Meet Creigh

Senator Creigh Deeds represents the 25th Senate District, which includes the counties of Albemarle (part), Alleghany, Bath, Highland, Nelson, and Rockbridge, and the cities of Buena Vista, Covington, Charlottesville, and Lexington. He serves on three Senate standing committees:

Courts of Justice
Privileges and Elections
Transportation

Senator Deeds’ public service career began in 1987 when he was elected to serve as the Commonwealth’s Attorney of Bath County. In 1991 he ran against an incumbent and won in the 18th District in the House of Delegates. After serving 10 years in the House, Sen. Deeds was elected to the Senate in a special election in 2001. Senator Deeds was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General in 2005 and for Governor in 2009.

Senator Deeds chairs the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the Twenty-First Century. He also serves on the Small Business Commission, the Joint Commission on Transportation Accountability, and the Joint Committee to Study Interstate 73.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness honored Sen. Deeds with the Richard T. Greer Advocacy Award for his efforts to reform mental health, and the American Psychological Association Practice Organization named him the 2015 State Legislator of the Year Award. His advocacy work has also been acknowledged by NAMI – Virginia and the Psychiatric Society of Virginia. For his work on behalf of crime victims, he was awarded the Warren Stambaugh Award from Virginians United Against Crime. He also has received the Leadership in Public Policy Award from The Nature Conservancy, the Preservation Alliance of Virginia Delegate of the Year, and the Virginia Association for Parks Legislator of the Year. His legislative work and accomplishments have also been recognized by the Fairfax Coalition of Police, the Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors, Virginia Education Association, BikeWalk Virginia, the Virginia Professional Fire Fighters, and the Virginia Community Healthcare Association.

Senator Deeds attended Virginia’s public schools and graduated from Bath County High School in 1976. After completing undergraduate work at Concord College, he received his law degree from Wake Forest University in 1984. Senator Deeds is a lawyer in private practice and lives in Bath County with his wife, Siobhan. He has four children.

Major Accomplishments in Richmond This Week!

The General Assembly returned to Richmond on April 3 for our 2019 reconvened session to consider gubernatorial vetoes and amendments. The governor has 30 days from the adjournment of the regular session to sign, veto, or offer amendments to legislation. The authority of Virginia’s governor to amend legislation is atypical compared to the president and many other governors. This power provides an opportunity to impact policy in a significant way.

This year’s session was unique in many ways. The areas of controversy surrounding all three statewide office holders were huge concerns that put a chill over the session. For legislators, the political melee was painful and upsetting, but we had to focus on our work and avoid the frenzy. Governor Northam seemed to disappear into his work and avoid the public for the remaining weeks of session and some weeks thereafter. The end product of this focused work yielded a number of significant amendments for the General Assembly to consider this week.

Typically reconvened sessions are not devoid of controversy. Governors’ amendments or vetoes are often on contentious matters. However this year, Governor Northam sought to address policy concerns on which the General Assembly failed to act. For that reason, the 2019 reconvened session was one of the most, and perhaps the most, significant reconvened sessions that I have witnessed. There were at least three substantial achievements this week.

For years I have focused on reforming our mental health system and have traveled throughout the Commonwealth to visit local community services boards, our state psychiatric hospitals, and some nonprofit and private entities in the field. During this journey I have become fairly well acquainted with what Virginia offers to people in need of mental health services, and I know we must do a better job responding to people in need no matter where they live in the Commonwealth. [Read More…]

Summer Update

August 23, 2018 By Creigh Deeds

The 2019 legislative session is just around the corner, which is hard to believe since it feels like the 2018 Session just ended. In fact, the General Assembly has yet to adjourn the special session. A couple of issues remain unresolved.

The Governor initially called for a special session because the General Assembly did not reach a budget agreement. After months of wrangling, the legislature adopted a budget on May 30 that included Medicaid expansion. It was a huge bipartisan accomplishment. Nevertheless, the Senate and House of Delegates did not adjourn sine die because the party in the majority has not agreed on the selection of certain judges. Periodically I’ve heard rumors that the General Assembly will be called back to Richmond for a vote, but those rumors have thus far proven to be untrue. In the meantime, another critical issue has arisen. [Read More…]

Search this website