Eileen Filler-Corn
Minority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates
In office
January 12, 2022 – April 27, 2022
Preceded byTodd Gilbert
Succeeded byDon Scott
In office
January 1, 2019 – January 8, 2020
Preceded byDavid Toscano
Succeeded byTodd Gilbert
56th Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates
In office
January 8, 2020 – January 11, 2022
Preceded byKirk Cox
Succeeded byTodd Gilbert
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 41st district
In office
March 3, 2010 – January 10, 2024
Preceded byDavid W. Marsden
Succeeded byChris Obenshain (redistricting)
Personal details
Born
Eileen Robin Filler

(1964-06-05) June 5, 1964
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRobert Corn
Children2
EducationIthaca College (BA)
American University (JD)
WebsiteOfficial website

Eileen Robin Filler-Corn (born June 5, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Minority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates from January to April 2022, a position she previously held from 2019 to 2020. She previously served as the 56th Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2020 to 2022. Since 2010 she has served in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 41st district in the Fairfax County suburbs of Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Democratic Party.[1] She is also the first woman and Jew to serve as Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates.[2]

Personal life

Filler-Corn was born in New York City and grew up in West Windsor, New Jersey, graduating from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School in 1982.[3][4] She graduated from Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Arts in 1986. She earned her Juris Doctor from American University's Washington College of Law in 1993.[5] In the time between her two college stints, she worked on Democrat Jeff Laurenti's unsuccessful 1986 campaign to defeat incumbent Republican congressman Chris Smith.[4] She and her husband Robert Corn, President of Landmark Strategies, Inc., a national issue advocacy, grassroots engagement and campaign voter contact firm, have two children.[6]

Career

Filler-Corn served as director of intergovernmental affairs in the administrations of Virginia governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. Since 2007 she has been director of government relations at Albers & Company, a national lobbying and consulting firm in Arlington.

On January 1, 2019, Filler-Corn became Leader of the House Democratic Caucus, and was the first woman to lead a caucus in the 400-year history of the Virginia House of Delegates.[7]

From 2020 to 2022, Filler-Corn served as the Chair of the Rules Committee and as Chair of the Joint Rules Subcommittee.[8]

Filler-Corn first ran for the 41st district seat in 1999, but was unsuccessful. She won the seat in a 2010 special election to replace David W. Marsden, who had himself won a special election to the Senate of Virginia the month before.[9][10] Jim Dillard, the Republican incumbent who defeated Filler-Corn in 1999, endorsed her candidacy in 2010 because of her opponent's remarks that funding for Fairfax County Public Schools was "excessive".[11]

Filler-Corn won by 37 votes. She was sworn in on March 3, 2010, after her opponent dropped his plans to request a recount.[12]

In 2019, Filler-Corn introduced and passed House bills on a variety of issues, from expanding education on the topic of consent in schools to exempting disabled veterans from motor vehicle property tax.[13]

On January 8, 2020, the new Democratic majority elected Filler-Corn Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. She is both the first woman and Jewish person to serve in this position. On November 9, 2019, following elections where the Democratic Party of Virginia won control of the House, the incoming caucus officially nominated her for the position of Speaker in the 161st General Assembly.[14] She began her term as Speaker on January 8, 2020.[2]

On May 26, 2020, Filler-Corn endorsed Joe Biden for President.[15]

On April 27, 2022, Filler-Corn was removed from her position as Democratic leader after a vote of the party caucus; no official reason was given at that point in time.[16] The caucus did not have an immediate vote to fill the position, but it is now held by Don Scott.[17] It later came out that she was removed due to her poor handling of campaign funds - hoarding them as opposed to spreading them around to other vulnerable General Assembly races.

In March 2023, Filler-Corn announced she would not run for reelection this year.[18] On October 18, 2023, she announced that she would run for Congress in Virginia's 10th congressional district, seeking to succeed outgoing U.S. Representative Jennifer Wexton.[19]

Legislative issues

In 2019, one of Filler-Corn's top priorities has been preventing gun violence. She and other Democrats formed a “Safe Virginia Initiative” task force, which she co-chairs, to examine the issue.[7]

In response to the refusal by Republican delegates to consider gun control legislation, she has stated that action on gun control must be taken in order to prioritize school safety.[20]

The Virginia Education Association Fund for Children and Public Education has endorsed her because she has consistently voted for legislation supporting public education.[21]

Electoral history

DateElectionCandidatePartyVotes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 41st district
November 2, 1999[22] General J H Dillard II Republican 7,752 58.52
E R Filler-Corn Democratic 5,482 41.38
Write Ins 13 0.10
Incumbent won; Republican hold
March 2, 2010[23] Special Eileen Filler-Corn Democratic 5,758 50.13
Kerry D. Bolognese Republican 5,721 49.80
Write Ins 7 0.06
David W. Marsden was elected to the Senate; Democratic hold
November 8, 2011[24] General Eileen Filler-Corn Democratic 11,959 68.01
Mike R. Kane Libertarian 5,509 31.33
Write Ins 114 0.64
November 5, 2013[25] General Eileen Filler-Corn Democratic 15,030 56.9
Fredy Burgos Republican 10,392 39.41
Christopher DeCarlo Independent 944 3.58
Write Ins 37 0.1
November 3, 2015[26] General Eileen Filler-Corn Democratic 12,175 92.8
Write Ins 945 7.2
November 7, 2017[27] General Eileen Filler-Corn Democratic 22,985 90.8
Write Ins 2,317 9.2
November 5, 2019[28] General Eileen Filler-Corn Democratic 17,302 71.58
John Michael Wolfe Independent 4,568 18.90
Rachel Mace Libertarian 1,875 7.76
Write Ins 428
November 2, 2021[29] General Eileen Filler-Corn Democratic 23,201 65.14
John Michael Wolfe Republican 12,346 34.66
Write Ins 71 0.2

References

  1. ↑ "Delegates Eileen Filler-Corn". virginiageneralassembly.gov. Commonwealth of Virginia. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Newly-Empowered Virginia Democrats Promise Action | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  3. ↑ Gregory S. Schneider. "A 400-year first: Filler-Corn breaks many barriers as new Democratic leader in Virginia's House." The Washington Post, January 2, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Wildstein, David (November 9, 2019). "New Virginia House Speaker is New Jerseyan who worked to oust Chris Smith in 1986". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  5. ↑ Rachel Hatzipanagos. "Profile: Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn, 41st District." Fairfax Station Patch, August 18, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Eileen Filler-Corn's Biography." VoteSmart.org
  7. 1 2 Schneider, Gregory S. (December 27, 2018). "A 400-year first: Filler-Corn breaks many barriers as new Democratic leader in Virginia's House". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Virginia House of Delegates Member Listings". virginiageneralassembly.gov. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Del. Dave Marsden Wins 37th State Senate Special Election". Fairfax County Democratic Party. January 13, 2010. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  10. ↑ "VA State House 041 - Special Election Results". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  11. ↑ Kravitz, Derek (February 21, 2010). "Democrat in special election for Fairfax House seat nabs endorsement from ex-rival". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  12. ↑ Kravitz, Derek (March 3, 2010). "No recount in close Virginia House race". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  13. ↑ "LIS Virginia". Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Eileen Filler-Corn is the first woman to be nominated for Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates". 8News. November 9, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Va. House Speaker endorses Biden for President". nbc12.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Democrats vote to remove Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn from Virginia House". wusa9.com. April 27, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  17. ↑ Moomaw, Graham (April 27, 2022). "Va. House Democrats remove Filler-Corn without picking new leader". Virginia Mercury. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Filler-Corn, Lewis join Virginia General Assembly exodus". WTOP-FM. Associated Press. March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  19. ↑ Kassel, Matthew (October 18, 2023). "Eileen Filler-Corn announces campaign for open House seat in Northern Virginia". Jewish Insider. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  20. ↑ Albiges, Marie (February 14, 2019). "On 1-year anniversary of Parkland shooting, Virginia Democrats highlight failed gun reform bills". Daily Press. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  21. ↑ "General Assembly". Virginia Education Association. 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Election Results - House of Delegates - Nov 1999 Gen Election". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on December 28, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  23. ↑ "March 2010 House of Delegates Special Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on October 14, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  24. ↑ "November 2011 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  25. ↑ Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2013. Ballotpedia.
  26. ↑ Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2015. Ballotpedia.
  27. ↑ Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2017. Ballotpedia.
  28. ↑ "Virginia Election Results: November 5, 2019". The Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  29. ↑ "2021 November General". results.elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
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