Levar Stoney

Levar Stoney
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia
In office
January 17, 2014 – April 15, 2016
Governor Terry McAuliffe
Preceded by Janet Vestal Kelly
Succeeded by Kelly Thomasson
Personal details
Born Levar Marcus Stoney
(1981-03-20) March 20, 1981
Long Island, New York, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Alma mater James Madison University
Signature

Levar Marcus Stoney (born March 20, 1981) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2014 through 2016, becoming the first African American to serve in this role and the youngest member of Governor Terry McAuliffe's administration.[1]

Personal life

Stoney was born in New York and later moved to Yorktown, Virginia.[2][3]

He attended Tabb High School in Tabb, Virginia and played as quarterback on the school's football team.[4] Stoney is a 2004 alumnus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he was the first African-American elected president of the Student Government.[5] He was a member of the school's College Democrats chapter.[6]


Career

Stoney worked in organizer roles for John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.[7] In the summer following his graduation from James Madison University in 2004, Stoney served as a Governor's Fellow in Mark Warner's administration.

Stoney worked for the Democratic Party of Virginia from 2006 to 2009, first as political director and then executive director.[8] In this role, he worked extensively with President Barack Obama's successful 2008 presidential campaign.[5] During the 2005 Virginia Attorney General election, he worked for Creigh Deeds' campaign, which was unsuccessful by 306 votes.

During McAuliffe's 2013 gubernatorial campaign, Stoney served as deputy campaign manager, under campaign manager Robby Mook.[9] He was deputy director during McAuliffe's transition into office, a role in which McAuliffe described Stoney as his “closest adviser.”[10] Stoney was appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia by Governor-Elect Terry McAuliffe on November 18, 2013.[10] Following confirmation by the Virginia General Assembly, he took office on January 17, 2014.

As Secretary of the Commonwealth, he has championed efforts to restore of voting rights for felons who have completed their sentences, an effort begun under Governor Bob McDonnell and accelerated under Governor Terry McAuliffe.[11][12] Stoney said that "once you have served your time and paid your due, we still should not be punishing you years afterwards. Instead, we should find ways to give that individual an opportunity to better themselves and to contribute to society."[11]

Stoney has been mentioned as a potential candidate in the Richmond, Virginia, mayoral election of 2016.[13] He resigned as Secretary of the Commonwealth on April 15, 2016.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Biography". Commonwealth of Virginia.
  2. ↑ "Levar Stoney Named Executive Director of Va. Dems". Fourth Estate. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Pep talk launches College Application Week". The Record Online. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Stoney, Tabb Punish Weak Greensville". Daily Press. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  5. 1 2 "James Madison University - Levar Stoney ('04)". www.jmu.edu. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  6. ↑ "JMU Madison Magazine - Summer '09 Issue - 0024". Virtual Paper. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  7. ↑ "Virginia Republicans on panel play nice with Levar Stoney". Washington Post. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  8. ↑ "McAuliffe names Brown, Reagan, Denslow, Stoney to posts". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  9. ↑ Alexander Burns. "McAuliffe taps Mook, Stoney to lead campaign". POLITICO. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Wiggins, Ovetta (2013-11-18). "Virginia Gov.-elect McAuliffe chooses veteran Democrats for key Cabinet appointments". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  11. 1 2 "Commonwealth secretary talks about efforts to restore voting rights". NewsAdvance.com. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  12. ↑ "In Charlottesville talk, Secretary Stoney says rights restoration has a ways to go". The Daily Progress. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  13. ↑
  14. ↑

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Janet Vestal Kelly		 Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia
2014–2016 		Succeeded by
TBD
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