Travis Nembhard
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Travis Nembhard (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Virginia's 10th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 18, 2024.
Nembhard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Travis Nembhard was born in New York. He earned a bachelor's degree from Binghamton University in 2010 and a law degree from the Villanova University School of Law in 2013. His career experience includes working as an attorney, head of the Compliance and Enforcement Division at the Department of For-Hire Vehicles, and an adjunct law professor at American University Washington College of Law. He previously worked as a chief administrative law judge, administrative law judge, legislative counsel on the Committee on Transportation and the Environment at the Council of the District of Columbia, assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State Office of the Attorney General, and financial regulator at FINRA. Nembhard has served as board chair for Momentum Collective, Inc. and as a board member for the DC Latino Leadership Council.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Virginia's 10th Congressional District election, 2024
Virginia's 10th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Democratic primary)
Virginia's 10th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Republican primary)
General election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Democratic primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Nembhard in this election.
2023
See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2023
General election
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Travis Nembhard advanced from the Democratic primary for Virginia House of Delegates District 22.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Ian Lovejoy advanced from the Republican primary for Virginia House of Delegates District 22.
Endorsements
Nembhard received the following endorsements.
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Travis Nembhard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nembhard's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Travis Nembhard is the son of two Jamaican immigrants, and is someone who has dedicated his career to public service. He has served as the youngest judge in DC, as a former legislative counsel, as a financial and tech regulator, and as an assistant attorney general working on civil rights violations. But, Travis is first and foremost the proud husband of a public school teacher here in the 10th District, and the father of two sons who are under 5 years of age, and they're the reason he's running. As the youngest candidate in this race, he's working to build a bridge between the generations, and would be the first member of Congress with direct experience regulating emerging technologies. He has been committed to defending the rights of all - including the need to enshrine the national and human right to reproductive freedom, protecting working families, combating gun violence and developing solutions that deal with the threats facing our democracy, while also ensuring we continue to have a strong economy against the backdrop of a cleaner environment.
- Despite being the youngest candidate in the race, I bring a broad swath of experience relative to the other candidates, having been a former judge, financial regulator, legislative counsel, and assistant attorney general. I would also become the first member of Congress with direct experience regulating emerging technologies, with almost a decade of experience regulating the gig economy in our nation's capital.
- Northern Virginia has never elected an African American to Congress and I hope to change that unfortunate trend. It is important to me that my kids and their generation understand that it does not matter how you look; you should feel "qualified" to represent your community so long as you have the skills, passion, and willingness to bring about positive change.
- Last year, I ran for the VA State House in a tough Republican-leaning district. Despite the challenging landscape, I had the highest early youth vote in the state, outperformed President Biden in the district by 14 points, and raised $2.4 million. I also had overwhelming support from Black voters and did well with Latino voters. As the youngest candidate in the race with a message that resonates with my generation, I am in a strong position to repeat that success among the youth. I would also be in a good position to outperform among Black voters given the record we stand to break, by electing Northern VA's first-ever Black U.S. congressman, and with the endorsement by CASA in Action, I am in a strong position to reach Latino voters again.
I am passionate about supporting working families. That means establishing a Worker's Bill of Rights, which would include paid family leave and universal childcare; that means protecting women's rights; that means implementing comprehensive gun safety measures; that means combating inflation and the eroding earning power of the middle class; and that means implementing the largest bill since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, focused on promoting safe and ethical technological developments, with the hope that it will provide for rapid, yet safer advancements in technology (including data privacy, anti-discrimination, ethical artificial intelligence deployment, combating disinformation, public safety, and cost savings for working families.
I look up to my father, a mentor named Ron Burton (he has since passed away), and President Barack Obama. For my father, he has been my life coach and helped to shape me into the man that I am today. I have learned patience and have leaned into being thoughtful about each decision I make through his example. My father is humble, calm, wise, and intelligent (e.g., I remember him turning to me on the day Bush was elected in 2000, and saying that "unfortunately, son, this means we'll be going into Iraq, Afghanistan, and then Syria." At age 12, I didn't think much of what he was saying at the time. I might have even felt he was rambling, but when reflecting years later after the various US invasions into those very same countries he referenced, my level of respect for him only grew stronger. How could this layman engineer have seen coming what so many of our leaders failed to see?). For "Mr. Burton" as my brothers, cousins, friends and I referred to him, he taught me and my peers to always extend a helping hand to others no matter how inconvenient it may seem or actually be. He was a retired New England Patriots running back that formed a football camp, which was focused on building young athletes into responsible citizens. His level of humility is still something I have not seen surpassed by anyone else, not even my father, and he is also the only man that I can recall seeing my father show express reverence for; given Mr. Burton's humility and kind nature, everyone who knew him expressed a similar sentiment. That rare moment of expressed reverence for another person by my dad was noteworthy, and it stuck with me. Lastly, President Obama earned my respect when became the first African American U.S. President. He garnered more respect in how he was able to artfully navigate the mine fields waiting for him to make a misstep from Tan Suit Gate to the press coverage on his use of a Selfie Stick in the Oval Office. Even more so, I had the honor of working for him in 2013.
First, integrity is the most important characteristic of an elected official. If you cannot trust your representative to do the right thing, nothing else matters. Second, knowledge about the needs of one's constituency and the ability to thing creatively about solutions to address those needs. Third, having the strength to stand up against pressures being deployed as a way of eroding your morale compass. Fourth, being willing to admit when you do not know the answer. Last, having the passion to seek out the right answers while focusing on the best interest of your community. I believe that if an elected official has these five characteristics, they will excel and be embraced by their constituents. The rest will fall into place, and if not, you will at least be able to sleep at night knowing that you did the right thing at every opportunity that you had.
I learn quickly, as is reflected in my ability to go from investigating civil rights abuses to taking on my next job at FINRA pursuing complex white collar criminal matters, then going on to handle work as a legislative counsel focused on the transportation and the environment. All-in-all, I have held many different roles providing me with a perspective that touches all three branches of our government, something I believe would be important to solving challenging issues effecting our judiciary, legislature, and executive regulatory framework. I am also positioned to become the first member of Congress with experience regulating emerging technologies, which is critical to the new age of regulation. On a personal level, I have a very strong sense of integrity, I strive to never lie (what an odd attribute for a political candidate to have), and I have an ability to communicate in a way that breaks down barriers between contentious viewpoints. I attribute that last skillset of communication to my upbringing in a predominately white, conservative town where my brothers and I spent the second half of our childhoods and in many ways carried the burden of being the first African American that those kids met and also having to navigate polar opposite political views held by my peers and their parents.
The core responsibilities of an elected official are to represent the best interests of the broader community in which that official lives. That also means standing up for the right coarse of action, despite some individuals pushing back. You have a responsibility to educate the public on issues that they may not be privy to, while also listening with an open mind to the challenges being faced by those same individuals. Last, it is the responsibility of elected to advocate both in the the Halls of Congress, and in the communities both in and outside of your congressional district. This advocacy will make you effective in legislating, negotiating, and governing, because you will advocate for co-signers, advocate to constituencies outside of your district as a means of placing pressure on those who may be taking an approach counter to yours, and advocate to execute on the promise of bettering the lives of those whom you represent.
I would like to leave the legacy of developing a regulatory framework over technology that safeguards the fabric of our society and the wellbeing of millions for decades, if not, centuries to come.
The first major historical event that happened in my lifetime was the Y2K scare and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I grew up in the New York City metropolitan area, and was living there at age 13 years when the attacks happened. I can remember those unfortunate and tragic events and feelings of sadness that day as though it was yesterday. It will stick with me the rest of my life, and likely will stick with many of my other peers too, as we went through that moment at such a young age in life and had to process those complex emotions of experiencing an attack on the continental U.S.
My first job was at Target as a cashier. I was 16 years old and I had it for about a year before getting ready to go away for college.
It's very cliched, but my favorite book was Harry Potter when I was younger, because it was one of the few books that I had gotten lost in at high school age. I later had a similar effect with the book Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky, and other titles by various authors as I got older, but the Harry Potter series is what I had recalled setting me on that path. It's important to remember that when I think of ways to motivate my kids to read more.
I hold myself to a very high standard, and I have struggled at times with refraining from holding others to the same standard. I am now much better at separating the two and accepting that we all have different strengths, attributes, and perspectives, while recognizing that while I may view something as obvious, it may not be viewed the same way by others. That realization is what has allowed me to keep an open mind, free from judgement of others.
The US House has the ability to bridge the gap between local and statewide representation. By only covering a certain segment, you are generally connected to local officials and residents in the area you district covers, in a way that statewide officeholders like a Governor or U.S. Senator cannot be. I believe it strikes a balance, and also requires a heavy amount of negotiating and compromise in order to get bills through such a large body of legislators.
No. While I believe it can help, I do not buy into the concept that there must somehow be a "feeder" system to higher office. Under this framework, you create a system that entrenches the status quo, and stymies change and creativity from "outside-the-box" thinking. When you bring a new and fresh perspective and face, it can often spark new and fresh results. It also means that those who have developed relationships throughout their government experience often carry the burden of feeling indebted to those who they interact or interacted with in their prior political roles, in a way that newcomers or individuals with fewer ties to the "establishment" may experience. One major caveat is that I believe one's work in public service, whether it is in politics, nonprofit, or government, generally indicates a motivation to work on behalf of the public good rather than for self gain or profit. It is not a perfect barometer, but it is generally a reliable one. So, if someone has dedicated their career to public service, and another has dedicated their career in the private sector, it is reasonable to make the inference that the public servant is likely motivated by something other than money and profit. Again, it is not a perfect measurement, as there are some who may seek out power through politics and certain government roles. But, it is nonetheless generally a good sign when someone has spent at least some of their career in public service work.
The greatest challenge will be the ethical development of technology. This includes disinformation on social media platforms, deep fakes and artificial intelligence activity (e.g., plagiarism on written exams and the erosion of certain roles held by people), discrimination with a false sense of credibility (e.g., the parole systems that have shown a propensity to exhibit the same discriminatory outcomes that human-based systems employ where individuals who have certain attributes fail to receive parole or job applicant systems negatively impacting the hiring of women because systems automatically factor in things like time between jobs (e.g., temporary stay-at-home mothers or people taking time to take care for loved ones), privacy concerns, and national security challenges as we become more reliant on technology, yet connected to bad actors.
I believe it should be 4 years. With the frequency of elections being every two years, it places the representatives in a campaign mindset and keeps them there. Under those circumstances, you end up with representatives that are more focused on being re-elected than on actually legislating and governing.
I believe that there needs to be reforms put in place to deal with the ineffectiveness of Congress. However, we must be careful in how we implement term limits, as it can have the opposite and unintended effect of having lawmakers who now choose to legislate or not legislate with the mindset and end-goal of looking for their next opportunity in preparation for their forced departure from their position. We may find ourselves with lawmakers who do the same corrupt actions, but with the added difficulty of them leaving office to become private citizens; only to leave behind their mess for us to clean up. Again, we need to reform the system and address the glaring ethical challenges posed by corruption, bureaucracy, and complacency by certain lawmakers. However, term limits may not be the silver bullet so many are promoting it to be. I believe a combination of some sort of term limit with added protections should be considered.
John Lewis was a stalwart defender of voting rights, the most basic requirement to a healthy democracy, and more importantly was known as the "conscience of the Congress" by his colleagues. I can only hope to emulate the same set of principles espoused by the late Mr. Lewis, especially as it relates to being the steady hand and morale compass for his colleagues and those who may lose their way at times.
This was a story when I was running for the house of delegates, but in May 2023 while knocking doors I met an absolutely amazing family. When speaking with their 8 year old daughter, I asked her what issue was most important to her as a future voter, she responded in an adorable voice..."I'm not sure, but I'm kinda worried about guns when I go to school...I don't want be shot and I don't want to die"...it absolutely broke my heart to hear that. I saw my sons when I looked at her and thought to myself...I used to be worried about some kid one day telling my kids that Santa wasn't real, and now I'm worried about when it is that they'll become aware of school shootings in America. We live in a sad state of affairs, but I made a promise to that little girl, her mom, and myself that I will do my part to fix this issue.
I believe that compromise is desirable. I always aim to seek out areas of compromise because it strengthens the likelihood of a policies longevity and success. However, where there is an unwillingness to compromise by another party and it involves uncompromising topics like human rights, public health, workers' rights, or consumer protection, I believe it is my duty to stand up for what's right and take whatever policymaking measures are available to me at the time, in order to execute on the promise to improve the lives of those whom I represent and all Americans wherever possible.
My goal would be to ensure that we return to responsible governance. This means actually passing bills, funding our government, generating revenue through innovative measures, and looking to allocate funding more efficiently. Even looking into establishing a formula by way of encouraging federal agencies to save taxpayer dollars while still working to accomplish their agency's core mission.
The U.S. House should use its investigative powers to hold agencies and businesses accountable for any actions that runs counter to best interest of the public. The powers can also aid in discovering or uncovering issues known and unknown to the public as a negative impact on culture, particular communities, or American society as a whole.
CASA in Action, the largest Latino and immigrant-led grassroots organization in the Mid-Atlantic region.
I believe that the greater the transparency the better. The public should be aware of any potential conflicts of interest. Additionally, transparency provides greater accountability because, as the saying goes: "sunlight is the best disinfectant." My goal will be to improve government accountability, so that no one feels the need to throw their hands up in frustration under the belief that nothing they do matters when it comes to discontent with their government. When the public appreciates the government and their representatives, our democracy and society thrives.
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.
2023
Travis Nembhard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nembhard's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My name is Travis Nembhard and I am an attorney, former financial regulator, and a former administrative law judge running for VA House of Delegates in District 22. I'm running for the House of Delegates because I am passionate about creating a better community for my family, with a focus on addressing issues impacting working families such as universal childcare and paid family leave.
I have a track record of working for families and protecting the public - in the Attorney General’s Office, I protected individuals from abusive business practices and labor law violations; as a financial regulator, I investigated white-collar crimes; and as a judge, I protected Virginia commuters. I am committed to combating injustice and inequality while ensuring transparency and accessibility for all Virginians. I believe in bipartisanship and taking a measured approach to tackle unique community issues.
- A Working Economy for Working Families As the father of two young children, my personal experiences as a parent motivate me to lighten the burden for other working families. As your next delegate I’ll fight for policies that help families reduce day-to-day expenses and impact everyday lives.
- Strengthening Our Education System As the husband of a Virginia public school teacher, I know firsthand the challenges our educators experience. As your delegate, I will work to ensure everyone has access to quality education, and educators and staff are paid what they deserve.
- Protecting Our Fundamental Rights You can count on me to fight for the fundamental rights of all Virginians and protect our most vulnerable communities. I firmly support protecting a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions, defending voting rights for all citizens, and protecting LGBTQ+ Virginians and other marginalized populations against discrimination.
As a father and husband to a public school teacher. I am is passionate about creating a better community for my family, with a focus on addressing issues impacting working families such as universal childcare and paid family leave. I am committed to combating injustices and inequality while ensuring transparency and accessibility for all Virginians. I believe in bipartisanship and taking a measured approach to tackle unique community issues; a strong economy is achieved by empowering communities and working families.
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.
Campaign finance summary
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See also
External links
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 24, 2024
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