3rd District Candidate Steve Woll (I)
Campaign Website: https://www.stevewoll.com/
Candidate Questionnaire from WHRO:
LOCALITY OF RESIDENCE: Where in Virginia do you live?
East Ocean View, Norfolk.
OCCUPATION: What is your current job? How would you describe your career?
I am self-employed as a consultant, working to advise clients on various factors and considerations regarding scientific data, sensors, measurement network technical considerations, and the business and leadership implications of all of these.
I served 21 years in the U.S. Navy as a Meteorology and Oceanography officer, and since retiring, I have worked in those disciplines in the private sector.
EDUCATION OR PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS: List any college degrees or professional certifications you hold
Bachelor of Science, Zoology and Computer Science, Duke University, 1983
Master of Science, Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, Naval Postgraduate School, 1993
Master of Business Administration, College of William and Mary, 2004
PREVIOUS POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Have you served in an elected or appointed political office before? When, where and in what position?
N/A
AI USE: Please describe any ways you’ve used generative artificial intelligence in your campaign (to produce mailers, signs, develop a website, public statements, etc.)
We have not used generative AI in my campaign.
IMPORTANT: What should constituents know about you?
I am a 25-year resident of Norfolk, having been stationed here for the end of my Navy career and making a conscious decision to stay here. Prior to this election cycle, I had never seriously considered running for elected office, but the toxicity and dysfunction of the current political environment have motivated me to throw my hat in the ring. I am powerfully disillusioned by both major political parties, which repeatedly put their own partisan interests over the interests of the citizens they were elected to serve. I am equally disillusioned with the actors - individuals, companies, or politicians - who are quite happy to accelerate polarization and disunity in American society because they gain money, or power, or both by doing so. I am largely a centrist, with some views leaning more conservative and some leaning more liberal. I believe that the country is in major trouble - the ship is heading towards the rocks, and I want to help turn it before we crash.
CONGRESS-LEVEL QUESTIONS
In a word or phrase, tell us: What do you think your race is about?
My tagline is: It's Time for a Change. No matter where you sit on the political or cultural spectrum, almost every American agrees that we are on the wrong track. To me, the needed change is to take power back from the self-interested political parties and return it to the citizens and their honest and community-motivated representatives, just as the Founders intended. This race is about making that change happen, which is why I am running and why I am running as an Independent.
How should the federal government address the ongoing affordability challenges?
One of the primary drivers of the current affordability crisis is the cost of housing, which would benefit from additional policy changes:
- adjust zoning requirements to increase the supply of multi-family dwellings and Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs), providing more housing availability
- address the challenge of current homeowners who are "locked in" to their homes because of a very favorable mortgage rate they received previously
- Similarly, look at options for government intervention to bring down mortgage interest rates, at least for first-time home buyers
What is one topic you think the current Congress has failed to address, and why?
The list of topics the current Congress has failed to address is extremely long. One that will have long term negative consequences is its failure to rein in our deficit spending, including but not limited to the entitlement system, which constitutes a large portion of the federal budget.
Quite simply, Congress refuses to act because this problem, like countless others, requires some hard choices to be made. For many reasons, Congress has evolved - on both sides - such that it is unable or unwilling to tackle ANY significant challenge, because to do so might cost their party votes or even cost them their individual Congressional seat. They also refuse to act because they are afraid to cross the political donors that keep them in office. Both motivations reenforce the fact that their seats are more important to them than delivering for the American people. They don't trust the American people to be able to deal with bad news and hard choices. I do.
What do you see as Congress’ role in acting as a check and balance on the other branches of the federal government?
The Constitution and our 250-year history is clear - each of the branches is designed to have the ability to check the others. Congress is the designated branch given the authority to declare war, and short of that, has established clear requirements via the War Powers Act for the President to report on and secure continued funding for any military conflict short of war. It has abdicated that responsibility. Congress is supposed to advise and consent on important personnel positions and decline to confirm nominees that are not up to the jobs they are nominated for. It has abdicated that responsibility. Congress is supposed to have the power of the purse and prevent the Executive Branch from executing spending that it has not approved. It has abdicated that responsibility. The list goes on. Congress must reassert the powers it has been given under Article 1 of the Constitution and act as a reasonable but principled check on the Executive and the Judicial branches, and not simply act as a rubber stamp for whatever Administration is in power.
What kinds of proposals should Congress consider as data centers become more common nationwide?
I share many citizens' concerns about data centers and their related costs and impacts. Because economic, geographic, and employment conditions vary by community, I believe each locality should be able to decide its data center policy - whether to allow them and what additional constraints to impose - for itself, balancing its own unique considerations.
However, to provide a baseline of protection, I support the following federal and state mandates for all data centers, regardless of location:
- they must bring their own energy sources or arrange for a separate energy supply, such that their energy demand shall not drive electricity rates up for surrounding households and businesses
- any new energy sources commissioned for data centers must be from clean, renewable sources
- they must be designed and operated to conform with strict environmental standards, to include water use, pollution, noise, land and habitat impacts, and others as applicable
On what issues do you see yourself cooperating with the other party? What approach do you both share with regard to that issue?
As an Independent - who will clearly not have a governing majority - I will by definition be working with both parties to accomplish as much as can possibly be achieved in a bipartisan or non-partisan manner. As noted above, I believe that specific actors are deliberately acting to keep the American people - and our political parties - divided. I truly believe that vast majority of even the most diametrically opposed partisans still agree on probably 70% of the underlying issues, and that the malign actors keep the rest of us focused on the 30% we disagree on (which is usually a debate on what is the best manner to tackle the problems, not on the problems themselves), and those malign actors do so because that allows them to accrue outsized money and power. As an Independent, it will be my full time job to remind my Congressional colleagues that they are Americans above all else, and that they need to act and legislate that way.
Do you support Congressman Hakeem Jeffries or Congressman Mike Johnson for House speaker?
I would not support either.
What trade policy changes do you think the next Congress should pursue?
One of the issues on which Congress has abdicated its responsibilities are tariffs and trade policy. It needs to re-assert its authority here and take back the reins from the Executive branch. Across-the-board tariffs imposed by this Administration as a way to fight a trade war with most of the world should be rescinded, leaving only highly targeted tariffs that are approved by Congress, are imposed in response to unfair trade practices from a trading partner, and are used as a last resort after other negotiations have failed. I believe the American worker and the American business community can compete successfully against any country in the world, as long as there is a level playing field.
Where do you stand on abortion, and do you believe there’s a role for federal legislation in regulating abortion?
I am pro-life. I recognize that this is by far the single most emotionally charged issue in modern America, and I believe that the majority of people on both sides are acting out of sincere beliefs. It is also an issue with many valid but conflicting perspectives and considerations - far too many to be adequately covered in a few sentences. That being said, my perspective is as follows: I know of no scientific, religious, or cultural consensus on when human life begins. Given that, my view is that until such a consensus emerges, the most moral position is to be as conservative as possible, and to protect the fetus as far back as possible.
I am also a believer in the law. As with many other issues, I believe the standards on this issue should be decided as close to the community as possible. From a practical perspective, that means at the state level. Although I disagree with the morality of laws that allow abortion, I will respect laws as passed by the individual states. At a more macro level, I also support increased research on methods of birth control that do not allow conception to take place and thus over time can dramatically reduce the demand for abortion care.
If elected, how would you use your position to help alleviate the housing crisis in your district, Virginia and nationally?
I believe increasing the availability and affordability of housing is the key. There are several approaches, some of which have been mentioned previously:
- stop mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, which compose a significant portion of the home construction work force
- adjust zoning requirements to increase the supply of multi-family dwellings and Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs), providing more housing availability
- look at conversion of former business structures (abandoned or underutilized malls, office buildings, etc.) to housing units
- address the challenge of current homeowners who are "locked in" to their homes because of a very favorable mortgage rate they received previously
- similarly, look at options for government intervention to bring down mortgage interest rates, at least for first-time home buyers
How do you personally use artificial intelligence in your life? What specific regulations do you propose for companies producing AI?
I am a modest user of generative AI in my professional and personal life. I use it primarily to generate first drafts of documents and to do research.
I am not fluent enough in the technical details of the risks to be able to provide a list of specific regulations that I would support, beyond the fact that AI companies should not be able to simply scrape and make money from citizens' personal information, companies' intellectual property, and the output of media outlets, until and unless those AI companies fairly compensate those information sources. Beyond that, I absolutely believe that the AI industry needs to be regulated intelligently, and we should include AI skeptics and critics in the fact-gathering and rule-making processes and not simply rely on industry cheerleaders who are motivated only to maximize the money flowing to them, with little or no regard for the welfare of the public.
The federal government should generate national-level regulations, instead of 50 states implementing their own. The current Administration has sidelined and emasculated the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. I would resurrect it and restore it to its prior prominence in cybersecurity, and then add an additional division to address AI, with all of the resources needed to adequately monitor and regulate the industry, guaranteeing the personal privacy, intellectual property, and safety of the American public and business world.
VIRGINIA-LEVEL QUESTIONS
What is your stance on the use of Flock or other automatic license plate readers in your district?
I am a strong believer in the Fourth Amendment, which protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures, and requires that any searches be supported by probable cause.
The routine deployment of Flock cameras and other ALPR technology to constantly and comprehensively monitor our streets fails this basic probable cause test, and so I oppose their broad use and would work to eliminate or restrict their use.
That being said, it is clear that having the ability to rapidly monitor the area around a major crime significantly increases law enforcement's chances of capturing dangerous criminals and thereby protect citizens. Thus I would be open to a centralized, well-regulated, and tightly monitored system to allow police to rapidly activate the cameras in the vicinity of a crime scene, for a fixed period of time, and for use only in prosecuting the specified incident. However, experience has shown that some police officers abuse this technology, thus its activation must be tightly controlled and recorded to prevent such abuse (by, for instance, having a central activation point for each police force, with continuous filming of the operator and continuous recording of all communications to and from that operator, so that all cases of activation could be reviewed for appropriateness and proper procedures).
What is the largest issue facing your district right now, and how would you work to address it from Washington, DC?
Like most of the country, the rising cost of living and the failure of wages to keep up is the largest issue facing the residents of Hampton Roads. Steps to help address that include the following:
I would work to rescind the current Administration's self-inflicted inflationary policies:
- remove all across-the-board tariffs, leaving only targeted tariffs approved by Congress
- restore amicable trade relations with Canada and Mexico
- end the war in Iran
- stop the mass deportation of undocumented workers who are willing to work hard, pay taxes, and attain legal status while performing some of our most difficult and low-paying jobs
Then, I would work to increase the federal minimum wage, which has not been adjusted since 2009 and to which the Virginia state minimum wage is tied.
Finally, I would work to introduce incentives, taxes, fees, and other policies that would level the playing field between automated labor (robots, AI, etc.) and human labor. This would increase the demand for human labor and start to allow wages to catch up to the actual cost of living after several decades of falling consistently behind.
Editor's Note: Virginia law says employers cannot pay less than the federal minimum wage. The law also says employers must pay either the federal minimum wage or state minimum wage, whichever is greater. Virginia lawmakers passed legislation to incrementally increase state minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2028.
How would you plan to work or collaborate with the Spanberger administration?
I would cooperate and collaborate with all levels of the Commonwealth government as much as possible, regardless of administration or party. The best solutions for citizens are always generated by a close collaboration between federal, state, and local governments, and I would work to execute that as much as possible.
A hospital or multiple health care centers in your district are at risk of service cuts/closure due to Medicaid changes. How would you advocate for your district’s health and wellness?
I would work to restore the Medicaid cuts imposed by the current Administration and restore the ACA premium supports also cut by the Administration, both of which have decimated service for some of our most vulnerable citizens. The quality of our actual health care - if you can get access to it and afford it - is unsurpassed in the world. The quality of our health administrative systems is abysmal, resulting in the waste of hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Our average health care spending per capita is the highest in the world for peer nations, with results that are below the median for those same peer nations. Meanwhile, medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States.
Therefore, beyond restoring Medicaid and ACA premium supports, I would support at a minimum a transition to a single payer system, as a way to reduce a large part of the 20% of health care spending that is wasted on our byzantine health care administrative system. I would certainly entertain further reforms beyond that (i.e. a government option, Medicare for all who want it, etc.) and would support them if the system could be administered in a fair manner and the benefits outweighed the costs.
I would also support a significant increase in/shift towards preventive care, changes in compensation from procedures performed to actual health results, increases in the number of doctors and nurses trained and deployed, and other common sense reforms.
Where do you stand on the pending Dominion Energy–NextEra merger?
I am not familiar enough with all of the business and regulatory impacts of the proposed merger to offer an informed opinion on the details. However, at the macro level, I am skeptical of any merger like this, as mergers of this size rarely result in benefits to rate payers. Instead, benefits usually accrue to the stockholders of the companies, at the expense of citizen interest.
Thus I would strongly encourage the regulators at the state and federal levels to closely examine, clearly articulate, and broadly promulgate the results of their reviews; allow wide public comment after that review; and to base their decision on the costs and benefit to citizens/ratepayers rather than the benefits to stockholders.
As a Virginian, what are your thoughts on Ballot Question 1?
I support many of the concepts expressed in the Referendum Text, including protecting the freedom to make personal decisions about several of the areas listed; about protecting doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for decisions (as long as those decisions were made in compliance with the laws in effect); and about allowing restrictions on abortion in the third trimester unless the patient's health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive.
However, I find the wording in the proposed text to be too broad and imprecise, and in particular, the proposal to protect any decision a person may make about abortion, which conflicts with my personal beliefs on abortion as outlined above. Therefore I will be voting against Amendment Proposal 1.
As a Virginian, what are your thoughts on Ballot Question 2?
I believe in equal rights for ALL citizens, regardless of sex, gender, race, and any other personal characteristics. Therefore I will be voting in support of Amendment Proposal 2.
As a Virginian, what are your thoughts on Ballot Question 3?
I believe in maximizing access to the ballot for all citizens who are in good civic standing and mentally capable of considering all the relevant issues and casting an informed ballot. I fully support Section (i) to provide for the fundamental right to vote and Section (ii) to allow all released and rehabilitated prisoners, including those convicted of felonies, to be allowed to exercise the right to vote automatically and immediately upon release from incarceration.
However, Section (iii) proposes to allow voting by persons as long as they "understand the act of voting." I interpret this as saying the person understands the process: that they can mark a ballot, and that that ballot will be counted with all the other ballots, and then a winner will be declared based on that count. As the section is written, as long as the person can understand that specific set of facts, they would be allowed to vote, even if the person is "mentally incompetent", i.e. not mentally capable of considering all the relevant issues and casting an informed ballot.
In my opinion, voting by persons who are not mentally capable of considering all the relevant issues and casting an informed ballot is unwise and inappropriate. Because I disagree with Section (iii), I will be voting against Amendment Proposal 3.
How confident are you that the 2026 Virginia midterm elections will be free and fair?
If the 2026 midterm elections are allowed to proceed under the direction and monitoring of the Virginia Department of Elections and in accordance with Virginia law, then I am 100% confident the upcoming elections will be free, fair, and reflect the will of the voters.
However, like many others, I am concerned that the current Administration and Congressional leadership may attempt to interfere in the elections in Virginia and other states, through the deployment of ICE agents, the deployment of military/National Guard personnel, interference with mail-in voting, failure to recognize the results of elections whose results they do not like, and other methods. Such activities would absolutely not be free, fair, or reflect the will of the voters, and thus would call the entire validity of the elections into question.
Who won the 2020 presidential election?
Joe Biden