Dawn Adams


Dawn Marie Adams is an American politician serving as the Delegate from the 68th District of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2018. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Adams is a nurse practitioner and small business owner as well as a former Director of the Office of Integrated Health at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and a former Health Policy adjunct faculty at the Old Dominion University.
As an openly lesbian woman, Adams is the first openly lesbian person and the fourth openly gay person elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia General Assembly.
Adams is one of five openly LGBT people serving in the Virginia General Assembly.

Political career

In 2017, Adams challenged Republican incumbent Manoli Loupassi for the 68th district seat in the House of Delegates, ultimately winning by 336 votes of the 40,000 cast in the district. Adams is Virginia's first openly lesbian member of the Virginia General Assembly, and became part of a record high with 25 women elected to the House of Delegates that year.
Adams successfully passed 57 percent of her introduced legislation in 2019, and is the chief co-patron of 20 bills that became law in her first two years in office.
Her committee assignments include the House Militia, Police and Public Safety, and The House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committees.

Legislative issues

Adams has stated that her legislative priorities are healthcare, particularly around issues affecting elderly and vulnerable populations, protecting and preserving the environment, providing children with a quality, affordable education, and creating infrastructure that builds healthier communities through better policy.

Healthcare

Adams has more than 30 years of healthcare experience, which she says has made her aware of the struggles that many seniors experience, from chronic health issues to aging-at-home to financial stability. She believes that legislators have a responsibility to address this problem by decreasing barriers and providing pathways to the needed wraparound supports.
She co-sponsored HB2491 along with Delegate Kathy Tran, which would have reduced limits on access to third-term abortion in Virginia. Following controversy about the bill's provisions, she apologized to constituents, saying: "I did not read a bill I agreed to co-patron and that wasn’t smart or typical. I will work harder and be better for it."

Education

The Virginia Education Association Fund for Children and Public Education has endorsed her because she has consistently voted for legislation supporting public education.