David William Marsden (born April 5, 1948) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. In 2010 he was elected to represent the 37th district, a portion of Fairfax County, in the Senate of Virginia, and later re-elected to the senate.
Early life and education
Marsden graduated from Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School in 1966 and Randolph–Macon College in 1970.
Political career
Prior to his career in politics, Marsden spent 17 years as head of the Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center until 1999. In 2000, Governor Jim Gilmore appointed him Chief Deputy and then Acting Director of the 2,700-person Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice. He then served for 6 months in the administration of Governor Mark Warner. Between 2006 and 2010, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 41st district.
On January 12, 2010, Marsden defeated Steve Hunt in a special Senate election to replace Republican Ken Cuccinelli who was elected Attorney General the previous fall. On January 13, 2010, Marsden was sworn in. An additional special election was held March 2, 2010, to replace Marsden in the Virginia House of Delegates. It was won by Democrat Eileen Filler-Corn.
Legislative work
In 2021, Marsden was the chief sponsor of the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, making Virginia the second state after California to enact a comprehensive consumer data privacy law. [1] In an interview with The Markup, Marsden acknowledged that the first draft of the legislation was written by an Amazon lobbyist and that he and colleagues relied on the Future of Privacy Forum — a nonprofit funded primarily by major tech companies — for neutral policy guidance during the drafting process. [2] [3] Critics noted that the implementation committee formed after the law’s passage included representatives from industry-aligned organizations but no consumer or privacy advocates. [4]
Senate committee assignments
- Transportation (Chair)
- Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources
- Commerce and Labor
- Finance and Appropriations
- Rules
References
Sources
- “Virginia House of Delegates; David W. Marsden”. Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
- “Senate of Virginia; David W. Marsden”. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- Dave Marsden for Delegate (Constituent/campaign website)
- Dave Marsden for State Senate (Constituent/campaign website)
External links
- “Virginia Public Access Project; David W. Marsden”. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
- “Virginia State Board of Elections; Election Information; Election Results”. Archived from the original on June 17, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
- Project Vote Smart – Representative Dave W. ‘Dave’ Marsden (VA) profile
- Follow the Money – Dave W. Marsden
- 2005 campaign contributions
- Washington Post – Dave W. Marsden local election 2008 profile