Two candidates are seeking one seat in the Nov. 3 special election for Virginia House of Delegates District 20. The district includes the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park and part of Prince William County.
The Manassas Journal sent both candidates the same six questions about district priorities, public schools, housing and infrastructure, criminal justice, data centers and immigration.
Nate Fritzen submitted responses. Sonia Vasquez Luna did not submit responses by the deadline.
Rather than summarize his positions in our own words, the Journal is presenting Fritzen’s responses in his own words, shortened for length by removing some passages.
Early voting begins Friday.
Editor’s Note
Every candidate received the same six questions and the same response deadline. Responses were shortened for length by removing some passages. The Manassas Journal did not rewrite the remaining responses or change a candidate’s wording, position, examples or qualifications.
The same editing standard was applied to every candidate. Each responding candidate was given an opportunity to review their own edited responses before publication.
1. District Priorities
Local services, economic resilience and representation
How would you assess the most important challenges facing House District 20 today? What would you prioritize in Richmond, and how would you make sure residents of Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William County have a meaningful voice?
Nate Fritzen
“The greatest concern I see facing District 20 specifically is economic diversity and financial resilience in the anticipation of an economic downturn. Those two factors play into the unique concerns of independent municipalities like, Manassas City and Manassas Park City, which operate autonomously and independently.
“The power, trash and water service must be consistent and reliable, and the roads must be maintained. Their greatest asset and liability is the ability to maintain the basic services necessary to justify ‘Home Rule’ or self-governance at the local level.
“If elected to represent the people of House District 20 I would work to ensure that our independent municipalities have the tools to remain independent, maintain existing services quality and reliably maintain utility infrastructure, while simultaneously not overburdening our taxpayers.
“I openly support the existence of these independent cities and I will fight to retain local government ‘Home Rule’, because citizens who reside in independent municipalities have a greater representation and voice when their elected representatives live in close proximity to those they represent.”
2. Public Schools
Funding, student outcomes and teachers
How would you assess Virginia’s current approach to funding and setting policy for public schools? What, if anything, would you change to improve student outcomes, support English learners and balance state and local costs?
Nate Fritzen
“Growing up, I was a K-12 public school student. I graduated from the Manassas City Public School system in 2012 and I stand by generally funding public education at the State and Local level for the betterment of our society as the main tool for educating our future citizens, however, I’ve been disappointed by the reports from the local School Boards of high absenteeism and stagnating test scores.
“I don’t necessarily place the blame on the school boards; there are larger national issues and concerns at play that our School Boards are responding to that schools all across America are facing.
“If I could wave a magic wand to improve the education of our children, I’m the first person to yell: Make school more fun! Give them more team building activities such as sports, music and arts! Give our students a reason to show up to school, to participate and generally be active and engaged students.
“But, fun alone doesn’t create better outcomes. Great teachers and coaches do. Training and retaining our top performing teachers, while letting go of and replacing the poor performers, would be my recommendation and if elected I’d work across the aisle to make sure that our top performing educators are given the tools and compensation to make teaching a viable long term carer path for promising and passionate educators.
“This is in direct conflict with those who advocate for Public Sector Unions, which protect bad teachers at the detriment to school performance and quality. If elected to represent District 20, I would actively work to prevent Public Sector Unions from creating barriers to removing administration and staff that do not benefit our primary educational goal: Educating the future citizen workforce.”
3. Housing and Infrastructure
Housing supply, growth and local land-use decisions
How would you assess Virginia’s approach to housing growth, transportation and infrastructure in Northern Virginia? What, if anything, would you change while respecting local land-use decisions?
Nate Fritzen
“Housing is my top campaign priority. As a person who aspires to own a home in our area, I’m happy to see any construction or development of the housing stock in our area and across the State of Virginia. Build Baby Build! All shapes, all sizes, all types!
“Because, the sad reality is: That housing supply has not kept up with demand in our District and across the country. There’s a whole cohort of Americans all over the country living in suboptimal housing situations and I count myself among them.
“The big lesson to be learned is that housing is financial security, job stability and freedom. It is a necessity to have adequate housing stock in order to maintain the cohesion and character of our society and community.
“In this matter, I’ve sought the expertise of those more familiar with housing policy and their thoughts on the housing crisis and the subject matter expert I place the greatest confidence in is former traffic engineer Chuck Mahron and his organization Strong Towns.
“If elected as your representative, I would work to enable the civically minded investors and homeowners who wish to capitalize on their investments to expand housing stock from Single Family exclusive zoning toward the ‘Missing Middle’.
“Housing is a source of civic and personal pride, and an abundance of housing supply reduces the largest expense in our communities’ home budgets. We can ease the burden on our community members’ cost-of-living by reducing their monthly housing expenses.”
4. Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Violent crime, repeat offenders and firearms
How would you assess Virginia’s current criminal-justice laws as they relate to violent crime, repeat offenders, pretrial release and firearm possession by people legally prohibited from having guns? What, if anything, would you change while protecting both public safety and due process?
Nate Fritzen
“I think that this question has more prescience than ever in our community after the tragedy at Manassas Cities’ September First Friday. Violence and the crimes connected to it are an abridgment of all the things we value in our society: Cooperation, Coexistence and Liberty.
“I am the first person to tell you that our State should enact criminal justice reforms for non-violent crimes, but the question was relating to violence against others, and how we respond to those who use it against members of our community.
“So if I were elected to represent District 20, I would work to ensure that violent, antisocial and dangerous individuals stay locked up. I would work even more diligently to ensure that law abiding citizens had the means to protect themselves and their families via constitutional adherence and respect for the 2nd Amendment.
“I will work with my colleagues in the Party and across the aisle to review our current legislation and judicial process to reassess enhancing the review process for convicted felons who are released and commit additional violent crimes; requiring documentation when prosecutors substantially change their position regarding detention or release in high risk cases; requiring an independent legal review when prosecutors release violent firearm related charged detainees who commit additional violent firearm crimes and I would ensure that violent felons and convicts were not released on the basis of full jails and fund additional construction of jailing facilities, should it be the case that our jail capacity was near capacity.”
5. Data Centers and Technology Growth
Development, land use and long-term impacts
Northern Virginia is attracting major technology, manufacturing and data-center investment. How would you assess the state’s approach to that growth, and what, if anything, would you do differently to maximize long-term benefits for residents?
Nate Fritzen
“Northern Virginia is the envy of the whole nation and probably the whole world! We as a region possess nearly 20 percent of the globe’s data centers! Data centers have proliferated across our region at such haste that one wonders whether it’s a reasonable development or ultimately a boom-bust waiting to happen.
“I’ll leave the speculation to the economists and businessmen who deal with such matters, but what I do know fundamentally is that these facilities, desired or undesired, are poor uses for our collective land.
“I find myself on a daily basis passing by these monolithic structures, glorified warehouses, and wonder: Why didn’t they build houses in that space for the people who work in and inhabit our communities?
“I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I do know that the data centers create rifts on our community. Not only the kinds that bring citizens to anger and frustration at one another and their elected officials over the virtue of their operation, but very real physical barriers that disconnect us visually and functionally, in the same way as the Interstate System did to our cities in decades past.
“As your elected State Representative I would work to remove ‘By-Right’ construction of data centers near population centers and near neighborhoods, not because I’m a Luddite, but because I believe that the citizen wellbeing ought to be the first concern of elected officials, not that of computers.”
6. Immigration and Public Benefits
State services, education and eligibility
How would you assess Virginia’s current approach to residents who are in the country without legal status? What, if anything, would you change regarding eligibility for state-funded benefits, education, health care and other public services?
Nate Fritzen
“As a current retail worker and former fast food kitchen worker, I’ve worked with many kinds of individuals. No doubt, some of them, undocumented and or illegal immigrants. These were my coworkers, my friends, and the people who shared in the struggle of the dinner rush or the special sales weekend.
“To me, citizen or immigrant, documented or not; They were my family. Common folk who understood what it took to survive the modern economy through sweat, tears and perseverance.
“But, immigrants, illegal or not, should not be endowed with greater social or financial benefits than the typical American citizen.
“If elected as Delegate, I would work to reducing the waste, fraud and abuse of the benefit system designed for American citizens and paid for by American citizens; With one exception: public K-12 education.
“Public education throughout our 250 years as a nation has been the great assimilator. The means by which the youth are brought to understand the principles of our Nation, it’s founding Fathers, and founding documents and the fundamentals of how the world and universe around us works.
“We pride ourselves as a people and a State which educates anyone who passes through our school’s doors seeking the knowledge to better oneself and I will work to protect that right.
“The other benefits, such as medical, retirement, housing and social services should be reserved for those of us who took an oath to the Constitution of the United States or who were born on the soil of our great Republic.”
What Comes Next
Early voting begins Friday, Sept. 18.
The Manassas Journal is publishing its candidate questionnaire coverage today for the City of Manassas City Council, City of Manassas School Board, Manassas Park City Council and Virginia House of Delegates District 20.
These responses are intended to help readers get to know the candidates in their own words. Voters can also review candidates’ public statements, attend forums and meetings, and learn more about the offices they are seeking.
The Journal’s role is to provide clear, factual information and let readers make their own decisions at the ballot box.
Reference Links
Virginia Department of Elections: November 3, 2026 Special Elections
Virginia House of Delegates: House District 20 Map
Virginia Department of Elections: November 3, 2026 Election Information
