HAMPTON, Va. - A Hampton resident and a proud veteran is now the first African American Republican delegate of Virginia’s 91st District.
News 3 reporter Kelsey Jones went one-on-one with A.C. Cordoza and shares what he’s hoping to do in the General Assembly.
After a recount Wednesday, the results are finally official.
Sixty-four votes separated Del. Martha Mugler and Cordoza in the 91st District in Virgina’s House of Delagates race.
Now we know Cordoza has been confirmed the winner.
"I'm very happy and I feel like we’re going to do a great job for the Commonwealth,” Cordoza told News 3 Thursday.
The longtime Hampton resident says he's already thinking about some of his legislative goals, including improving the process to find missing and endangered Virginians.
“We have legislation that will make alerts for when someone is disabled mentally or physically so we can began searching for him the right way, as well as funding the alerts we already have,” he explained.
Representing Hampton, York County and Poqouson, Cordoza says he plans to partner with police to get the ball rolling on this.
But that's not all he's focused on.
“I'd love to join the Minority Business Commission to see what we can do to actually help our businesses and give everyone a fair shot,” he said.
This push comes from the impact COVID-19 has had on small businesses in his district, including Black-owned businesses.
Cordoza says the first step is listening to concerns.
With food deserts a huge problem within Hampton Roads, especially within underserved communities, we asked him how he plans to tackle that issue.
“Well, I plan on working with our local food banks. We actually have seven in the Commonwealth, and I want to bring them in on the conversation and see if we can tackle this issue head on,” he said.
We also asked Cordoza what he plans to do to make these goals a reality. He tells us as of now, nothing is concrete.
Click here for our full coverage on the 2021 Virginia elections.