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Stella's Priorities
Protecting Federal Workers
With the uncertainty generated by the Trump Administration, families in Northern Virginia are having to navigate rising costs of living and potential job losses. Senator Pekarsky has consistently fought for our families to help job growth and lower the cost of living.
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Standing Up for Federal Employees and Contractors: Stella will stand up to Trump and DOGE to protect the federal workforce from harmful cuts, and ensure that Northern Virginia remains the best place to live, work, and raise a family.
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Protecting Jobs: Stella will fight tirelessly to preserve jobs for federal workers in Northern Virginia and ensure the strength and reliability of the federal workforce.
Lowering the Cost of Living
Too many families are struggling with rising costs for housing, groceries, utilities, and other essentials. Stella is committed to help make families make ends meet by combating inflation and corporate greed, and seeking investments to improve affordability.
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Tax Relief for Virginians: Stella has voted to increase and expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and supported legislation to guarantee that every filer received a direct tax rebate from the surplus, giving direct support to families of $400 for joint filers and $200 to individuals.
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Fighting Hidden Fees: This year, Stella directly took on corporate interests and passed SB 1212, one of the most expansive consumer protection measures banning undisclosed junk fees, saving families thousands every year.
Supporting Small Business
Stella and her husband started a small business in Northern Virginia and know the challenges that entrepreneurs face. Stella believes that small businesses are the backbone of our economy and is committed to help them thrive.
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Investing in Women-Owned Businesses: Stella carried SB 393 that would ensure that women-owned businesses were afforded a level playing field in being considered in Virginia's Major Economic Investment Projects.
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Bringing Resources to Small Businesses: As a State Senator, Stella has worked hard to ensure that funding and resources are coming back to the district to support small business growth.
Fighting for Education
Stella believes that education is the foundation of opportunity. Her frustration with the state’s unacceptable funding for public education and teachers’ salaries and the lack of urgency to remedy these issues led her to launch a primary challenge to one of the most senior members of the Virginia Senate.
Stella will bring that fight to Congress to defend public education against MAGA attacks and ensure that every student's right to a quality education is protected. She will fight to fund programs, such as free and reduced school lunch programs and IDEA, to help ensure that every student has an opportunity to learn.
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Collective Bargaining for Teachers: As Chair of the Fairfax County School Board, Stella passed a resolution to grant collective bargaining rights to Fairfax County Teachers for the first time.
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Record Funding for Public Education: During her tenure as State Senator, Stella helped secure record funding for public education in the State budget including for higher education and increased teacher salaries.
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Protecting Students:
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Protecting Teachers: Stella passed legislation to close loopholes that made it more difficult for teachers to retain their positions. Stella fought back against Glenn Youngkin's teacher tip line.
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Restorative Practices: Stella carried legislation to create pilot programs for restorative practices, reducing the school to prison pipeline.
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Improving Classroom Tools for Equity: Stella passed SB 1034 that ensured that teachers are properly trained on augmentative communication devices that their students use, before the start of the school year, ensuring equitable access to education.
Boosting Healthcare Access & Affordability
As a mother with medically complex children, Stella knows firsthand the importance of accessible and affordable healthcare. Too many families are making the choice between affording groceries or paying a medical bill or having the ability to fill a prescription. She is committed to lowering costs and expanding access to life-saving care.
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Lower Drug Costs: Stella has supported legislation to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, that would help regulate and cap prices for life saving drugs, like insulin.
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Medicare for All: In Congress, Stella vows to support Medicare for all and fight all of the MAGA cuts to medicaid that would force thousands of Virginians off of their healthcare.
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Fighting Insurance Companies: This year, Stella directly took on insurance companies by championing and passing SB 1215 to regulate prior authorization.
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Expanding Telehealth for the Underserved: Stella increased healthcare access by passing both SB 1038 and SB 1039 this year, providing training and resources to help providers provide telehealth services for patients with disabilities and requiring state correctional facilities to allow inmates to utilize telehealth services.
Protecting Women's Healthcare
As a mother, sister, and daughter, Stella knows the importance of having freedom in your reproductive healthcare choices. Women and families across the Commonwealth and country felt the devastating impacts of the Supreme Court’s repeal of the Rowe v. Wade decision. Stella will always vote to support a woman’s right to choose and to have autonomy over their bodies.
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Codifying Roe v. Wade: Stella was a Co-sponsor SJ 247 that would enshrine a woman’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Stella will fight to enshrine a woman’s right to reproductive freedom into federal law.
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Expanding Access: Stella has supported and will continue to advocate for increased access to birth control, family planning services, and safe, legal abortions.
Fighting for Workers
Stella is a steadfast champion for workers, advocating for fair pay, strong unions, and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to show up to their place of work with dignity. Stella will continue to advocate for bringing high paying jobs with protections here in Virginia, and ensuring that people have the tools they need to be successful in their roles.
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Collective Bargaining:
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As Chair of the Fairfax County School Board, Stella passed a resolution to grant collective bargaining rights to Fairfax County Teachers for the first time.
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Stella championed SB 1033 that ensures there’s a binding arbitration agreement for teachers who have collectively bargained for their contract, ensuring that they have fair negotiated pay.
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Stella supported SB 917 which repealed the prohibition of collective bargaining by public employees, expanding labor rights for individuals across the state.
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Expanding the Workforce: Stella championed and passed SB 1188 that requires the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation to accept appropriate international reciprocal licenses, expanding our workforce.
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Expanding Unemployment: Stella supported SB 1766 that expanded Unemployment Insurance benefits by increasing the weekly rate amount.
Protecting the Environment & Investing in Renewable Energy
Stella knows that the most existential threat to our generation and those beyond is climate change. The natural disasters caused by increasingly devastating weather events have cost the U.S. more than $450 billion. Stella is committed to protecting the environment, investing in renewable energy, and ensuring a livable planet for generations to come.
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Clean Energy: As a State Senator who ran on a clean energy platform, Stella wants to ensure that her children and generations to come have a livable planet.
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Protecting Our Future: Beyond the exponential rising costs of addressing this crisis, more people are losing their lives or will become climate refugees in the future.
Advocating for Peace and Human Rights
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Standing with Ukraine: Stella stands with Ukraine in its fight to defend its sovereignty against Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked aggression. Stella's husband was born in the former Soviet Union and her family has seen firsthand the dangers of authoritarianism. We must remain strong in our support for the Ukrainian people and their fight for freedom, democracy, and lasting peace.
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Supporting our Allies towards Peace: Stella also believes the United States must support our allies in defending themselves around the world—including South Korea, Taiwan, and Israel. Israel has a right to exist and defend itself, and U.S. defensive assistance should continue to ensure its security. At the same time, we cannot and must not be drawn into another endless war in the Middle East. That’s why Stella would vote NO on Donald Trump’s reckless push toward war with Iran, and seek diplomatic resolutions to stop Iran’s nuclear program.
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Ending the Gaza Crisis: The humanitarian crisis in Gaza must end. We need an immediate ceasefire, the return of all hostages, and the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid. Innocent civilians—both Israeli and Palestinian —deserve dignity, safety, and the chance to live.
Safeguarding our Democracy
As the daughter of working class Greek immigrants and the wife of a Jewish refugee from the former Soviet Union, Stella knows first hand the fragility of democracy. She knows that right now we are in a critical moment to defend our democracy from MAGA extremists who are undermining and obstructing the core tenets that our country was built on. Existential threats to our democracy have no place in our society and Stella will continue her fight in Congress.
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Standing Against Extremism: Stella has consistently fought against attacks on our democracy, including January 6th insurrectionists and election deniers.
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Defending Voting Rights: Stella will fight the Republican attacks against voting access and fight to implement Federal protections against voter suppression.
Defending Immigrants
Coming from a working-class immigrant family, Senator Pekarsky believes that immigrants are vital to the fabric of our nation. She is committed to protecting the rights of immigrants and refugees and ensuring a fair and humane immigration system.
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Protecting Immigrant Rights: Stella will fight against discriminatory policies that target immigrant communities and work to ensure that all individuals are treated with dignity and respect.
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Pathway to Citizenship: Stella will advocate for comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and undocumented immigrants.
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Supporting Refugees: Stella will support programs that assist refugees and asylum seekers, ensuring they have access to the resources they need to thrive in their new communities and rolling back the Trump administration's elimination of these programs.
Ending Gun Violence
Gun violence is a public health crisis that affects communities across the nation. Students should not have to live every day in fear of an attack on their schools. Stella is committed to implementing common-sense gun safety measures to protect families and ensure safer communities.
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Universal Background Checks: Stella will advocate for universal background checks for all gun purchases to prevent firearms from falling into the wrong hands.
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Assault Weapon Ban: Stella will support an assault weapon ban because instruments of war should not be roaming our streets unregulated.
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Red Flag Laws: She supports the implementation of extreme risk protection orders to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed a danger to themselves or others.
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Funding for Mental Health Resources: Stella will push for increased funding for mental health services to address the root causes of gun violence and support those affected by it.
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Community Safety Initiatives: She will work to provide communities with the tools and resources needed to combat gun violence effectively, including education and prevention programs.
Safeguarding LGBT+ Virginians
Stella is committed to ensuring that every individual, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, is treated with dignity, respect, and fairness. Her records demonstrates her unwavering dedication to protecting and uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community.
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Marriage Equality: Stella co-patroned 2025 SJ249, starting the process of repealing the of same-sex marriage prohibition language that is still in the Virginia Constitution and affirming that the right to marry is a fundamental right.
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Safe and Inclusive Schools: During her tenure as Chair of the Fairfax County School Board, Stella championed policies that fostered safe and inclusive environments for LGBT+ students. She worked to implement anti-bullying measures and supported initiatives that promoted equity and acceptance in schools, ensuring that every student could thrive without fear of discrimination.
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Advancing Federal Protections: In Congress, Stella will fight to pass the Equality Act, which would provide comprehensive protections for LGBT+ individuals in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations.
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Supporting LGBT+ Youth: Stella recognizes the unique challenges faced by LGBT+ youth, including higher rates of homelessness and mental health struggles. She will advocate for increased funding for programs that provide critical support to these young people, ensuring they have access to safe housing, counseling, and resources to help them succeed.