I was born in Roanoke and raised in Franklin County. Early in life I often spent time at a small restaurant run by my Granny Inge in Southeast, on Jamison Ave. Growing up, my dad first worked for Norfolk & Western and then became a deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department. My mom worked as a cashier at the Food Lion on Bennington St SE. To earn extra income, my family cleaned a psychiatry office in Old Southwest - not far from where I live today.
After graduating from FCHS I continued on to Virginia Tech, where I majored in Environmental Policy & Planning. At Tech I became involved with the VT Young Democrats, eventually being elected President of our chapter. In 2004, I took a semester off to work as a youth organizer for the Kerry-Edwards campaign in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
I moved to Washington, D.C. in early 2007 to pursue work in politics. For three and a half years, I worked as field organizer with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) - an organization dedicated to securing equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. There I had the privilege of organizing here in Roanoke, managing HRC's local efforts to secure support from Senators Warner and Webb in favor of federal hate crimes legislation and repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. In 2009, I managed HRC's Virginia electoral activities and worked on former Council member Gwen Mason's campaign for the Virginia House of Delegates.
In 2011, I transitioned into environmental work when I took a position with the Sierra Club in their federal policy office. First there, and since 2016 with Earthjustice—a nonprofit, environmental law firm—I have focused on Clean Air Act policy and advocating for stronger air quality protections. In these roles I analyze legislation and regulations, build partnerships with local and regional stakeholders to advance shared priorities, and lobby and educate decision-makers in support of our client and coalition priorities.
While D.C. was a rewarding and exciting place to live and work, I always planned to return to Southwest Virginia. In 2016, I bought my house in Old Southwest and set to work fixing it up and reacquainting myself with Roanoke. Since then, I have gotten involved with a number of local organizations and my neighborhood association, and I serve our city on two advisory boards and as an Officer of Elections. Being able to give back through these roles has been incredibly meaningful and provided inspiration for my City Council run.
If elected, I will be a voice for working class families, an advocate for safe and healthy neighborhoods, and a driver of strong local action on climate change and sustainability. I am inspired to run because I love Roanoke and I want to do my part to give back to my community. I still believe in the power of government to drive betterment and improve people's lives, especially local government. We have a wonderful city with so much opportunity and potential. But our prosperity and quality of life are not shared by all, and we continue to face enormous challenges resulting from socio-economic inequality and historic racism. If I had the privilege of representing the people of Roanoke, I would work to engage neighborhoods in decision-making and seek to increase civic participation and voting.
My personal interests include gardening and native plant landscaping, hiking and camping, riding my bike and taking long walks along the Greenway, yoga classes at Uttara, and curling up on the couch with my cat, Tofu.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope to meet you soon on the campaign trail!
Terry McGuire