Every voter has something to contribute to how we govern ourselves as a Commonwealth. That conviction is at the core of Delegate Ware’s service to, and representative of, his constituents. “Accordingly,” he notes, “my primary objective is to represent our shared interests in deliberations at the Capitol.”
To enable him to do so, Delegate Ware meets regularly with individual citizens, civic associations, local officials and employees, and educators, and I receive, ponder, and respond to a steady stream of email, calls, and occasional letters. “Your interests and concerns then become the portfolio that I carry to Richmond, and which I represent in each and every vote that I cast on your behalf,” he pledges.
“In deciding how to vote as your delegate to the House, I consider both my core convictions and our place within the larger Commonwealth of Virginia. For example, we all want the best public schools, from kindergarten through college. We all want a good transportation system. And, we all want to be safe and secure in our homes and neighborhoods.”
Ends, Means, Consequences
“On these and other perennial issues, most differences concern only how to achieve a shared objective. The challenge to which I devote my energies on any major issue, therefore, is how to balance the ethical relationship among ends, means, and consequences.
“For example, there is broad consensus that everyone should have access to healthcare. But, what are the best means of achieving this good end? Should government or the private sector be the principal insurer? In either case, what would be the consequences for taxpayers, for businesses, for doctors and nurses, for hospital systems and patients? And, would individual liberty be enhanced—or diminished?
“It is because the means and consequences matter as much as the ends or objectives of public policy that I embrace principles of the Republican Party. While independency is possible at the local level, to be effective in Richmond every legislator must declare an allegiance.” Delegate Ware continues:
“Our system of government is characterized by faction and friction—exactly as the Founders intended. Within these necessary constraints, it has I believe been the Republicans in the House who have protected us against too much taxation and too much governmental spending at any level. And also, I might add, against too-intrusive a state government.
A Record of Achievement
“Our budgetary achievements in the current biennium have been significant, despite the fact that Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House, while Democrats hold a somewhat larger majority in the Senate. “These achievements, and also a complete record of my votes on every bill that has come before the House of Delegates, are readily accessible to you by visiting the official webpage of the House of Delegates. The link for the Legislative Information System online is: leg6.state.va.us “Of course, there is much more to be done, on many issues. Which is precisely why I am seeking voters’ support to continue to represent your best interests, within the context of our beautiful and bountiful Commonwealth, for another term.
“Cordially,
Improving Education
As the father of four children, each of whom was graduated from our public schools, and as the grandfather of ten, Delegate Lee Ware understands the vital importance of parent-and-teacher cooperation in the creation and maintenance of outstanding schools. His wife, Kathy, complemented this devotion for many years as a PTO leader.
Principled, Consistently Conservative Leadership and Voting Like you, Lee Ware is a taxpayer. Like you, he understands that voters rightly expect state government to maximize the efficiency of the public purse—including in administering taxpayer dollars for education. This is why he champions strict fiscal discipline in state spending generally, and this is why he works to funnel taxpayer dollars to the classroom.
Attracting and retaining the best-qualified teachers, and ensuring that our children are given every opportunity to experience—and to excel—in the adventure of learning, are among his legislative priorities.
Named Virginia’s ‘Outstanding Teacher on the Constitution’ in an annual ceremony by the John Marshall Foundation, and the first public school teacher appointed to the State Board of Education, Lee Ware brings the unique experience of the classroom to the Capitol for his constituents. To him, education is both a personal career and a public commitment.
For full state support of local schools' obligations
For the highest academic standards - - and opportunities
For merit pay for outstanding teachers
For salaries sufficient to attract and retain the best teachers
For rigorous academic standards
For maintaining decision-making authority at the local level
For proper benefits for all educational personnel
For local control of the school-year calendar
Good Growth and Transportation
Virginia's transportation issues are a growth issue and Delegate Lee Ware believes we need continually to review our state-wide transportation plan to ensure that we are addressing both road construction and maintenance needs, providing for orderly economic growth and residential expansion, while protecting our priceless natural resources.
Delegate Ware also supports additional rail improvements that help take cars off our roads and enable families to spend more time with one another - not stuck in traffic.
He crafted the legislation that enhanced Virginia's conservation easements, leading to the preservation of thousands of acres—and also of numerous family farms. counties to better preserve Virginia's 3,000 miles of "scenic byways" —was passed by the House of Delegates.
As chairman of the House committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake, & Natural Resources, Delegate Ware is a leader on every issue of importance to Virginia’s largest industry, to restoring the Bay, and to the wise use—and also the faithful renewal—of the resources of nature that make Virginia both bountiful and beautiful. His advocacy of wise land use and urban design contributes both to our prosperity and to the attractiveness of the communities in which we live.
Taxes and Spending
It seems that every day there is a story about how government spending is increasing and taxpayers are shelling out more money. Delegate Ware supports keeping the rate of growth of governmental taxing and spending in balance with economic conditions in the private sector. Several times he has introduced legislation—never, alas, adopted by his colleagues—to restrict growth in governmental spending to growth in the private economy.
Like you, Lee expects government to use fiscal restraint when spending our hard-earned tax dollars, and he believes that providing tax incentives to businesses - not more governmental spending - is the key to spurring economic recovery.
Issues of Importance in These Times
In a nutshell, Delegate Ware believes that government is the creation of the people, hence exists to serve, not to subordinate, citizens of the Commonwealth.
Accordingly, it is a matter of bedrock conviction to him that Jefferson was correct when he observed, “That government governs best that governs least.”
Delegate Ware is, then, devoted primarily to individual and familial liberty within a social and political order that conserves the best traditions of the past to form freedom-loving and free-living Virginians for the future.
On any issue, this conviction accounts for his consistently conservative, prudent, and occasionally prophetic speeches, Op/Ed commentaries, and, emphatically, votes.
For example, in the 2023 General Assembly Delegate Ware was patron of House Bill (HB 1604) which, after years of prior defeats, was unanimously passed by both chambers. HB 1604 will protect ratepayers of both Dominion and APCO by restoring oversight of rate requests by the State Corporation Commission.
Delegate Ware is a skeptic about our society’s ability to switch, within a matter of years, from fossil fuels to only wind, solar, etc., for meeting our needs for the generation of electricity. He has repeatedly cautioned, too, that a rush to EVs—that is, electric-powered-only vehicles, as mandated by the State of California, without having first completed massive upgrades to our electricity grid, could prove disastrous.
Such are Delegate Ware’s convictions, and such are his votes—all conveyed with an appeal to men and women of goodwill in both major political parties—or of none.
Committed, courteous, cheerful, principled, and effective - - these are some of the qualities that across the years have earned Delegate Ware such commendations as these:
*endorsed by the voice of small business—the National Federation of Independent Business
*endorsed by Virginia Farm Bureau’s AgPAC
*a ‘Legislator of the Year’ of Virginia State Police Association
*one of the House’s top-ten pro-business legislators by Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education (VA FREE)
*a defender of our liberties--of Free Speech and Assembly, for example, evidenced in repeated endorsements by the National Rifle Association
* ‘Legislator of the Year’ by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation
* a ‘Hero of Conservation’ by the League of Conservation Voters
And, Delegate Ware is an unyielding champion and often patron of bills on behalf of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL).