow defendants in defamation cases to file motions to dismiss potentially-frivolous defamation suits earlier in the process. If successful, they would be able to recover attorney fees.[6]

Electoral history
Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 72nd district
Nov 7, 2017[8] General Schuyler VanValkenburg Democratic 16,655 52.71%
Eddie Whitlock Republican 14,869 47.06%
Nov 5, 2019[9] General Schuyler VanValkenburg Democratic 16,345 53.26%
GayDonna Vandergriff Republican 14,312 46.63%
Nov 2, 2021[10] General Schuyler VanValkenburg Democratic 19,710 53.00%
Christopher Holmes Republican 17,427 46.08%

References
  1. Moomaw, Graham (2023-10-10). "Senate District 16 race: Democrat VanValkenburg vs. Republican incumbent Dunnavant". Virginia Mercury. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  2. Lappas, Tom (2017-11-07). "Blue crush: Democrats celebrate key Henrico wins". The Henrico Citizen. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  3. "LIS Virginia". Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  4. "Legislator: Schuyler VanValkenburg". www.vpap.org. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  5. Ress, Dave (2019-01-08). "Van Valkenburg: no to non-competes for lower-income workers". The Daily Press. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  6. Juvenal, Justin (2019-12-22). "Nunes, Depp lawsuits in Virginia seen as threats to free speech and press". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  7. Casey, Dan (2019-11-30). "CASEY: Easy path to SLAPP suits under scrutiny by Virginia lawmakers". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  8. "Elections: House of Delegates District 72". www.vpap.org. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  9. "Elections: House of Delegates District 2". www.vpap.org. Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  10. "2021 November General". results.elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
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