Christopher K. Peace
97th District voters first elected Christopher K. Peace to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2006, and ever since, your state Delegate has worked faithfully to represent the best interests of the hard-working people and families of Hanover, King William, and New Kent Counties. At the legislature, Peace serves on the prominent House Appropriations (state budget) committee where he chairs the budget for all public-school divisions across the Commonwealth. Peace is Chairman of the oldest standing committee in the General Assembly, known as General Laws, and also serves on the Health, Welfare and Institutions and Science and Technology committees.
Delegate Peace also serves on several statewide boards important to his district, including the 2018 Select Special Committee on School Safety, Criminal Justice Services Board, Joint Commission on Health Care, Virginia Commission on Youth, Virginia Housing Commission, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees, Virginia Health Information Board of Directors, Virginia Council on Aging, and the Virginia Indian Commemorative Commission, which unveiled Mantle, as a Tribute to the Virginia Indian on State Capitol grounds in 2018. Among other issues, Peace is extremely proud of his legislative efforts to recognize and support our Virginia Indian community, to preserve and promote Virginia’s rich heritage and history, and to create a climate for job creation in the Commonwealth. Many Virginians are familiar with Delegate Peace’s frequent Commentary Section contributions to the Richmond-Times Dispatch which have offered a common sense, conservative perspective for over a decade.
Your state Delegate Chris Peace maintains a legislative record of exemplary service to Virginia’s at-risk children and families. As the immediate past Chairman of the Virginia Commission on Youth, his leadership as a family advocate resulted in meaningful reforms in the areas of child welfare, school safety, and family preservation to name a few. Elsewhere Peace has been honored for his outstanding legislative service by the following organizations: State Police Association; Virginia Sheriff’s Association; Virginia Assisted Living Association, Virginia Council for Private Education, Virginia Optometric Association, Virginia Commissioner of the Revenue Association, Virginia Nurses Association, Virginia Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, Virginia Housing Coalition, Virginia Retail Merchants Association, Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, Alzheimer’s Association, Career and Technical Education Association, and the Brain Injury Association. Frequently, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce recognizes Peace a Champion of Free Enterprise and presented him various awards in the areas of Education and Workforce Development, and Transportation.
With an unwavering commitment to our community, Peace served as an active and supportive volunteer on several statewide and community groups over his professional career: LEAD VA Statewide Board; Library of Virginia Foundation Statewide Board; Metro Richmond Habitat for Humanity Board; Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership Statewide Board; Heritage and History of Hanover County, Inc.; Hanover County Historical Society; Hanover Association of Businesses/Chamber of Commerce; Hanover Safe Place; Hanover Ruritan Club; Mechanicsville Businessmen’s Association; New Kent Chamber of Commerce; Sons of the American Revolution; Washington and Henry Fraternal Lodge and the Scottish Rite. Peace currently is a Trustee of the St. John’s Church Foundation.
An attorney, Peace owns a solo law practice in Mechanicsville focused on family law, estate planning, traffic and small business matters. He is an active member of the Virginia State Bar and taught legal studies as an adjunct professor of legal studies at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. An avid history buff, from 2006 to 2014 Peace was the founding Executive Director of the Historic Polegreen Church Foundation, and he established the Road to Revolution State Heritage Trail to honor the life of Patrick Henry and others who played a role in liberating Virginia from Colonial rule. Prior to his public service in the legislature, Peace worked at McGuire Woods Consulting, a national public affairs and public relations firm.
Peace graduated from St. Christopher’s School, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Hampden-Sydney College, and earned his law degree from the University of Richmond. Along with their children, Camden and Henry, and an English Pointer named Laney, Chris and Ashley, his wife, make their home at their farm and vineyard in Old Church (Hanover) and attend St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (New Kent).
Ashley Hopkins Peace
Ashley Peace is a trained commercial real estate appraiser and urban planner. Ashley was a Senior Planner for the City of Richmond Department of Economic and Community Development, and worked on large scale economic development projects including public housing redevelopment and commercial corridor revitalization. She holds a Master's degree in Urban Planning from VCU. She was the first formally trained Planner and real estate professional on the Hanover County Planning Commission.
