Candidate Profile: Justin 'JD' Maddox For VA House Of Delegates

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Justin "J.D." Maddox, owner of Inventive Insights, sits on the City of Alexandria Information Technology Commission. A former federal employee, Maddox is also the Republican candidate running in the House of Delegates race in the 45th District, which covers parts of the City of Alexandria, Arlington County and Fairfax County.

During the Nov. 2 general election, voters in living in the 45th District will have a chance to decide whether Maddox or Democrat Elizabeth Bennett-Parker will fill the vacant House of Delegates seat. Early voting is already underway.

Patch asked each of the candidates running in the Nov. 2 general election to fill out the following profile:

Name

Justin "J.D." Maddox

Position sought

Delegate for the 45th District

Party Affiliation

Republican

Family

My spouse Lisa, and our daughters Elle and Farrah, are long-time residents of Alexandria. Lisa is a former CIA leader like me, owns her own business, and has been developing a non-profit to help Afghan refugees in the US. Lisa and I have lived here for 21 years, with the exception of a diplomatic posting in India and deployments to Iraq. Our daughters attended public school until this year, when we had to make the difficult and costly decision of transferring them to private school because the public school was not meeting educational expectations.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Not currently. Lisa and I previously worked for the federal government, including the CIA.

Education

I'm a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, where I earned my M.A. in Security Studies. I earned my B.A. from St. John's College in Annapolis - the "Great Books" school. I have also studied Russian at the Defense Language Institute and Urdu at the Diplomatic Language Institute.

Occupation

Since 2017, I've owned and operated Inventive Insights, a small consultancy focused on technological solutions to critical security challenges, such as disinformation. I've also been an adjunct professor at George Mason University since 2011, and I currently teach a graduate course on disinformation at the Schar School. I also serve on Alexandria's IT Commission. Previously, I served as a CIA branch chief, as an advisor to the Secretary or Homeland Security, as a Nuclear Emergency Support Team operations officer, and as a US Army Special Operations soldier.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

I'm an appointed member of the City of Alexandria Information Technology Commission, since 2020.

Why are you seeking elective office?

Politics has turned into a hyper-partisan game. Many of our current representatives are more like cartoon characters than serious legislators. We've seen the real world negative results of this childish partisanship over the past few years. As an expert in the issues of disinformation and political violence, I'm deeply motivated to reverse this trend. People need a new moderate voice that they can depend upon to represent the entire community, and I want to be that guy. For the first time in ten years, voters have a real alternative on the ballot.

The single most pressing issue facing our district is affordable housing, and this is what I intend to do about it.

As commercial real estate tax revenue drops off and cities become more reliant on homeowner property taxes, this District will have to make tough decisions. Higher homeowner property taxes will discourage new home purchases and will drive less fortunate owners out of their homes — especially families of color, as we're already experiencing. Since Alexandria in particular has shown it's falling short on education, infrastructure and other basic services, home shoppers and owners will resent the taxes they're asked to pay. To reduce the impact on homeowners and to improve affordable housing options, I've proposed a statewide 1% cap on homeowner property tax, and I've pushed ACLU CHACE's Terwilliger Place affordable housing model for broad replication. A 1% cap would force municipalities to refocus their tax collection elsewhere. The Terwilliger Place model smartly uses low-interest loans to develop high-capacity buildings that are well-integrated with the environment, and gives residential preference to an underserved community — veterans in this case.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I bring objective policy-making and real-world experience to the position of state delegate. The other candidate for this post offers ideologically-driven policies, based on her limited experience and her adherence to party politics, that seem to repeat the mistakes of Del. Mark Levine. One example of my opponent's ill-conceived ideology is her deciding vote to remove police (SROs) from Alexandria City Public Schools during a crime wave and during an ongoing threat of mass shootings. Students got the message... they took it as permission to fight without consequences, and the videos of those fights being posted online offer an astounding look at a poorly executed policy. My opponent's promise of replacing the school police with therapists has not been done, so students now have even less of a safety net. We can expect the same thinking in Richmond if she's voted into office.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the district?

This is an open seat. The incumbent, Del. Mark Levine, was unseated during the Democratic primary. His legislation was largely self-serving and hyper-partisan. For example, his failed "good apple" legislation would have required police partners to snitch on each other - further undermining the unity and performance of a police force that is increasingly besieged by the Left. During a debate with my opponent he confirmed that their policies are the same. A vote for my opponent is a vote for the status quo.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

The list of problems in this District is growing because the incumbent was overly focused on self-serving and partisan initiatives. We've got to get back to basic governance.

Public schools: Our public schools are suffering from ideological decisions made during the pandemic, but they're also suffering from continuing problems with curricula, parent-teacher relations, low teacher pay, burdensome teacher accreditation, security and more. The public school system needs a fresh look and I've called for a study. I've also called for teach pay parity. And I've called for the school police (SROs) to be reinstated. My opponent has done nothing about these problems, but has undermined school security. At the college level, I have pushed a new concept called "4FOR4", which would give Virginians 4 years of free college education in Virginia and place them in a service job in Virginia for 4 years afterwards. The idea is to transition students into jobs without burdening them with loans, and while filling hard-to-fill positions in Virginia.

Crime: Alexandria experienced a 20% increase in crime over the past year and the state of Virginia is at a 20-year high for murders, yet my opponent made a choice of removing police officers from public schools in June. She's also well known for praising her city aide after she was arrested for assaulting a police officer last year. My opponent's contempt for the police sends a signal to the police that they do not have the community's support. If elected, I would focus on ensuring the police serve the entire community by providing better pay, better tactical training, and better employment screening, as well as political support. I also support the deployment of trained social workers with police for deescalation.

Infrastructure and density: Alexandria recently took the title of highest-density city in the Commonwealth, and Arlington claims the highest-density locale. As our recent flooding and traffic problems indicate, our infrastructure is not built to handle our increased density. A state delegate's job is to secure resources for their district, and that would be a priority of mine in Richmond — especially new funding for sewer construction and remediation. I have also called for a new strategic study of traffic and roadways — not just in this district, but more broadly in Northern Virginia — to better guide our development.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

When I knock on doors throughout District 45, I often hear that voters are exhausted by the extreme politics offered by both parties. Voters question how a legislator could return decency and normalcy to politics, while having pragmatic results. My response to them is that I have served my country in some of the most challenging circumstances - whether it's been leading counter-terrorism missions in Iraq, or building counter-disinformation solutions amid a crisis of political faith, or delivering nuclear threat analysis to the White House - and that I'm hardly scared off by the rough partisanship at play in the Virginia legislature. I'm ready to bring the same discipline and resolve to my work as a delegate that I've asserted as a CIA Branch Chief, as an adjunct professor, or as a business owner.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

"Say only what you truly believe." When I entered this race, I sought advice from Democrats, Republicans and Independents. I wanted to know how they balanced their party's positions with their personal beliefs, since I had heard from other candidates that their party had somehow forced them into adhering to party lines. One former US Congressman explained to me that, "No, J.D., there's no upside in kowtowing to the party line. If you're going to be happy with yourself, and if you really want to win, say only what you truly believe." A weight was lifted from my shoulders.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I'm the first alternative to one party's rule that this district has had on the ballot in ten years. If you're unhappy with the direction things have taken, consider new leadership. I've been called a "radical moderate" for my centrist positions — I'll genuinely strive to serve everyone.

Related:

Candidate Profile: Elizabeth Bennett-Parker 45th District Seat

2021 Voter Guide