We recently invited the candidates running for local office in the Nov. 3 General Election to write a post about why Arlington residents should vote for them. Find information on how and where to vote here.
Below is the unedited response from Timothy Sharman, who is running for House of Representatives 8th District.
In Gallup’s 2025 polling, 45% of American adults identified as independent. But our two-party political system is dysfunctional and fails them. It feels to me like the two parties — the Democrats and Republicans — are solely trying to score points off each other rather than addressing our urgent issues. I have repeatedly urged frustrated Democrats and frustrated Republicans in VA-08 to join my “Coalition of the Frustrated.” And many people have pledged their support.
My run for office started with the disgraceful 2025 government shutdown — people asked me to run with a commitment to never let government workers be hung out to dry by the political parties. I gave them that commitment — and I will start banging the table on Day 1 to prevent government workers from being punished like that ever again.
I realized the shutdown was simply emblematic of a wider issue: the astonishing lack of progress in addressing national priorities because of this two-party system.
My priorities — and my proposals — address the issues most Americans worry about when they wake up in the morning: affordability and opportunity. We must act on healthcare costs and access, fix the tariff disaster, and remove regulations that stand in the way of affordable housing, childcare, and transportation. I have set out a number of priorities in more detail on my website.
We also urgently need to mobilize around our transition to an AI economy.
An Independent in the U.S. House who votes on the merits of legislation can help prevent bad legislation from being enacted, and likewise help bring the two parties together to solve issues and break deadlock. Beyond that, an Independent can play a role in building bipartisan coalitions, working with members of the two main parties to find common ground for new legislation.
Personally, I grew up in London and studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University. I came to the US to work for a company in Northern Virginia and married an American, Kate. We made our life in Alexandria and had two children. My children and I still live in Alexandria, though my wife died in 2020. I also fell in love with America — the boldness, the innovation, the opportunity, the diversity, the culture — and the cheeseburgers! So I became an American citizen.
Sometimes I feel it takes an immigrant to see fully how incredible America is. Even if there are many things we urgently need to fix.