A Georgetown graduate and former University employee ran and lost in Virginia’s House of Delegates elections Tuesday.
Democrat Earnest W. Porta Jr. (SFS ‘86) failed to unseat his incumbent opponent, District 51 Republican Michele McQuigg. McQuigg took nearly 54 percent of the vote.
Porta said he began his campaign eight months ago at the request of Virginia Democrats, despite having no original plans to run in this year’s elections.
Porta’s campaign focused on education, healthcare and transportation, with particular attention given to I-95 High Occupancy Toll lanes as a means to alleviate traffic congestion.
Porta attributes many of his leadership skills to his experiences as an undergraduate student at Georgetown.
While at the University, he took active roles in the College Democrats and Model United Nations, experiences that gave him valuable skills for entering politics. Among those lessons, Porta stressed the importance of decision-making and speaking one’s mind.
“I owe it to people, at a minimum, to tell people how I feel about an issue,” he said.
Porta received his J.D. from Georgetown Law School in 1992. He then worked in the Georgetown finance office until June 2003, where he served as chief finance officer and treasurer.
Darryl E. Christmon, Georgetown’s current chief finance officer, commended Porta’s achievements, emphasizing in particular his debt-management skills.
“He was by far one of our better finance officers,” Christmon said.
Christmon supported Porta’s stance on campaign issues, calling him a progressive.
“He has a very honest approach, very candid,” Christmon said. “We need more people like him that just want to make things better.”
Porta worked on John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign in Virginia and said he drew on his experiences on the trail when modeling his own campaign.
“I was frustrated with the tenor of [Kerry’s] campaign,” Porta said. “There was a lot of divisiveness.”
Porta wanted his own campaign, by contrast, to be very candid. He said he personally knocked on 11,000 doors.
University Services Chief Financial Officer Mary Beth Fargo, who volunteered for the campaign, spoke highly of Porta.
“I knew Ernie to be somebody who would just be excellent,” Fargo said. “He is capable of absorbing issues very quickly, coming to a decision and articulating it very well.”
Fargo hopes Porta will continue his political career.
“He has all of the traits needed to be successful in politics,” she said. “The experience of running will really be helpful to him.”
Mr. Porta could not be reached for comment on his future plans.
