Ally Dalsimer goes up against Connolly

Ally Dalsimer never wanted to be a politician. But when she learned about Rep. Gerry Connolly’s support for corporations, she decided to run against him in the upcoming Democratic Primary on June 21.

Dalsimer’s career focused on conservation and natural resources.

She worked at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for years, cofounded several national conservation initiatives, and served on the Obama White House Climate Council. She worked her way up to being named natural resources program manager at the Department of Defense but was laid off when the Trump Administration cut funding for the program.

“In the end, it turned out to be a good thing,” she says. By running for Congress, “That’s where I felt I could make a difference.”

“Getting into politics was never a dream of mine,” Dalsimer says. “My interest is in policy, not politics.”

She vividly remembers the moment she decided to run. She was watching the news, and there was a story about Covid and how people were losing their jobs. “The next story was about the Heroes Act and how Connolly held it up because he wanted to add $1 billion for corporations – one billion dollars. I was appalled.”

Her son suggested she run for Congress. He eventually took a year off from college to help manage her campaign.

She spent the past few months talking to local voters and listening to their concerns, which centered around Covid, jobs, and healthcare.

The Affordable Care Act is not good enough, she found, after talking to a resident facing a $14,000 bill for surgery. She also supports raising the living wage, noting that even “$15 an hour is not a living wage in Fairfax County.”

For more affluent residents, she found, the biggest issues are climate change and education, especially the need for universal preschool. The zip code where a child lives before age 8 is the biggest predictor of how well they will do in life, she says.

Regarding her lack of experience in running for public office, Dalsimer says, “no one goes in knowing everything. You learn as you go.”

Dalsimer, a resident of Springfield, spent part of her childhood in Africa, where her father was in the Foreign Service and her mother worked on women’s issues. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond and a master’s in public policy from Georgetown University.

The redistricting plan approved by the Virginia Supreme Court could confuse some voters and create challenges for candidates. The 11th Congressional District, which Connolly has represented since 2009, no longer includes Annandale, Lake Barcroft, and parts of Bailey’s Crossroads and the Falls Church area in Mason District. Those areas have moved to the 8th District, which is represented by Don Beyer.

“Annandale was the heart of our support,” Dalsimer says.

Related story: Annandale/Mason residents affected by redistricting

Fundraising is another big challenge. She is seeking contributions from individuals and has pledged not to accept money from fossil fuel companies, big pharma, or big healthcare corporations. She has raised just over $71,200 with an average contribution under $40. In contrast, Connolly has raised nearly $1.1 million.

Connolly, whom Dalsimer voted for in the past, “has done a great job for federal employees, but what about the rest of us?”

“There’s definitely a perception that Connolly does a great job,” Dalsimer said. But in reality, that’s not the case. “He supported voting rights, but failed to sign an amendment that would give incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people the right to vote.” He signed a bill to provide childcare to federal employees but not to other families.

Connolly said he supports the Green New Deal but continues to take money from Dominion, she notes, and hasn’t signed on to the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.

Dalsimer says her campaign has already had an impact. After calling out Connolly on these and other issues, he has signed pieces of legislation that he’d ignored for years, such as a bill to provide childcare for working families. “This is great; this is already a success,” she says.

She accuses Connolly of bullying members of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee by telling them they will lose their committee assignments if they support her campaign.

“That’s the antithesis of an open democracy; he is not elected for life,” Dalsimer says.

Those kinds of tactics “energized me to do the best I can with this race,” Dalsimer says. She acknowledges most first-time challengers don’t win the first time, but often win the second or third time. “I want people to give me a chance.”