Government/Politics: BARRY KNIGHT
CHAIR, HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, VIRGINIA BEACH
Published
Something Del. Knight, R-Virginia Beach, never wants to do again is “unload corn silage out of a silo at 100 degrees.” When he was a teenager, he recalls, he worked a series of jobs that included truck driving and farm work.
He eventually owned his own hog farm and went on to be appointed to Virginia’s Pork Industry Board and serve as vice president of the Virginia Beach Farm Bureau.
Knight made statewide headlines in 2020 after he introduced a bill that would prohibit plant-based dairy alternatives (like soy, almond and oat) from being marketed as “milk.” It ultimately garnered a veto by then-Gov. Ralph Northam.
A member of the House of Delegates since 2009, Knight has a history of supporting Virginia’s businesses. As such, he has earned accolades from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. As leader of the powerful House Appropriations committee, Knight was among the small group of state budget negotiators this year who crafted a compromise budget that offered tax relief but no gas tax holiday.
ONE THING I’D CHANGE ABOUT VIRGINIA: Give Northern Virginia back to Washington, D.C.
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