Yet, among the markedly diverse 15-member class of Democrats who were first elected to the House of Delegates in 2017 and took their seats in 2018, 14 managed to get bills passed out of the House during their first term, with Republicans in charge.

The only one who didn’t was Del. Lee J. Carter (Manassas), who holds down the socialist end of the General Assembly’s political spectrum.

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With the Democrats newly in the majority, he finally reached that milestone this week, as one of his bills cleared the House and another unanimously passed out of what he calls the toughest subcommittee in the General Assembly.

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“Because of the partisan change in the chamber, I’m finally getting a fair hearing,” he said in an interview from the House floor.

The first bill, which now goes to the Senate, addresses the pay of people such as wheelchair attendants at Dulles International and Reagan National airports who are paid below minimum wage but barred from receiving tips. Carter’s bill would not allow jobs to be classified as “tipped employees” when federal or state laws or regulations prevent them from soliciting tips.

In 2017, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board voted to require its contractors to pay wheelchair attendants, baggage handlers and food workers $12.75 per hour this year. But employers can avoid that wage if the workers are classified as tipped employees.

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Carter’s bill, if it passes the Senate and is signed into law, would mean pay raises for “a couple hundred” people, he guessed. “It’s a niche issue, but for those people who are affected, it’s in­cred­ibly important.”

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Carter, who ran as a Democrat and caucuses with that party although he identifies himself as the only socialist in the General Assembly, is a controversial guy. He tweeted out his personal faults two years ago as a way of getting ahead of foes who might try to reveal them. Threatened by gun-rights activists, he left town Monday, ahead of a huge pro-gun rally in Richmond, saying some of the threats had targeted his family.

In a chamber full of lawyers, professionals and business owners, Carter is quick to say he’s nearly broke, and he drives for the ride-sharing company Lyft for his primary income. He is proud and open about his working-class bona fides.

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He’s also open about his desire to see more worker protections and much more progressive legislation in Virginia.

Carter had a bill pass out of the House Courts of Justice subcommittee on criminal justice on Wednesday, the same day the bill on tipped workers cleared the House, after the conservative Family Foundation testified in support.

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“My bill to stop prisons and jails from strip searching minors prior to visitation passed unanimously — I say again, UNANIMOUSLY — from the Criminal Law subcommittee,” he tweeted.

The two-year delay before his first bill passed out of one chamber is not necessarily Carter’s fault, said Del. Kenneth R. Plum (D-Fairfax), who has been in the House for 40 years and is its longest-serving current member.

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“Lee came here when Republicans were in control, and most of us had trouble getting bills passed,” Plum said. “It’s aggravated by the fact that . . . he obviously stands out as an outspoken person. Maybe he wasn’t a typical freshman in that he had a firm set of ideas that might run counter to either party’s major priorities.”

Plum, who has mentored many newcomers, said there’s an effort to get “easier bills to freshmen so they get experience with passing bills and go home with some success.”

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Carter has hopes for the 21 other bills he’s submitted during this 60-day session, including one that covers firing of workers who are injured on the job.

“There’s an old saying on construction sites, ‘If you fall off a ladder, you’re fired before you hit the ground,’ ” he said.

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That bill, too, has been reported out of subcommittee for a full committee hearing, which is further along in the process than any of his bills got in 2019.