Eileen Filler-Corn

Eileen Robin Filler-Corn (born June 5, 1964) is an American politician currently serving as the 56th Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. 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]

Eileen Filler-Corn
56th Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates
Incumbent
Assumed office January 8, 2020
Preceded by	Kirk Cox
Minority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates
In office January 1, 2019 – January 8, 2020
Preceded by	David Toscano
Succeeded by	Todd Gilbert
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 41st district
Incumbent
Assumed office March 3, 2010
Preceded by	David W. Marsden
Personal details
Born	Eileen Robin Filler June 5, 1964 New York City, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Robert Corn
Children	2
Education	Ithaca College (BA) American University (JD)
Website	Official website

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, Ithaca NY with a B.A. degree in 1986. She received her J.D. degree from American University Washington College of Law in Washington, DC 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]

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

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

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] She is the first woman ever to hold the position, as well as the first Jewish Speaker.

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

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.[16]

The Virginia Education Association Fund for Children and Public Education has endorsed her because she has consistently voted for legislation supporting public education.[17]

Electoral history

Date	Election	Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Virginia House of Delegates, 41st district
Nov 2, 1999[18]	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
Mar 2, 2010[19]	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
Nov 8, 2011[20]	General	Eileen Filler-Corn	Democratic	11,959	68.01
		Mike R. Kane	Libertarian	5,509	31.33
		Write Ins		114	0.64
Nov 5, 2013[21]	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
Nov 3, 2015[22]	General	Eileen Filler-Corn	Democratic	12,175	92.8
		Write Ins		945	7.2
Nov 7, 2017[23]	General	Eileen Filler-Corn	Democratic	22,985	90.8
		Write Ins		2,317	9.2
Nov 5, 2019[24]	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	1.77

References

1. "Delegates Eileen Filler-Corn". virginiageneralassembly.gov. Commonwealth of Virginia. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
2. "Newly-Empowered Virginia Democrats Promise Action | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. Retrieved Dec 11, 2020.
3. Gregory S. Schneider. "A 400-year first: Filler-Corn breaks many barriers as new Democratic leader in Virginia’s House." Washington Post, January 2, 2019.
4. 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. 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 2020-05-27.
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". voices.washingtonpost.com. 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. 2019-11-09. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
15. Newsroom, NBC12. "Va. House Speaker endorses Biden for President". nbc12.com. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
16. Albiges, Marie (Feb 14, 2019). "On 1-year anniversary of Parkland shooting, Virginia Democrats highlight failed gun reform bills". Daily Press. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
17. "General Assembly". Virginia Education Association. 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
18. "Election Results - House of Delegates - Nov 1999 Gen Election". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2012-12-28. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
19. "March 2010 House of Delegates Special Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
20. "November 2011 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2013-06-16. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
21. Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2013. Ballotpedia.
22. Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2015. Ballotpedia.
23. Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2017. Ballotpedia.
24. "Virginia Election Results: November 5, 2019". The Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved 2019-11-08.

External links

• "Eileen Filler-Corn". Virginia Public Access Project. (campaign finance)
• "Election Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 2013-04-29.
• "Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax Station)". Richmond Sunlight.
• "Eileen Filler-Corn". Ballotpedia.