Spotlight on House District 73: Match up between Earley and Walke

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Mark Earley and Herb Walke both want to be the next House delegate from District 73. The area encompasses all of western Chesterfield County.

“They want schools that focus on bread and butter issues. They want to focus on the core academics. They want hard work, merit and excellence to be rewarded,” said Earley, the Republican candidate.

Earley says students need equal opportunities, not outcomes, in the classroom. The foster parent says he will focus on parental empowerment and school choice.

Aside from education, Earley says inflation is another concern, along with backing law enforcement.

“They have a hard job. We’re asking them to do a hard job, so we need to make sure we don’t tie their hands behind their back. We need to give them the tools they need to accomplish it,” said Earley.

Walke is the Democratic candidate in this race. He’s running because he says no one else would in this typically more conservative area.

“What I do is I solve problems, and folks have asked me to solve some of the problems we have today. So that’s what I’m trying to do,” said Walke.

Walke, who spent most of his career with Reynolds Aluminum, is now a consultant. He says pollution control, gun safety and propping up the public education system are top priorities, and what he’s hearing while knocking on doors.

“And why funding is lacking in education and why funding is lacking in some infrastructure. There’s funding out there to take care of it and why aren’t we doing it,” said Walke.

The Virginia Public Access Project indicates that based on redistricting, the race for House District 73 leans Republican.

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