Former Green Beret, Diplomat, Turned Political Activist, Joins Race for Spanberger Seat

STAFFORD, Va., January 9, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Cliff Heinzer, former soldier, diplomat, and now political activist, announced he is running in Virginia’s 7^th Congressional District for the seat currently held by Abigail Spanberger. Motivated to action by the frustration he has heard during thousands of conversations with voters over government’s inability to get anything done on issues that impact their daily lives, he wants to see Congress focus more on legislating and less on conflict intended only to generate sound bites. He believes that putting the common good before the demands of well-funded special interests, and demonstrating that the House can do its job, despite the failure to get anything done in 2023, are both crucial to restoring confidence in our democracy.

A strong democracy needs an economy that works for all, and Cliff knows this means bringing the working class back into the middle class, restraining corporations that profit by manipulating markets, and saying no to additional tax cuts that benefit only the wealthy. He has cautioned against returning to policies that benefited the few but made us vulnerable to double-digit inflation. A living wage, affordable child care, and keeping college or technical training within reach of working families are crucial. He knows that continued inattention may deny rural communities the opportunity to thrive.

Cliff is committed to ensuring that no one is denied employment, education, equal treatment, freedom of expression, or the right to vote because of who they are. Decisions on reproductive health belong to a woman and her physician, and he will press for passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act.

Improving the lives of District 7 residents will involve working to reduce crime and gun violence, building road and rail infrastructure, protecting our environment, and supporting all who have served the United States, including the military, civil servants, and contractors.

Cliff grew up in a working-class neighborhood at a time when a full day’s work earned a living wage. After graduating from college, he entered the Army, serving as an officer in the Infantry and Special Forces. In his second career as a diplomat, he helped to advance the United States' interests in foreign relations, Middle East policy, defense cooperation, narcotics control, addiction treatment, border security, immigration, and countering violent extremism. He advocated for and protected democracy overseas, and will defend it here. 

With experience in the Far East, Latin America, Europe, Central Asia, and the Near East, he understands what it will take to keep America safe in a complex world as we face Russian aggression in Ukraine, another war in the Middle East, and an increasingly assertive China.

A member of the VFW and the Special Forces Association, he has been in organized labor for 25 years. Cliff has served as the Political Action Chair of the NAACP’s Stafford Branch, and Chair of the Stafford Democratic Committee. 

He resides in Stafford with his spouse Tuanta, a federal retiree and naturalized U.S. citizen.

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originally published at Politics - Reliable News