Hurst was elected Nov. 7 to represent District 12 in the New River Valley in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Ayala to represent District 51 in Northern Virginia.

Politics should be about making a difference in people’s lives. Instead, it seems like politicians are deadlocked, squabbling and being influenced by special interests.

We decided to run for the Virginia House of Delegates because we believe things can be different. Here in Virginia, we can and must change how we govern: by putting people first, rising above the ugly partisan battles and standing independent of special interest influence. The truth is, we can and must be better so that we can make progress towards building a brighter future for our children.

That’s why we are so excited to be some of the first candidates in the country to have signed on to America’s Goals, a new blueprint for state government supported by Future Now, a new organization pushing to reorient politics around goals and accountability.

The goals reflect our values: good jobs, affordable quality healthcare, investing in children, empowering people over special interests, equal opportunity for all, sustainable infrastructure, and clean air, water and energy. Achieving these goals will create communities where all Virginians can thrive.

Rather than mere political slogans, each goal has ambitious and measurable targets for the Commonwealth to achieve by 2030. That means, for example, more high-quality affordable healthcare, so Virginians live longer. It means that Virginians should be able to get a college or technical degree without crushing debt. It means that our roads, bridges, rails and airports should start working, and stop crumbling.

America’s Goals present an inspiring vision for our future and help us measure what our government is doing (and not doing) to get Virginia back on the right track. Together, we can hold Richmond accountable for passing policies and making progress toward them.

Most importantly, America’s Goals will help fix our broken, ugly politics. Rather than more fights about policies that never get anywhere or personalities that don’t get along, they can help us come together around shared goals to move us forward. That’s why public officials in Virginia and throughout America should be focused on these goals.

We ran for the Virginia House of Delegates because we have a vision for a better state government that does more to serve Virginians. That’s why we, and nearly one-fifth of incoming Delegates, have signed on to support America’s Goals. With our campaigns behind us, we look forward to pushing for progress toward these Goals in Richmond, and we invite all our colleagues and the Virginians who elected us to join us.

America’s Goals are a set of measurable policy goals for states available at https://www.futurenowusa.org/the-goals/.