Reston Democrat Ken Plum Will Not Seek Re-Election In November

Update (Feb. 22, 11:55 a.m.): Del. Ken Plum officially announces his decision not to run again in a letter to his constituents on Wednesday.

RESTON, VA — Democrat Ken Plum, who has represented Reston in the Virginia House of Delegates since 1982, will not be standing for re-election in November. Plum is the longest-serving member of the House of Delegates, serving a total of 44 sessions.

"There comes a time when you would like to be able to continue on, your body says you've probably had enough," the 81-year-old delegate told Patch in a phone interview on Monday.

Plum plans to spend his retirement gardening to keep fit and traveling the world with his wife. Plum will make his official retirement announcement on Saturday.

"I will not walk away from the issues that I'm concerned about," Plum said. "People will still hear from me and I'll still express an opinion and pass some judgments on people who continue in office."

When asked if there was any issue or piece of legislation he was particularly proud of, Plum couldn't come up with a single answer.

"We have made amazing progress and it's not me. It's me and other people working together to bring Virginia into the modern age," he said. "What we face in this election this season is the effort on the part of some people to rollback legislation that we've passed that moves Virginia forward. I'm going to continue to work on human rights, which has always been something I have been concerned about. Ending gun violence and gun safety is a major concern of mine."

Working to make climate action a priority for Virginia and getting rail to Dulles were also big issues for Plum during his tenure.

"I spent 25 years working on getting the Silver Line extension to Loudoun County," he said. "I did that as part of my legislative duties, but, obviously, it consumed a lot of my time. That's probably the biggest single one thing that I did. Other things contributed to making Virginia a more progressive state."

“Ken has been the voice, the vote, and the conscience of Reston in the House of Delegates," Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said, on Tuesday. "I am sad to see him go, but we are all better for his many years of public service. Thank you Ken!"

The redrawn district lines will be in effect for Virginia General Assembly candidates for the first time during November's general election, when voters in District 36, which Plum was elected to in 2021, will vote in the 7th District.

A retired teacher and school administrator, Plum originally served as a member of the House of Delegates from 1978-80 and his current term representing the 36th District started in 1982. He also served as the director of adult and community education at Fairfax County Public Schools.

Making sure that local schools were funded adequately was another priority for Plum.

"We fund our schools better than we used to, but we still don't do enough for schools," he said.

Plum is currently a member of the agriculture, Chesapeake and natural resources committee, as well as the appropriations and the public safety committees in the House of Delegates.

Over the years, Plum has been recognized with numerous awards for his service and leadership in the Reston community, including the Community Partner Award from the Giving Circle of HOPE (2014), the Distinguished Transportation Leadership Award from the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance (2013), and the Pinnacle Award from the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce (2007).

No other candidates from either party have come forward to announce their intention to run in the 7 District race. In the 2021 election, Plum garnered 26,076 votes, which was more than double what 10,263 votes that Republican Matthew Lang received. In the 2021 primary, Plum defeated challenger Mary Barthelson with 6,180 votes compared to her 1,801.

Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 7, to choose candidates running for the Virginia House of Delegates, the Virginia Senate, the Commonwealth's Attorney, Clerk of the Fairfax Circuit Court, Fairfax County Sheriff, Chairman of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, District Members of the Board of Supervisors, At-Large Members of the Fairfax County School Board, District Members of the School board, and Directors (vote for 3) of the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District.

Early voting for the June 20 Democratic Party primary begins on May 6. Voters must register by May 29 to be eligible to vote in the June 20 primary. The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot for the Democratic primary is June 9.