Thomas Greason

Thomas A. "Tag" Greason (born September 16, 1970) is a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He represents the 32nd district, which includes parts of Loudoun County. He first won election in 2009; defeating incumbent Democrat Dave Poisson. He was sworn in January 2010 in Richmond, Virginia.

Greason was born as the youngest of four children to a United States Army officer at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Greason's family eventually moved to northern Virginia, where he graduated from Lake Braddock Secondary School in Fairfax County. He graduated from the United States Military Academy and served in the Army with the Corps of Engineers. After serving, he returned to Northern Virginia. He lives in Loudoun County with his wife, Mary Beth, and their three children. He is a marketer and financial analyst and serves as the Executive Vice President for Quality Technology Services.

In November 2009, Greason defeated David Poisson for the 32nd District House of Delegates Seat. Greason won 57 percent of the vote despite being outspent by over $100,000.

Greason was appointed to the House committees on Education, Finance, and Science and Technology.

In 2011, Greason was re-elected after running unopposed.

In June 2013, the Democratic Party of Virginia nominated Elizabeth Miller to run against Greason in the upcoming November 5th election. In November 2013, Greason won re-election 51.3% - 48.5%, a margin of 651 votes.

In 2011, Greason was the chief patron of legislation that guaranteed children with autism spectrum disorder would not be denied insurance coverage. The bill requires insurers to provide autism coverage for children ages 2 to 6 with a benefit cap of $35,000. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Bob McDonnell.

McDonnell (R) had originally signed a bill into law in 2011 mandating coverage, but Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli determined that the legislation contained imprecise language that legislators needed to correct. In 2012 Greason introduced clarifying language to rectify the situation and the bill was signed, again, by Gov. McDonnell on February 7, 2012.

In 2012, Greason was appointed to serve on the influential House Appropriations Committee after just one term in the House. He was also appointed to the House Committee on General Laws.

In 2015, Greason led an effort in the General Assembly to allow Virginia public schools to coerce students who failed their end-of-year SOL tests to retake the tests. SOL retakes are of no benefit to a student because SOL scores are not used for course grades or grade promotion. Since only a student's highest score (original test or retake) would be counted in the school's SOL average, this law was an attempt by Greason to artificially inflate school SOL scores and gut Virginia's K-12 accountability system. Greason also supported Virginia K-12 schools ignoring the value-added metrics (known in Virginia as Student Growth Percentiles) required by the U.S. Department of Education's No Child Left Behind waivers. Greason has continued to advocate for the elimination of any objective testing in K-12 that might be used to hold schools and/or teachers accountable.

In 1996, a female enlisted soldier who served as Greason's driver while both were stationed in Fort Polk, Louisiana; filed a sworn statement alleging that in 1994, Greason had exposed his genitals and appeared to be fondling himself in her presence. Charges of obscenity and disturbing the peace were filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, which has jurisdiction over Fort Polk.

Greason denied that the event took place, calling it a "false charge." The charges were reduced and the case was delayed multiple times in 1997 and 1998 until it was eventually dismissed in 2006. The driver has never wavered from her claim.