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Paul Berry (Virginia)

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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Paul Berry
Image of Paul Berry

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments
Last election

June 20, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

Brown University, 2007

Graduate

University of Chicago, 2015

Personal
Birthplace
Los Alamitos, Calif.
Religion
Catholic
Profession
Teacher
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Paul Berry (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Virginia House of Delegates to represent District 7. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 20, 2023.

Berry completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Paul Berry was born in Los Alamitos, California. He earned a bachelor's degree from Brown University in 2007, a graduate degree from the University of Geneva in 2013, and a graduate degree from the University of Chicago in 2015. His career experience includes working as a teacher. He previously worked at SOLA, the School of Leadership, Afghanistan. Berry has been affiliated with the Virginia Education Association.[1]

Elections

2023

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2023

General election

General election for Virginia House of Delegates District 7

Karen Keys-Gamarra defeated Luellen Hoffman Maskeny in the general election for Virginia House of Delegates District 7 on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Karen Keys-Gamarra
Karen Keys-Gamarra (D) Candidate Connection
 
73.3
 
22,705
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
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Luellen Hoffman Maskeny (R)
 
26.5
 
8,199
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
89

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 30,993
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Virginia House of Delegates District 7

Karen Keys-Gamarra defeated Paul Berry, Shyamali Hauth, and Mary Barthelson in the Democratic primary for Virginia House of Delegates District 7 on June 20, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Karen Keys-Gamarra
Karen Keys-Gamarra Candidate Connection
 
37.0
 
3,224
Image of Paul Berry
Paul Berry Candidate Connection
 
28.3
 
2,466
Image of Shyamali Hauth
Shyamali Hauth Candidate Connection
 
26.4
 
2,296
Image of Mary Barthelson
Mary Barthelson Candidate Connection
 
8.3
 
720

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 8,706
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican convention

The Republican convention was canceled. Luellen Hoffman Maskeny advanced from the Republican convention for Virginia House of Delegates District 7.

Endorsements

To view Berry's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Berry in this election.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Paul Berry completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Berry's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Paul Berry is a dad, husband, educator, and data scientist living in Reston, VA with his wife and son. In 2018 he was appointed by Governor Northam to a policy and budget advisory role in the Office of the Governor, and in 2020 he was elevated to a leadership position in that role. During the COVID pandemic he led a policy response process that impacted nearly 1,000,000 Virginians, addressing health, housing, education, and economic needs throughout the commonwealth. He has made significant contributions to underserved communities through his work on poverty & inequality reduction policy at home and abroad at the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and multiple NGO's. This work continued during the pandemic when he was deployed as a member of the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps to testing and vaccination sites, helping administer healthcare to thousands.
  • Paul is an educator who will prioritize students, parents, and teachers with funding and better schools
  • Paul was on the frontlines of the pandemic response and knows we have to lower costs and increase access
  • Experience matters, which is why Paul will use his years of policy advising work for the Governor to advance progressive legislation
Education, the environment, and workforce development. As an educator and member of his teacher's union Paul knows what the needs of schools, teachers, and students are: better salaries for staff, new buildings instead of trailers for students, and environmentally forward curricula that gives young minds a vision for a sustainable future. Paul grew up on a farm and comprehends the impact of global warming and climate change: with each 1-degree Celsius increase in global temperature we can expect a 5-15% decrease in crop production. Sustainable and forward-thinking environmental policy that champions renewable energy, reduces waterway and ocean contamination, and shrinks the carbon footprint across industries and households with green technology will guarantee the safety and success of future generations. But that success must be built on an equitable foundation for all, which is why Paul has spent years, first in graduate school and later at the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, AFSCME, and now as a member of the Virginia Education Association, fighting for working families, especially children. As the father of a 1-year-old he understands better than anyone that legislators must be thinking about what we can invest in today to create the greatest wealth opportunities for tomorrow. That’s why Paul helps design the Career & Technical Education curricula for Fairfax County Public Schools, and where his background as a mathematician will be best suited to help.
I look up to Hillary Clinton, which is why I went to work for her 2016 campaign straight out of grad school. While on the Iowa data team I helped the campaign reach out to voters and share the message of leadership, equity, and purpose she carried. I hope to emanate her attention to detail and policy that views the world through an empathetic lens.
Trust, equanimity, and respect.

I believe in always starting from a place of trust for those that you seek to collaborate with. Legislative environments are naturally charged with partisan energy and stress, but that should not stop people from working together. If you start from a place other than mutual trust you are already throwing up barriers to that work.

Similarly, keeping a level head and respecting outcomes, especially those that don't go your way, is key to the public good. Our pluralistic democratic legislature is built around compromise; not a retreat from morals and values, but the willingness to respect others for their beliefs and the understanding that you may sometimes have to pause your goals in order to advance something you both agree on.
My mother is a first-generation Mexican-American who raised me along with my father in rural farm area. I worked with the crews from a young age, and likewise spent time in my mother's classroom where she still teaches public elementary school. They gave me foundational ethics of hard work and collaboration that I still carry to this day.

After successfully graduating at Valedictorian from my farm town high school I went to Brown University where I majored in Mathematics. I followed in my mother's footsteps and entered the teaching profession upon graduation, and continued to teach while going to graduate school full-time. I obtained a master’s degree in Political Economy and then a second master’s from the University of Chicago in Public Policy with an emphasis on economic inequality & poverty reduction. It was always my intention to use my numbers background to solve complex economic and policy problems.

My work hasn't only focused on policy outcomes however: I have invested my time and energy in numerous public service projects that have contributed to community well-being, such as my service with the Medical Reserve Corps, leading the decennial redistricting process, and as a member of Fairfax County Health Department's Multicultural Advisory Committee. Service and dedication are my principle drivers for seeking office and I will look to fulfilling these goals through legislation and collaboration.
I hope to leave my community and Virginia better than when I found it. I want to achieve this with better schools, healthier lives for all, and more equity in our social and economic outcomes. Everyone deserves to live a rich, fulfilling life, and legislators should make it their goal every day to achieve this.
Watching the vote to authorize the First Gulf War invasion. I was six.
My first job was as a lifeguard, which I had for three years in high school and college. During my time guarding I successfully performed multiple water rescues, including reviving a 9-year-old who had drowned.
On Grand Strategy by John Lewis Gaddis. tracing the decisions of leaders throughout history who were presented with unprecedented circumstances has always intrigued me. Their decisions don't just impact some of us today, but they changed the course of history. I admire the courage that it took to navigate these situations, even if the leaders themselves were not always benevolent or altruistic.
Hercule Poirot. I love the way he sees the world, and his wit is unmatched.
Me gustas tu by Manu Chao
Speaking Spanish. Half of my family has Mexican roots, and many of them only spoke or speak Spanish. Communicating with those loved ones has always been a challenge - I grew up speaking some Spanish at home, but primarily English, and having that meaningful connection has always been something I wish could improve.
As two equal but separate branches of government it is important for collaboration but not necessarily agreement. Legislatures and the Executive must always be willing to work together to advance the common good while staying true to the people that elected them.
Protecting reproductive rights, guaranteeing an equitable education is available to all, and advancing climate solutions.
Yes, it absolutely is. As someone who has advised a Governor on policy issues I have a unique perspective on how legislators achieve goals and advance the public good. Legislators should be familiar with that process in Virginia before they are elected because of the structure of Virginia's legislative branch: it is part-time, and only meets for 6 or 8 weeks a year. To adequately respond to the needs of the public legislators must be prepared to work efficiently and expeditiously during this short time with no learning curve. Having experience working in this environment is therefore critical to outcomes.
It absolutely is - regardless of partisan position, legislators must come together to do what is best of the public using all the tools, resources, intellect, and collaborative spirit available. Outcomes that begin under any other circumstances will be narrowly focused on parts of the population rather than with everyone's best interests at heart. Democratic goals cannot be achieved with parochial priorities expressed in a competitive spirit - rather, joining together to recognize the needs of others while advancing one's own priorities makes for a more equitable and lasting future.
Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, who I admire and respect deeply. We are fortunate to have her in the United States Congress.
Not at this time.
Many residents of the 7th district are from the undocumented community. When advising Governor Northam I oversaw the Virginia Latino Advisory Board, the body of subject matter experts who make policy recommendations impacting the Latino and Hispanic communities of Virginia. For those who are undocumented, the pandemic was especially cruel - Latinos are overrepresented in frontline jobs, suffer lower health insurance rates than their peers, have lower post-tax incomes, and live in constant fear of deportation, frequently to conflict zones where their safety and lives would be at grave risk. As a Mexican-American and member of this community this is not just a policy issue for me, it is personal. As a legislator I hope to raise up this and other communities that have similar challenges.
There are two cookies in an oven. One cookie says, "it's really hot in here." The other cookie says, "Oh my goodness, a talking cookie!!"
Yes. During the COVID pandemic this is what the General Assembly did, and it enabled myself and other appointees to execute our responsibilities faster and more efficiently. It allowed the Governor to rush much needed PPE to communities that required it the most. It allowed faster testing and vaccination distribution. In short, emergency powers can be responsibly purposed for emergency circumstances.
Yes
Raising teacher salaries to at least the current national average and indexing it to inflation.
Lead Locally, Juntos Por Virginia, Delegate Alfonso Lopez, Delegate Elizabeth Guzman, Delegate Kaye Kory, former Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni, former Virginia Secretary of Health Dr. Daniel Carey.

See link for full list
Education, Transportation, and Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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External links

Candidate

Virginia House of Delegates District 7
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 10, 2023


    Current members of the Virginia House of Delegates
    Leadership
    Speaker of the House:Don Scott
    Majority Leader:Charniele Herring
    Minority Leader:Terry Kilgore
    Representatives
    District 1
    District 2
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    District 15
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    District 24
    District 25
    District 26
    Jas Singh (D)
    District 27
    District 28
    District 29
    District 30
    District 31
    District 32
    District 33
    Vacant
    District 34
    Tony Wilt (R)
    District 35
    District 36
    District 37
    District 38
    District 39
    District 40
    District 41
    District 42
    District 43
    District 44
    District 45
    District 46
    District 47
    District 48
    District 49
    District 50
    District 51
    Eric Zehr (R)
    District 52
    District 53
    District 54
    District 55
    District 56
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    District 58
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    District 61
    District 62
    District 63
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    District 69
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    District 71
    District 72
    Lee Ware (R)
    District 73
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    District 77
    District 78
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    District 81
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    Don Scott (D)
    District 89
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    District 99
    District 100
    Democratic Party (51)
    Republican Party (48)
    Vacancies (1)


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