Val Akroosh standing in a field
Meet Val Arkoosh

Physician. Health advocate.
Community leader. Problem Solver.

A Note from Val

Friends,

As a physician of more than two decades, it was my job to diagnose my patients’ problems and get to work to solve them. That started with being honest with myself and my patients. And I have to be honest now: it is clear we are in the midst of an all-out assault on science, facts, and data. 

It is unacceptable that we are losing Americans to extreme temperatures, or that parents have to worry about the air their kids breathe and the water they drink. But we see it every day — folks who question the science behind climate change. Folks who deny that vaccines and masks are the way we get through this pandemic. And male politicians misrepresenting medical facts to push an anti-abortion agenda. Some of the worst offenders are right here in Pennsylvania, where Republicans refuse to accept the fact that Joe Biden won the presidential election and are instead pushing the Big Lie.

I have taken two oaths in my life — first as a physician, to do no harm and fight for my patients. The second, to fight for my 850,000 constituents.

It’s more urgent than ever that we stand up to these attacks on science and health care, and elect more leaders with the knowledge and experience to go toe-to-toe with those who not only refuse to let facts and data guide how we govern, but actively undermine them, including in our response to this pandemic. I’m running for the U.S. Senate in part because that’s the record and experience I bring to the table. And I am ready to go to Washington and call Republicans on their BS and get to work to solve our hardest problems. 

As the Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, I have taken what I learned as a doctor and public health professional to guide my county through the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, governing during a crisis has felt very similar to helping a patient get better. You look at the facts and data, you diagnose the problems and have tough conversations, and you get to work to solve them.

Fighting climate change will also require more leaders who believe in science and will have the courage to take action. That’s what we’ve done in Montgomery County, where we transitioned our County buildings’ electricity to renewable resources. We have also entered into an agreement with the three other suburban Philadelphia counties to explore the construction of a solar array to provide electricity to our counties. Those are the science-based solutions we need nationwide. We also need to ban fracking to protect the next generation from harmful chemicals and make sure that Pennsylvania workers build the green economy, not China.

It also couldn’t be more important that we have voices in the U.S. Senate with the experience to defend Roe v. Wade from the escalating attacks we are seeing on abortion. I specialized in women’s health as a physician and sat with patients making difficult decisions about their pregnancies, including in cases where their own lives were at risk. These are not decisions that should be made by politicians or private citizens with no relationship to the patient. They should be left to women and their doctors — period.

We need to codify Roe v. Wade immediately, and because we know they are going to come after contraception next, we must work now to expand access to contraception and ensure cost is never a barrier to those seeking an abortion.

I am committed to being the strongest possible voice to do that and defend science more broadly. A woman physician has never served in the U.S. Senate before — ever. Between the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, escalated attacks on women’s health, and climate change, it’s clear we need to change that.

This approach has also allowed me to bring real results to Pennsylvania families in our third-largest County, where we raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour and provided paid parental leave to county workers. We spurred job growth, rebuilt critical infrastructure, and preserved over 10,000 acres of farmland, all while restoring the County’s AAA bond rating and maintaining some of the lowest county property taxes in our region.

That record of results is unique in politics these days, certainly in Washington, and it’s needed more than ever. Beyond the attacks we are seeing on science and our democracy, we know that families and workers need relief more than ever. This moment demands someone who will fight to grow our economy by prioritizing good-paying union jobs, rebuilding our infrastructure, getting women back into the workforce and bringing down the cost of child care, and investing in the care economy. I will.

President Biden needs another Senator from Pennsylvania to help move us forward– someone determined to level the playing field for working families, lift up those who are struggling, and make our communities healthier. I’ll be that voice. But I can’t do it alone.

Let’s work together to put Pennsylvania, and our country, on a better path. I hope you’ll join me.

 

With determination,

Val

For years in Washington, so often, when they see a problem, they actually make it worse instead of solving it -- from addressing the climate crisis to fixing our child care system, to expanding health care and raising the minimum wage. There are a lot of big problems that need to be solved. I have shown I can get things done here at home, and now I want to get things done in Washington for all of Pennsylvania. I’m determined to do the hard work of cutting through the noise and dysfunction in Washington -- I’ve solved harder problems."
Val Arkoosh

Meet Val

Val Arkoosh - child in 4H

In 23 years in operating rooms and on the labor and delivery floor, Val saw her share of tragedies — denials by insurance companies and Dads worried about missing the birth of their child because they were afraid of losing their job, and with it, their health care. Through those experiences, Val came to realize that many of the issues impacting her patients were outside the exam room. That’s why she earned her Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and fought for passage of the Affordable Care Act as President of the National Physicians Alliance. 

Today, Val serves as the Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, leading the Commonwealth’s third-largest county. Originally appointed to fill a vacancy in January of 2015, Val won election to a full four-year term in November 2015 and again in November 2019. When unanimously elected to serve as Chair in 2016, Val became the first woman to assume the role.

Val Arkoosh speaking to crowd

Val has spent her career diagnosing problems and getting to work to fix them. But too often, instead of solving the hardest problems, Washington makes them worse. That’s why Val is running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. She’s a proven problem solver who is ready to bring that experience to Washington as a U.S. Senator to get to work strengthening our economy, creating jobs, putting more money in Pennsylvanians pockets, and caring for all Pennsylvania families.

Val Arkoosh holding a baby

Val grew up the granddaughter of immigrants and the daughter of a business owner in your typical hard-working family — participating in 4-H, riding bikes, and burying herself in a chemistry set she got for Christmas as a kid. That love of science and a personal health scare as a young girl inspired Val to become a doctor.

After earning her medical degree at the University of Nebraska, she came to Philadelphia to complete her residency at Thomas Jefferson University. She served on the faculty at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Drexel University College of Medicine, and the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Jefferson University, helping others realize their dream of caring for others.

And after all those years practicing medicine, I’ve learned that we have to be honest with ourselves and our patients about the challenges we’re facing — even when it isn’t what we want to hear — and take action to tackle those problems head on together. That honesty, and my record of problem solving and real results, are unique in politics these days, especially in Washington.”
Val Arkoosh
Val Arkoosh - doctors in scrubs

Montgomery County, located in southeastern Pennsylvania, is home to more than 850,000 constituents. Val has had tremendous success on behalf of her large constituency — from rebuilding critical infrastructure and preserving over 10,000 acres of farmland, to fighting for workers by instituting a $15 minimum wage and paid parental leave for county employees. She’s done all this while restoring the county’s AAA bond rating and maintaining some of the lowest taxes in the region. Val was also praised for the County’s COVID-19 response and her transparency throughout the pandemic.

Val is an avid gardener, hiker, and cyclist. She lives in Springfield Township with her husband, Jeff, and has three children, Ian, Olivia, and Trevor, and two dogs, Bella and Georgia.

Meet Val

Val Arkoosh - child in 4H

Val grew up the granddaughter of immigrants and the daughter of a business owner in your typical hard-working family — participating in 4-H, riding bikes, and burying herself in a chemistry set she got for Christmas as a kid. That love of science and a personal health scare as a young girl inspired Val to become a doctor.

After earning her medical degree at the University of Nebraska, she came to Philadelphia to complete her residency at Thomas Jefferson University. She served on the faculty at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the Drexel University College of Medicine, and the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Jefferson University, helping others realize their dream of caring for others.

In 23 years in operating rooms and on the labor and delivery floor, Val saw her share of tragedies — denials by insurance companies and Dads worried about missing the birth of their child because they were afraid of losing their job, and with it, their health care. Through those experiences, Val came to realize that many of the issues impacting her patients were outside the exam room. That’s why she earned her Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and fought for passage of the Affordable Care Act as President of the National Physicians Alliance. 

And after all those years practicing medicine, I’ve learned that we have to be honest with ourselves and our patients about the challenges we’re facing — even when it isn’t what we want to hear — and take action to tackle those problems head on together. That honesty, and my record of problem solving and real results, are unique in politics these days, especially in Washington.”
Val Arkoosh
Val Arkoosh - doctors in scrubs

Today, Val serves as the Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, leading the Commonwealth’s third-largest county. Originally appointed to fill a vacancy in January of 2015, Val won election to a full four-year term in November 2015 and again in November 2019. When unanimously elected to serve as Chair in 2016, Val became the first woman to assume the role.

Val Arkoosh speaking to crowd

Montgomery County, located in southeastern Pennsylvania, is home to more than 850,000 constituents. Val has had tremendous success on behalf of her large constituency — from rebuilding critical infrastructure and preserving over 10,000 acres of farmland, to fighting for workers by instituting a $15 minimum wage and paid parental leave for county employees. She’s done all this while restoring the county’s AAA bond rating and maintaining some of the lowest taxes in the region. Val was also praised for the County’s COVID-19 response and her transparency throughout the pandemic.

Val has spent her career diagnosing problems and getting to work to fix them. But too often, instead of solving the hardest problems, Washington makes them worse. That’s why Val is running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. She’s a proven problem solver who is ready to bring that experience to Washington as a U.S. Senator to get to work strengthening our economy, creating jobs, putting more money in Pennsylvanians pockets, and caring for all Pennsylvania families.

Val Arkoosh holding a baby

Val is an avid gardener, hiker, and cyclist. She lives in Springfield Township with her husband, Jeff, and has three children, Ian, Olivia, and Trevor, and two dogs, Bella and Georgia.