Patrick Hope

Patrick A. Hope is a Member of the Virginia General Assembly as the Delegate from the 1st District of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was re-elected to his eighth term in 2023. Delegate Hope serves as the chair of the House Courts of Justice Committee, is a member of the House Public Safety Committee. and the House Health and Human Services Committee. He is a health care attorney with over 20 years of experience working for Virginia and has been recognized by numerous organizations for his leadership and community service.

Patrick serves on several Virginia Commissions, namely the Joint Commission on Health Care (2014-current); the Behavioral Health Commission (2017-current); the Virginia Disability Commission (2021-current), the Virginia Crime Commission (2024-current), and the Commonwealth Council on Aging (2025-current). Patrick also serves as Chair of the PANDAS/PANS Advisory Council (2025-current), and as Vice-Chair on the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (2025-current), as well as the Autism Advisory Council. (2025-current).

Patrick was born in San Antonio, Texas. A high school graduate of Castle Hills First Baptist School in San Antonio, Hope received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from St. Mary's University in San Antonio ('93), then received his Master of Arts degree in Congressional Studies from The Catholic University in Washington, DC ('96), and then received a Juris Doctorate degree from The Catholic University Columbus School of Law in Washington, DC ('01).

After spending several years working on Capitol Hill for Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE) and Representative Henry B. Gonzalez (D-TX), Patrick worked for various health care organizations working to improve access and care for patients. He currently is the Executive Director of the Medical Imaging Division at AdvaMed. He also is an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and an Adjunct Professor in the Politics Department at Marymount University.

Patrick also has a very strong record of community leadership. Patrick was the founder and first president of the Buckingham Community Civic Association (2003-2009) and chaired the Arlington County Community Services Board (2005-2008). He also was co-chairman, Arlington Implementation Task Force to End Homelessness (2008-2010), and Commissioner for the Arlington County Commission on Aging (2002-2007).

In addition, Patrick belongs to numerous community organizations and causes: Arlington County Bar Association, Arlington Committee of 100, Leadership Arlington (Class of 2010), Arlington Kiwanis, South Arlington Kiwanis, Arlington Optimists, the Arlington Free Clinic, and the Arlington Historical Society.

One of my top priorities is to create and maintain a sustainable and economically competitive Commonwealth wherein individuals and businesses can thrive. In Richmond, I will always advocate to: Protect existing jobs and create new ones while defending workers' rights. Continue benefits for those who lose their jobs until they can find stable employment. Decrease employee turnover by improving benefits and increasing the minimum wage.

I am committed to providing Northern Virginia with its own permanent funding mechanism for transportation, infrastructure, and maintenance. I will work with my colleagues in Richmond to: Encourage mass transit through tax incentives for individuals and businesses. Develop incentives for businesses to encourage telecommuting. Target road improvements to ease congestion and transport people in the most cost and time-efficient manner. Advocate for the maintenance and operation of Virginia’s roads, bridges, and tunnels.

I pledge to support green technology and job creation to help make Virginia the green science epicenter of the United States. I support: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by investing in renewable energy such as wind, solar, and other technologies. Protecting water quality and preserving our natural green spaces. Providing tax credits for the purchase of energy-efficient appliances and home weatherizing technology.

I believe in the power of education to prepare our children in Virginia to be successful students and productive citizens. I plan to accomplish this through: Increasing school funding and teacher salaries in order to attract and retain quality teachers. Advocating for affordable public school education from pre-k to high school while maintaining the smallest possible class sizes. Supporting the full funding of the Virginia Standards of Quality that protects teachers and students from unfair working and learning conditions. Increasing high school completion rates and supporting initiatives for dropout prevention.

I will always seek to ensure that Virginia's most vulnerable populations are protected by: Supporting equality for all people with disabilities through equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. Protecting the continuous expansion of Medicaid so that every Virginian has coverage and access to health care. Developing programs to support and treat those with substance abuse disorders. Ensuring adequate mental health resources in the community to avoid people going into crisis.

Criminal justice reform is the civil rights issue of our time and I support bold reforms that achieve greater racial and social justice across Virginia. In Richmond, I will always support: Prison/jail reform that eliminates solitary confinement and ends mass incarceration through the reinstatement of parole, record expungement, and other sentencing reforms. Police reforms that improve transparency, create accountability, and reduce unnecessary punishment of persons who are homeless or suffering from mental illness or substance abuse. Ensuring fairness in our judicial process and strengthening Virginia’s indigent defense system.

The prevention of gun violence in our communities and in our Commonwealth is of the upmost importance to me as a legislator and as a father.​ ​As the former Chairman of the House Public Safety Committee, I am fully committed to continuing to build on the progress we made in Virginia. Under my leadership, the House Public Safety Committee made historic progress in 2020-21 passing bills to: Require universal background checks. Enact an extreme risk protective order, allowing law enforcement to temporarily confiscate firearms from individuals deemed at risk to themselves or others. Enact a one-handgun-a-month purchase law. Require gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms. Strengthen penalties for leaving an unsecured firearm that endangers a child. Allow localities to prohibit firearms in government buildings. We must enact legislation to ban military-style assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and ghost guns, and hold gun manufacturers accountable.

I am committed to advancing equality, justice and respect for all individuals across the Commonwealth. On this issue: I proudly stand in support of the LGBTQIA+ community, and will continue advocating for policies that uplift, protect and ensure full rights to the community. I will continue pushing for legislative changes that protect LGBTQIA+ individuals in areas like healthcare, employment, education and housing. Let’s continue to work hard for a future where dignity and equality know no bounds!

Reproductive health care is health care and should be considered an essential health benefit in all private and public health insurance plans. This past legislative session I voted in support of a constitutional amendment to protect the fundamental right to reproductive healthcare in Virginia. I support the following:​​ The right to a safe and legal abortion. Virginian's right to access birth control. I will oppose any effort to limit the right of a patient, in consultation with their health care provider, to make the best decision for their health, including attempts to legislate a patient's decision to end a pregnancy, criminalizing providers or patients, gestational age bans, or any interference with the patient-provider relationship.