Yesli Vega is a uniformed police officer who called for more cops. She didn’t get them.

Yesli Vega pushed for more police officers this past spring when the Board of County Supervisors passed its largest budget in history — $3.8 billion — in April 2022.

Instead, the Democrat-controlled Board of County Supervisors provided funding to hire 15 new civilians, returning the uniformed officers working the desk jobs to the streets.

Vega, a Republican Supervisor who’s represented the Coles District since 2020, said she voted against the budget partly because it didn’t include funding for new uniformed police officers.

The decision came during a rash of shootings in the county that shows no sign of stopping. On Friday, the county marked its 10th fatal shooting victim this year when someone started unloading a gun near Manassas.

Four months after approving the budget, WUSA-TV reports Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham says the department needs at least 100 new officers. Newsham didn’t call for the officers during months of budget deliberations preceding the budget vote.

Vega is running for Congress in Virginia’s 7th District, including eastern Prince William County. Her opponent, Democrat Abigail Spanbeger, released a new ad claiming Vega doesn’t support law enforcement because she voted against the largest budget in county history, with the most significant tax increase on residents in the county’s history.

Vega is also a uniformed police officer — an auxiliary member of the Prince William County Sheriff’s Office. She must fulfill a schedule to maintain her law enforcement status, balancing it with the rigors of being a full-time mother, a member of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, and a congressional campaign.

Before coming to the Prince William County Sherriff’s Office, Vega was a cop in Manassas Park and Alexandria. She traces her interest in law enforcement to the shooting death of a family friend by a gang member.

Spanberger has been in office since 2018 and, before her constituents, was largely silent when Black Lives Matter took to the streets in our area and cities across the U.S., holding riots and calling for defunding police in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

However, multiple media outlets reported Spanberger chastised fellow Democrats on a conference call in November 2020, urging them not to say “defund the police” or push socialism if Democrats wanted to keep their seats.

In June 2020, she voiced her support for police reforms that ban no-knock warrants and chokeholds.

The Justice in Policing Act would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, create a nationwide police misconduct registry, limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to local police departments, and require state & local agencies to report use-of-force data. (4/10)

— Rep. Abigail Spanberger (@RepSpanberger) June 17, 2020

Spanberger worked in the CIA’s Clandestine Service, gathering intelligence on nuclear terrorism until 2014, when she left the agency to an appointment to a state board by then Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

In the meantime, sheriffs from multiple jurisdictions in the 7th District have rallied their support for Vega. Top cops from Prince William and Stafford counties and Fredericksburg all endorsed Vega.

“Our dedication to the safety and security of Virginia’s communities has resonated throughout the District, and the backing of our incredible sheriff is a testament to that. It’s time to put an end to the radical left’s Defund the Police agenda, and I look forward to leading that fight to defend my brothers and sisters in uniform when I’m elected this fall,” Vega states in a press release.

Need to know election info: 

• First day of in-person early voting at your local registrar’s office: Friday, September 23, 2022
• The deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration is October 17, 2022.
•  The deadline to apply for a ballot to be mailed to you is October 28, 2022. Your local voter registration office must receive your request by 5 p.m.
• Voter registration offices open for early voting: Saturday, October 29, 2022.
• The last day of in-person early voting at your local voter registration office:  Saturday, November 5, 2022, at 5 p.m.