We see it every day—on TV, in the newspapers and in conversations with our friends and family. More and more, political partisanship has become an everyday fact of life. Elected officials at each level seem more concerned with scoring points with their core constituencies than in getting things done.

Ralph Northam is different. The soft-spoken state senator from Norfolk has been quietly working behind the scenes, reaching across the aisle to his Republican colleagues to bypass the gridlock in Richmond.

He’s not one for grabbing headlines by making outrageous statements or introducing token legislation on divisive wedge issues. From working to push a $4 billion transportation bonding package through the General Assembly to co-sponsoring legislation to keep phosphorus out of fertilizers that pollute the Chesapeake Bay, he has rolled up his sleeves to take on issues that have a real impact on the lives of the people he represents.

Northam recognizes the need to maintai...