MR. SUBRAMANYAM GOES TO WASHINGTON
By Chris Wadsworth
It was the name that people got stuck on. Suhas Subramanyam. Six syllables. “Foreign” sounding, perhaps to some. Hard to pronounce (although it really isn’t).
“People had told me to change my name when I was first starting to run. They said someone with my name wouldn’t be electable,” Subramanyam recalled. “I still get that a lot.”
But this Brambleton resident did run – and he won. First a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, then the Virginia Senate, and now as the first Ashburn resident ever elected to the United States Congress representing Virginia’s 10th District.
And he did it with his name intact.
“I just wanted to stay true to myself,” he said. “I thought I’d rather lose as Suhas Subramanyam then win as someone I’m not.”
Subramanyam moved to Ashburn in early 2017 – he had relatives in the area and liked being close to Dulles International Airport for work travel. He quickly fell in love with the community and – wanting to give back – ran for the House of Delegates in 2019.
Then, in an election that was not kind to many Democrats, Subramanyam bucked the trend and was elected to Congress this past November with 52.3% of the vote versus 47.7% for his Republican opponent. He replaces Rep. Jennifer Wexton, who retired after being diagnosed with a serious health issue.
Ashburn Magazine sat down with Subramanyam at the Blend Coffee Bar on a recent chilly morning to learn more about Ashburn’s new congressman in Washington. Here are excerpts from our conversation.
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Q: Congratulations on your election. How confident were you?
“We were pretty confident … A couple of reasons – one, I think the politics of MAGA and Trump seemed to be rejected from most of the people we were talking to. I also represented the area as a state senator, and there were even Republicans who really liked the work that I had done for the community who were supporting me. Combine that with the fact that this has always been more of a lean-Democratic district – so we felt we had a pretty good chance of winning, and that bore out even in a bad year for Democrats.”
Q: How did you feel that night when the results came in – the moment you knew you had won?
“I was just kind of taking it in with my family. I brought my kids to the election night party, and it was really special to be there with them. Jennifer Wexton was there, too, and it was really special for her to introduce me to the crowd. I have really big shoes to fill. She’s been an amazing leader for our region for a long time now.”
Q: As an incoming congressman, you had orientation in November. What was the experience like?
“I’ve been so focused on being a state senator and a dad and running this campaign, it didn’t really set in until orientation when I actually was able to step onto the floor of the Congress and meet Hakeem Jeffries and Mike Johnson and Nancy Pelosi and see some of these people that have shaped our country. It was really surreal, and it’s not something that I thought would be possible.”
Q: What are some specific legislative priorities for you as a freshman congressman?
“I want to make sure we have a strong economy in Northern Virginia. Part of that is protecting the federal workforce and federal contractors. One of the things I keep hearing the Trump administration – the incoming administration – say is that they want to force government workers out by making them come to work every day in person in D.C. I would love to actually give people here the ability to come to an office, but the problem is that the traffic is so bad that it makes no sense to force every federal government contractor and civil servant to drive to D.C. every day. It would be a nightmare.”
Q: So, what’s the solution?
“One of the things I’ve been advocating for is to try to get more federal government offices [and] satellite offices out here in Loudoun and Prince William and then try to get a system where we can have remote workers that works for the agency and for the employees. And then try to see if we can fix our infrastructure so it’s easier to get to D.C. Part of that is supporting Metro. Part of that is supporting infrastructure projects so it doesn’t all fall on the county.”
Q: How will you navigate a divided Congress?
“I served in the House of Delegates with a Republican majority with a Republican governor and we still found ways to pass legislation. I’m going to do whatever it takes. I’m going to work with Republicans. By nature, I’m a uniter and a peacemaker. I’m generally more bipartisan than most because I think it’s how you get things done in government.”
Q: What are your lines in the sand when it comes to compromising?
“A lot of the stuff that I care about is not partisan. There are some things I wish weren’t partisan, but they are. I wish gun violence prevention was not so partisan, but it tends to be now. I also wish that the environment and climate change weren’t so partisan. And I wish reproductive freedom wasn’t so partisan. Those are things where I’m not going to compromise my values because my values are important to me, and they are what got me elected.”
Q: If there’s one thing you could accomplish in your first term in Congress, what would it be?
“There are a lot of things I want to do. I’ll give you a couple because it’s hard for me to pick one. I have a dream of buying the toll road and chopping the toll prices down to two bucks. I think that’s probably a 20-year project if it ever happens. Certainly, if in two years you told me that the federal contractors and civil servants did not get fired en masse, I would consider that a big victory.”
Q: What about immigration, which has been such a hot-button issue?
“Immigration is something that I think is frustrating to a lot of people right now. There are a lot of people who live here in Loudoun who are on H-1B Visas and do a lot of great work and put in their time and they just can’t get a green card appointment and can’t get a path to citizenship. I would love to see us address legal immigration in a meaningful way. That would really help people in our district and in our community.”
Q: Speaking of, as an Indian American, you are representing an area with a large South Asian population.
“I knew there was a large Asian American population here, but I didn’t realize how large. It’s been really nice. I have a mixed-race family. It’s been nice to have temples and churches and even mosques and synagogues near us. My kids have exposure to so many different cultures. That’s really special I think and what makes Loudoun so unique.”
Q: Do you feel a responsibility to that community?
“Most of the Asians here are from South Asia – you have Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka. And the South Asian communities are very different – even within the Indian American population with the different regions of India. So, one of the things I have stressed is unity. Let’s not let the politics of South Asia divide us here in America. Let’s just celebrate the cultures that people have brought from all over the world.”
Q: Why made you decide to get into politics?
“I didn’t really see myself as a candidate until the 2016 election. That’s when I started thinking maybe I should get involved. I was volunteering for different campaigns in Loudoun. I had all this experience from working on Capitol Hill and in the White House. I started kicking around the idea in my head.”
Q: So, you finally took the leap.
“What triggered me really running for office – there was a state senator in the area – Dick Black. I interacted with his staff a couple of times and had a bad experience and felt like we could probably do better for this region. I also felt like Loudoun, in general, had some good representation, but there were a lot of ideas that I had to help us get a voice in Richmond.”
Q: What kind of politician do you think you’ve turned out to be?
“I always end up looking at the moonshots to see if I could make a dent. And I find that I am less influenced by lobbyists or outside groups because I am always willing to lose my job over doing what I think is right. When I got in, I was told to never touch the toll road issue because it was the third rail of Loudoun politics and everyone who touched it got burned. So that was my first bill, and I basically introduced a Republican bill – and it took two sessions – but I ended up passing a version of it that stopped two toll increases.”
Q: You’ve said you sometimes get crosswise with your fellow Democrats for not always adhering to the party dogma.
“One of the things that concerned me about politicians was that it was all about self-preservation for them and that they would not do the right thing if it meant keeping the power and the prestige. I don’t think I have that issue. If I do the right thing and I lose reelection over it, I am happy to go back to my family and do my career and make more money. I found out when you [approach it like that], the voters actually reward you.”
Q: Getting away from politics, what do you like to do around Ashburn?
“I love taking my kids to the playground and the community pool when it’s open. We like to go to the rec centers and the indoor pools when it’s too cold and the community pool is closed. My kids take up a lot of my time and I love that. We do a lot of play dates with our neighbors in Ashburn. I like to play pick-up basketball when I do have some free time.” (Editor’s note: Subramanyam is roughly 6-foot-2.)
Vital Statistics: Suhas Subramanyam
Age: 38
Hometown: Clear Lake, Texas (Houston area)
Family: Wife, Miranda Peña Subramanyam, and two daughters – Maya 4, and Nina, 3.
Education: Bachelor of arts in philosophy from Tulane University and law degree from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law
Career: Lawyer working with tech start-ups; policy advisor and Special Assistant for Technology Policy in the Obama White House from 2015-2017.
Did you know?
Suhas Subramanyam – who represented District 32 in the Virginia Senate – attended Clear Lake High School in Texas – the same high school his colleague, Sen. Russet Perry, attended. Perry represents the neighboring District 31 in the state Senate. Subramanyam is a few years younger than Perry and was friends with her brother.
Lightning Round
Favorite book: “The Count of Monte Christo”
Favorite musician or band: A band called Yellowcard
Favorite movie: “The Matrix”
Favorite TV show: “Game of Thrones”
Favorite food: Tacos
Favorite Ashburn restaurant: Rupa Vira’s The Signature (on Beaumeade Circle)
Favorite vacation spot: Western Loudoun County and/or Fauquier County. “I like hiking, so anywhere I can hike is a good vacation.”
Favorite memory: “The birth of my kids was pretty amazing.”
About the 10th
The 10th District, now represented by Suhas Subramanyam, consists of all of Loudoun County as well as western Prince William County, a small portion of southwestern Fairfax County and all of Fauquier and Rappahannock counties and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park. In November’s election, Loudoun voters made up about 55% of the total votes cast in the district.