Virginia deserves better than these warp-speed six weeks.

Our legislature doesn’t have to work like this.

It’s been one week since the General Assembly adjourned, and it’s great to be back in the district with the colleagues, friends, and neighbors who inspire our work.

You know the most common thing people tell me when we reconnect?

“Boy, your time in Richmond goes by fast.”

And they’re right.

It’s tough keeping up with our warp-speed session from afar. Virginia’s six-week sessions rank among the top 10 shortest in the country.

I try to share updates on the big things as we go — education, energy, abortion, gun violence — but the truth is Virginia’s legislature isn’t built for citizen engagement. Short sessions empower the small crew of insiders who join us in Richmond and the full-time lobbyists who work year round.

That’s always been true, but even they’re starting to notice the old way doesn’t work so well. After all, this year marks the sixth straight session that we’ve failed to pass a budget by adjournment, and the special sessions that stretch us into overtime have now become routine. Longtime Virginia journalist Bob Lewis detailed the growing pains in this column last week.

I’ve been banging the drum to reform our calendar for years, and it’s great to see the chorus grow. As Lewis writes:

“Despite the compelling case for legislative reform, it’s the elephant in the room that’s seldom spoken about. Change never comes easy in the Old Dominion.”

And he’s right. Big change doesn’t come easy. But it can be done.

In my first two terms, I’ve helped lead the charge to make Richmond work better for the long haul: ending gerrymandering, embracing ranked-choice voting, and weaning Richmond off the corporate lobbying that hinders all the progress we deserve.

And that’s why I’m running for the Senate this year.

This district has a job to do — to bite off big problems and bring back results. That work has always come from Charlottesville, the cradle of American democracy and Virginia’s civic engineers.

The June 20 primary is fast approaching, and I’ll be doing all I can to earn every vote. If you have questions about the work that matters most to you, I hope you’ll send them my way. If you’re ready to help, I hope you’ll volunteer or donate to support our work. And if you have ideas about the change we need most next, I hope you’ll let me know. The best work we do in Richmond always starts with you.