Improving Transportation

For over 20 years, there have been bitter partisan battles in Richmond over transportation. Recent progress has been made, resulting in a more efficient and responsive Virginia Department of Transportation, greater coordination between land use planning and transportation funding decisions, and increased resources for construction and maintenance throughout Virginia. Yet a great deal more needs to be done. Shannon supports the creation of dedicated and reliable funding sources to meet ongoing transportation needs. He believes that money raised for transportation purposes must be spent on transportation projects and not diverted. He believes that we need to add additional lanes to highways, make Metro extend to Dulles Airport and improve rail along the I-81 and I-95 corridors.

Protecting Children

A former Fairfax County prosecutor, Steve Shannon has a long record of protecting children from abuse and sexual exploitation. He successfully prosecuted child predators and handled numerous domestic violence cases.

Steve and his wife Abby co-founded the Metropolitan Washington AMBER Alert program in 2001 to help law enforcement locate abducted children. The Shannons received Fairfax County’s highest public service award for their efforts.

He has used his expertise to become a child protection leader in the General Assembly. He serves on the Governor’s Commission on Sexual Violence. Shannon wrote and passed a bipartisan bill that helps law enforcement locate abducted children by tracking a missing child’s school records that is used as a model for other states.

Shannon is also a leading advocate in the General Assembly for children with autism. Every 20 minutes, a child is diagnosed with autism in America. This growing epidemic puts an incredible strain on families struggling to access the early therapy that can unlock the full potential of autistic children. Shannon is working with state agencies to improve access to these specialized medical and educational resources.

Fighting Crime

“Steve Shannon was one of my most effective prosecutors. He has successfully prosecuted child molesters, drug dealers and violent criminals. Fairfax County is a safer place because of Steve.”

Robert F. Horan, Jr.
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney (1967-2007)

As a former Fairfax County prosecutor, Shannon has convicted violent offenders, and he’s brought that expertise to the General Assembly. He co-founded our region’s AMBER Alert system. He serves as Chairman of the Committee on Treatment and Intervention on the Governor’s Commission on Sexual Violence. He has been the lead sponsor of several bills that improve our statewide AMBER Alert system and empower law enforcement with new tools to find missing children. He works closely with Virginia’s state police, local law enforcement, firefighters, sheriffs, and sheriff’s deputies to make sure our first responders are equipped to keep our communities safe.

Government Accountability

Steve Shannon has worked with Governor Kaine to pass a balanced budget without broad-based tax increases. For two years in a row, Forbes Magazine has named Virginia the best state for business. Shannon is the lead sponsor of a Government Efficiency Initiative that would require the legislative branch to conduct a regular audit of its operations and expenditures.

Steve believes that government must be transparent to its citizens. He supports having the House of Delegates’ proceedings televised, as well as requiring that every vote in the legislature is recorded.

Education

Steve Shannon helped pass a bill to improve management at our public schools so we can reduce administrative costs and devote more resources to the classroom. As a member of the Higher Education Subcommittee of the House Education Committee, Shannon is working to hold the line on tuition rates at our state colleges and universities while providing more capacity for our growing student population. He works closely with the Virginia Education Association, parent-teacher associations, and university administrators towards these ends.