Democrat political newcomer Tinesha Allen upset longtime Griffis–Widewater Supervisor Jack Cavalier on Tuesday, defeating the incumbent by 18 votes in Safford County, Virginia. Allen is the first African American woman ever elected to Stafford’s Board of Supervisors.
She was one of two new supervisors and two new School Board members elected Tuesday in Stafford. They joined all four incumbent constitutional officers and School Board Chairwoman Patricia Healy, who won contested re-election bids, and George Washington District Supervisor Tom Coen, who was unopposed. Allen credited her campaign and her supporters for the hard work they did leading up to Election Day.
“It’s great to make history. It helps make younger kids know anything is possible.”
“The voters trusted me with their votes and it’s great we now have a Democrat sitting at the table,” Allen said.
Allen was born in Georgetown, Guyana, on South America on April 8th, 1985 to Ms. Cheryl Allen and Mr. Peter Hamilton. In a message on her website www.allenforstafford.com, Allen wrote the following message to Stafford residents. Here’s her story.
My name is Tinesha Allen. I was born on April 8th, 1985 to Ms. Cheryl Allen and Mr. Peter Hamilton. As a child growing up I had dreams of one day serving people as a lawyer and a judge. From a young age, I was a strong-willed, deeply caring and thoughtful child who was also a problem solver.
Until 2014, Brooklyn was my home. It was where I learned the meaning of hard-work, dedication, service to others, and the importance of education. I graduated Valedictorian of my middle school, and was in the top 1% of my graduating high school class of 2003. As a high school student, I was a member of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and the eventual recipient of a Posse Foundation Full Tuition Leadership Scholarship to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
At Vanderbilt University, I was involved with many organizations where I also held leadership positions. I served as vice-president of the Caribbean Student Association, and sports editor of the talented-tenth newspaper. I also mentored kids through the kids in computers program, work with amnesty international and I also volunteered with the Vanderbilt women’s center, a center that focused on women’s health and issues such as domestic violence, and rape. I also worked as a sports videographer for Vanderbilt’s football team, basketball teams and soccer teams. I eventually graduated with a degree in Political Science.
After leaving college I became a mother to a beautiful baby girl, Devin Heholt and married my husband, Mr. Devon Ward-Heholt. We made the decision to relocate to the great state of Virginia in 2014 because we felt Virginia was a great place to raise our daughter, add new members to our family as well as provide our family the opportunity to build and grow. Likewise, we decided to move to Stafford after visiting the county numerous times because we felt Stafford offered us the best environment for our family to grow. It provided us with the ideal suburban community while being scenic and idyllic. We appreciated the workman like attitudes of the residents as well as the friendliness amongst each other. I am currently a rideshare driver for Uber and Lyft while awaiting the start of nursing school in the fall of 2019 at Shenandoah University. My husband is an elementary school teacher and our daughter attends elementary school.
Why am I running for Griffis-Widewater supervisor? I am running for the Griffis-Widewater board of supervisors seat because I believe we need change. We need someone who says I HEAR YOU when you say our schools are crowded, and underfunded. Someone who will stand up for our Teachers, Firefighter, EMTs, Deputies, Sheriffs, and all public servants who work tirelessly to protect and improve our county but are not paid as such. Someone who is not tied to special interest and deep pocketed individuals but instead is HERE TO LISTEN and truly serve the interest of their fellow resident. Someone who offers realistic ideas and solutions, someone who is a leader and not an opportunist, someone who will work with others and someone who will always serve Stafford each and every day instead of during election time. I am confident that I am that voice and leader that Griffis-Widewater needs and its time that I have a seat at the table so that all of Stafford may truly be represented by someone who puts Stafford First!
I hope you join me on this journey as we march towards a new day for Stafford on November 5th, 2019. God bless you, God bless Stafford, and most of all, God bless America!
Congratulations, You Rock! To contact Ms. Allen email tineshaallenforstafford@gmail.com
