Margaret Vanderhye

Margaret G. "Margi" Vanderhye (born July 29, 1948, in Chicago) is a McLean, Virginia community activist and a former delegate from the 34th district of Virginia. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2007 Virginia general election to fill the seat held by retiring incumbent Republican Vince Callahan, defeating Republican businessman Dave Hunt in the general election on November 6, 2007. On November 3, 2009, Vanderhye was narrowly defeated in her reelection bid by Republican Barbara Comstock.

Background Vanderhye, a longtime resident of McLean, earned her B.A. in political science from Northwestern University and a master's degree in economics and international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Early in her career she worked for Brent Scowcroft at the National Security Council and did a stint as a research consultant at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Starting in the 1990s, she began to work as a political appointee in the area of development and transportation. Virginia Governor Doug Wilder appointed Vanderhye to the state's Commission on Population Growth and Development and to a four-year term (1992–1996) on the Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Board. During the Wilder administration, she was also the Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the state's Transportation Coordinating Council. From 1989 to 1991, she was president of the Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions.

In 1995, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the National Capital Planning Commission where she chaired the Commission's Joint Memorials Task Force which developed a master plan for monuments, memorials, and museums in the national capital area. She also served on the NCPC's Interagency Security Task Force and was the Commission's designated representative to the Transportation Planning Board.

In 2002, Virginia Governor Mark Warner appointed Vanderhye to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. She was reappointed to the Authority by Gov. Tim Kaine. During her two terms on the NVTA, she helped develop the Authority's "2030 TransAction Plan," a blueprint for regional transportation priorities for the next two decades.

Vanderhye's local activities have focused on children and schools. In 1995, she conceived a cooperative community initiative called "Project Hospitality" to discourage hotels from providing high school students with rooms for after-prom parties. In 1998, the program received an award from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and has been replicated throughout the region. In 2005, she joined the advisory board of Our Military Kids, a non-profit organization that supports school age children of National Guard and Reserve personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Vanderhye has long been active in Democratic Party politics, volunteering on numerous national, state, and local campaigns. She is a 1990 graduate of Leadership Fairfax. She is a graduate of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. Vanderhye lost the election.

Election results