Education
University of Maryland.
politician member of Virginia State Senate
University of Maryland.
A Democrat, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates 1976-1980, after which he was elected to the Senate of Virginia. He currently represents the 35th district, made up of parts of Fairfax County and the city of Alexandria. Saslaw has been the Democratic leader of the Senate since 1996, serving as Majority Leader 2008-2012, 2014-June 12, 2014, and Minority Leader 1998-2008, 2012-2014.
He ran for Congress in Virginia"s 8th district in 1984.
He was defeated by then-Congressman Stanford Parris. In the 2007 Virginia legislative elections, Democrats gained a majority by picking up four seats in the Virginia State Senate.
Senator Saslaw was named Majority Leader when the Democrats assumed control of the chamber in 2008. He also serves as chair of the Senate"s Labor and Commerce Committee.
Education has been one of his priorities.
In 2006, the Association of School Boards named him Virginia Legislator of the Year. Gun control
In February 2011, Saslaw was one of eight senators on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee who “passed by indefinitely” House Bill 1573, defeating the bill by an 8 to 4 margin. The bill, also known as Castle Doctrine, would have allowed “a lawful occupant use of physical force, including deadly force, against an intruder in his dwelling who has committed an overt act against him, without civil liability.”.
