Flanary Launches Campaign For State Senate Seat

Centreville businessman Jason Flanary officially launched his campaign for the Republican nomination for the state’s 37th senatorial district on Sunday.

Flanary, 32, will seek to win the GOP nomination in an Aug. 23 primary against Steve Hunt. If he won, he'd face off against Democrat Dave Marsden, who won the seat in a special election last year against Hunt after former Senator Ken Cuccinelli became the state’s attorney general. The district includes Burke and parts of Chantilly, Centreville and Fairfax Station.

Flanary is currently the chief operating officer for ccAdvertising, an advertising and research firm in Centreville. He held his campaign kick-off luncheon at the Centreville Volunteer Fire Department Station Number 17.

Flanary, who served as a legislative assistant to state Delegate Tim Hugo, said he was seeking the seat because it was a time for a change in leadership in Richmond.

“We need leaders in Richmond who won’t be afraid to tighten the belt and make sure that every tax dollar is well spent, instead of going to taxpayers every time with a tax increase," Flanary said.

If elected, the economy, making more jobs and transportation issues would top his list of priorities, he said.

“Northern Virginia is the economic engine for the rest of the state,” Flanary said.“We need to make sure that we remain competitive with Washington D.C. and Maryland. The Virginia hospitality industry brings in millions of dollars every year.”

Flanary said that widening Interstate 66, the area’s transportation lifeline to jobs in the district, would also be a priority. He also suggested that some mobility problems could be solved with the same out-of-the-box thinking that got the I-66 HOV ramps to Monument Road opened during off-hours.

A Hampton Roads native, Flanary served in the Marine Corps from 1997 to 2001, when he provided security to President Bill Clinton at the Camp David presidential retreat. He worked as Clinton’s personal trainer and taught Chelsea Clinton how to shoot skeet, he said.

“It was probably the most dynamic time in my life,” Flanary said.

After he left the Marines, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and International Politics from George Mason University and served as vice president of Government Relations for the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce.