Lashrecse Dianna Aird /ˌlɔ.ʃəˈɹis/ (née Jones; born June 22, 1986) is an American Democratic politician who represented the 63rd District in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2016 to 2022. The district includes Dinwiddie County and the city of Petersburg as well as parts of the counties of Chesterfield and Prince George. Aird served on the General Laws, Health, Welfare and Institutions, and Appropriations committees.

She is a candidate for Virginia's 13th Senate district in 2023 and won its Democratic primary.

Career
Aird was born on June 22, 1986. While attending Virginia State University, Aird met Rosalyn Dance, who invited her to apply for an internship with her office. Aird interned with Dance throughout college and worked for Dance as a legislative assistant after college. When Dance ran for the state Senate in 2015, Aird ran to fill her vacant seat in the House of Delegates. She was the youngest woman elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.

In 2016, Aird served as a member of Virginia's Electoral College. In 2017, Aird was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee by Republican Speaker William J. Howell.

Aird is the Chair of 4th Congressional District Democratic Committee, which oversees local Democratic committees in the area between Hampton Roads and Richmond. Aird is also a member of the Democratic Party of Virginia Steering Committee.

In 2020, Aird was appointed to the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. In 2021, Aird worked with local leaders, fellow legislators, and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to secure a $25 million investment from Civica Rx to expand their manufacturing operations in Petersburg, Virginia.

In 2021, she was narrowly defeated for reelection by Republican businesswoman Kim Taylor in a major upset.

In 2023, she is running for Virginia's 13th Senate district. She is endorsed by state senators Jennifer Boysko, Ghazala Hashmi, Barbara Favola, Janet Howell, Mamie Locke, and Louise Lucas. She won the Democratic primary against incumbent Morrissey by a 40% margin.

Political positions 
In 2019, Aird passed HB 2005 which expanded eligibility for temporary assistance for needy families. Also in 2019, Aird passed HB 2317 establishing a safety protocol wherein a parent may request the presence of a law enforcement officer during a custody exchange.

In 2020, Aird joined Luke Torian as chief co-patron on HB 1250, also known as the Virginia Community Policing Act. Prior to 2020, employers in the Commonwealth of Virginia were not required to provide documentation to their employees showing the number of hours worked or how gross and net pay were calculated. During the 2020 Legislative Session, Aird passed HB 689 which now compels employers to provide paystubs to their workers.

Also during the 2020 Session, Aird passed HB 757, which deals with criminal records searches for prospective employees. Aird passed HB 690 which repealed the prohibition on increasing the amount of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) that a family receives upon the birth of a child during the period of TANF eligibility.  Aird joined Republican Christopher Collins as Chief Co-Patron on HB 2655 which established the Eviction Diversion Pilot Program.

During the 2021 Session, Aird joined Marcia Price as a co-patron on HB 1864 (also known as the Virginia Human Rights act) which expanded the definition of "employer" to include people who employ domestic workers. The act also prohibits workplace discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and other factors.

Education 

Aird has placed a significant emphasis on education through both legislation and by advocating for money for school systems in her district.

In 2018, Aird proposed a budget amendment to increase funding for the state's At-Risk Add-On program, which would substantially increase state funding for schools with low-income students.

In 2021, Aird joined Jennifer McClellan to reintroduce legislation to require the state to meet the funding obligations prescribed by the State Board of Education. In 2021, Aird joined Danica Roem as a co-patron on her bill to require all eligible school districts to participate in the Federal After School Meals Program (HB 2135).

In 2021, Aird passed HB 1930 which prohibits most state universities from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history during the initial admissions process (a policy commonly referred to as Ban the Box). On June 3, 2021 Governor Ralph Northam joined Aird to ceremonially sign the bill at Dinwiddie High School in Dinwiddie, Virginia.

Environment 
Aird co-patroned HB 1526, also known as The Virginia Clean Economy Act. The VCEA is framed around four policy areas with the goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions: capping carbon pollution, establishing energy efficiency resource standards, incentivizing small scale rooftop solar energy, and develop a 100% clean energy grid.

In 2019, Aird sponsored and passed HB 2741, which created the Virginia Clean Energy Advisory Board and created a pilot program to distribute loans and rebates for the installation of solar energy infrastructure. In 2020, Aird sponsored and passed HB 1707 to increase the board's membership. The law dictated that the new members "shall be an expert with experience implementing low-income and middle-income incentive and loan programs for distributed renewable energy resources and that the other new member shall be an attorney who maintains a legal practice dedicated to rural development, rural electrification, and energy policy."

Public health 
In 2019 Aird joined Marcia Price to introduce a resolution "recognizing the maternal and infant mortality crisis in the h States." The Resolution included language addressing root causes of maternal mortality including stating that maternal and infant mortality "is exacerbated by factors such as poverty, gender inequality, age, and multiple forms of discrimination, as well as factors such as lack of access to adequate health facilities and technology and lack of infrastructure." In 2020 Aird passed HB 687 which established a state certification program for doulas and expanded eligibility for patients seeking to access doula services.

In 2021, Aird passed HJ 538, a resolution that recognizes access to clean, potable, and affordable water is a necessary human right and established initiatives to ensure no Virginian goes without access to this essential need. Aird is an advocate for reproductive freedom and serves on the board of the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood.

COVID-19 response 
After speaking with first responders about the challenges they faced in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, Aird passed HB 1989, which directed the Virginia Department of Health to share real time public health data with emergency medical personnel to help reduce their risk of exposure to the virus.

In January 2021, Aird joined Lamont Bagby as a co-patron of HB 2333 which established a program to enable eligible health care providers to volunteer to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to residents of the Commonwealth during the state of emergency.

Voting rights 
In 2021, Aird served as a chief co-patron of Marcia Price's HB 1890, also known as the Voting Rights Act of Virginia.

Electoral history

References

External links

 
 
Official legislative website

1986 births
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Women state legislators in Virginia
African-American women in politics
African-American state legislators in Virginia
Living people
Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates
Politicians from Buffalo, New York
Politicians from Petersburg, Virginia
Virginia State University alumni
21st-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women