Charniele Herring

Charniele Herring
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 46th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2009
Preceded by	Brian Moran
Personal details
Born	September 25, 1969 ( 1969 -09-25) (age 42) Santo Domingo
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Alexandria, Virginia
Alma mater	George Mason University Columbus School of Law Jagiellonian University
Occupation	Lawyer
Committees	Courts of Justice; Militia, Police and Public Safety
Website	www.herringfordelegate.com

Charniele L. Herring (pronounced /ʃɑrnˈjɛl hɛˈrɪŋ/ sharn-yel he-ring; born September 25, 1969) is an American politician. A Democrat, she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in a special election on January 13, 2009. She currently represents^[update] the 46th district, made up of parts of Fairfax County and the city of Alexandria.^[1]

Personal life, non-political career

Herring was born in the Dominican Republic. She had a parent who served in the United States Army, and traveled frequently as a child.^[2] When she was 16 years old, her mother was laid off, and she lived in a homeless shelter for six months.^[3]

Herring studied for three years with the Virginia Ballet School and Company. She earned a B.A. in economics from George Mason University in 1993 and a J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in 1997. She also conducted advanced studies in law and international trade at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.^[2][4][5]

Herring was a VISTA volunteer. During college, she worked as a crisis intervention counselor for the Alexandria Mental Health Association. After joining the bar, she worked at a corporate law firm in Washington, D.C.. She now owns^[update] a government contracting firm and serves as its Chief Operating Officer.^[2][5]

Political career

At age 13, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, Herring testified before a government commission about health care coverage for military dependent children.^[5]

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine appointed Herring to the state's Council on the Status of Women. In 2006, she attended the Political Leaders Program at the University of Virginia's Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.^[2][5]

Virginia House of Delegates

Delegate Brian Moran resigned his House seat on December 12, 2008 to spend full time on his 2009 campaign for governor. Herring immediately announced her candidacy for the vacancy. In a caucus on December 16, Herring won the Democratic nomination, defeating Ariel Gonzalez, director of governmental affairs for the American College of Radiology, 191-43.^[6] In the special election on January 13, 2009, she defeated Republican nominee Joe Murray, an aide to Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina by 16 votes.^[1] Murray requested a recount, which was resolved in Herring's favor; she was sworn in on January 26.^[7] She has worked with housing groups to get funding for the Homeless Intervention Protection Act expanded.^[8]

Del. Herring is the first African-American woman (and only the second African-American) ever elected to represent Northern Virginia in the General Assembly.

See also

• Virginia elections, 2009#House of Delegates

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "January 13, 2009 Special Election Unofficial Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. https://www.voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/election/DATA/2008/CE21C97C-418A-4AC5-BE85-246497CE595F/Unofficial/8_s.shtml. Retrieved 2009-01-13. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Political Leaders 2006 Profile: Charniele Herring". Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. 2006-08-14. http://www.sorenseninstitute.org/newsroom/entry/political-leaders-2006-profile-charniele-herring. Retrieved 2009-01-07. 
3. ^ Lans, Michael (2009-01-11). "Candidates Hustle for Attention in Sprint to Replace Moran". The Washington Post: p. C05. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/10/AR2009011001998.html. Retrieved 2009-01-13. 
4. ^ Virginia House of Delegates bio, 2009
5. ^ ^{a b c d} "Meet Charniele Herring". Herring for Delegate - Virginia's 46th District. http://www.herringfordelegate.com/News.html. Retrieved 2009-01-09. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Craig, Tim (2008-12-16). "Herring Defeats Gonzalez; Murray Wins GOP Nod". Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2008/12/herring_defeats_gonzalez_murra.html. Retrieved 2008-01-07. 
7. ^ Meola, Olympia (2009-01-26). "Va. House swears in delegate after recount". Richmond Times-Dispatch. http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/RECOGATER27_20090126-141613/189008/. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
8. ^ http://www.herringfordelegate.com/issues/housing

References

• "Virginia House of Delegates 2009; Delegate Charniele L. Herring". Virginia House of Delegates. http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/a7b082ef6ed01eac85256c0d00515644/51b20fa834aec7678525753500606f67?OpenDocument. 
• "Herring for Delegate - Virginia's 46th District". http://www.herringfordelegate.com. Retrieved 2009-01-07.  (Campaign website)
• "Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership". http://www.sorenseninstitute.org. Retrieved 2009-01-07. 
• "Election Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/Election_Information/Election_Results/Index.html. 

External links

• Personal website
• Campaign website
• "Delegate Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria)". Richmond Sunlight. http://www.richmondsunlight.com/legislator/clherring/. 
• "Charniele L Herring". Virginia Public Access Project. http://www.vpap.org/candidates/profile/home/65422. 

Persondata
Name	Herring, Charniele L.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1969-09-25
Place of birth	Santo Domingo
Date of death
Place of death