Drama over the nomination process in SD-17
Brewer v Sadler. Primary or convention?
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Drama over the nomination process in SD-17
Del. Emily Brewer (R) and Hermie Sadler (R) are locked into a tough nomination battle and the process for which the nominee will be chosen is still unclear. Sadler announced on Wednesday that a primary method has been selected to choose the nominee — but Brewer and the Republican Party of Virginia say that is not true.
A press release from Sadler on Wednesday stated a primary method was chosen. “Like all of you, I’m not a politician so this process is new for me. We the People will determine our Republican nominee for Virginia Senate, and we’re excited to compete and win the Primary on June 20th with all of your help!”
The Brunswick County Republican Committee also announced Wednesday night that a primary was the selected method. “Tonight the LDC of the 17th Senate District has voted and approved for the method of nomination to be a primary for the 17th Senate District of the Commonwealth of Virginia. All Brunswick residents remember to vote Republican on Primary Day which is June 20th.”
Brunswick County is not the only committee involved in this process, however. 10 localities make up this district.
RPV says that due to a quorum technicality, any vote taken Wednesday is not legitimate. “For this reason, any votes taken after the loss of the committee quorum are invalid with regard to designating a method of candidate nomination or any other business,” RPV said.
Brewer attacked Sadler Thursday in a statement provided to the Smithfield Times.
“My opponent calls himself an outsider; however, the truth is he is employing party insiders in an attempt to change the legally called method of nomination,” Brewer said. “The vote was taken in December to select a Convention as the nomination process for the 17th Senate District. The meeting referenced from Wednesday evening had no legitimacy, and that has been confirmed by the statement issued from the Republican Party of Virginia. This is not about what I think or he thinks, this is about what our party knows is right. We don’t stand for misleading voters or fraudulent elections.”
In a statement to Virginia Scope Friday morning, Sadler says he is still looking forward to a primary. “I decided to run for Senate because our part of Virginia needs and deserves a candidate that will make the people the #1 priority, not lobbyists and special interests, and that’s why we will win the nomination and im excited that the method of nomination is now final as a June 20th Primary.”
The committee for SD-17 is expected to meet again on March 8. RPV officials say that right now a convention is still the likely method to choose the nominee.
This is an open district with no incumbent. According to analysis from VPAP, Glenn Youngkin edged out a victory by five points in this district in 2021. However, the same analysis shows that Ralph Northam won this district by eight points in 2017.
Bill to label graphic sexual content in school libraries dies, but not underlying issue
By Ryan Carpenter, Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. — A bill to require the cataloging of visual depictions of graphic sexual content available in school libraries passed the Virginia House, but did not pass the Senate.
Del. Timothy Anderson, R-Virginia Beach, introduced House Bill 1379, which would have required Virginia K-12 school principals, or a designated person, to start and maintain the school library catalog. The database would have been accessible for parents to view available content and opt their children out if they wanted.
There has been an “unprecedented surge in local and statewide book challenges” in recent years, according to the American Library Association.
EveryLibrary is a political action committee that advocates for libraries. The organization’s bill tracker identifies a total of 79 bills in statehouses across the country that would add a new layer of scrutiny to school libraries and administrators.
Similar parental advisory bills were introduced in the Virginia General Assembly but did not advance. Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, introduced Senate Bill 1463 to require public libraries, including K-12 libraries, to label sexually explicit materials.
On the other side of the aisle, Del. Karrie Delaney, D-Fairfax, introduced HB 2136. The bill would have protected public school library materials from removal or restriction based on protected characteristics including race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and more.
Anderson’s proposed measure would have allowed the principal to determine how books were labeled and cataloged. Parents would have the option to restrict their child’s access to the catalog content, and also to request the school review catalog content if they felt it had not been flagged correctly.
“I could opt my child out from having access to those books,” Anderson said. “[I] wasn’t trying to take the books out of the libraries, wasn’t trying to censor them. I was just trying to empower parents to make the best decision for their child.”
His district is dealing with “at least 100 books” he would want cataloged as sexually graphic material, Anderson said.
“We didn’t go after, like, romantic novels,” Anderson said, as he detailed graphic book imagery.
Anderson mentioned six examples of graphic novels during the bill’s second House reading, that he said contain content not suitable for young adults.
One was “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” one of the most-banned books in America, according to an NBC report. The book was first pulled for review from Fairfax County Public Schools in September 2021, according to the same report. The book currently remains in Fairfax High School, according to Anderson. He also mentioned “The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel,” which includes depictions of the rape of young women.
The bill was not an attack on LGBTQ content, according to Anderson, but “graphic sexual content that is deemed harmful to minors.”
“A drawing of two boys holding hands is not sexually graphic, but a drawing of two children engaged in oral sex is, regardless of the theme of that oral sex,” Anderson said.
The bill allowed flagged material to remain in the library catalog, Anderson said. Librarians who accidentally missed a book in “good faith” would not be penalized, he said to House members, although the bill did not explicitly state that.
Parents in Virginia and across the country have voiced their support for this type of involvement, according to Anderson.
“Parents are screaming at their local school boards about this,” Anderson said.
The bill was supported by the Family Foundation and the Pro-Family Women organization, according to the Senate Education and Health committee. The bill faced backlash from the Virginia Education Association, Virginia Library Association, and some school teachers and librarians.
Lia Fisher-Janosz is the librarian at Sharon Elementary School in Alleghany County. The bill is a product of a political climate where “one person or group” believes they have the right to make choices for all and upend the rights of others, according to Fisher-Janosz.
Librarians should not have to keep tabs on what books each individual child is allowed to check out, Fisher-Janosz stated in an email interview.
“This is a violation of children’s civil rights, which are inalienable and not that different from those possessed by adults,” Fisher-Janosz stated.
Barbara Haas is the librarian at Thomas C. Boushall Middle School in Richmond. She is worried about the logistical consequences of such a bill.
“The difficult part for me if something like that passed would be, you know, having to consult a spreadsheet every time a child wanted to check out a book,” Haas said.
She doesn’t know what the system would look like in practice.
“I’ve never had a parent, you know, specifically say to me they don’t want their child to … read a particular thing,” Haas said.
Haas also is unsure who or what would determine what is sexually explicit content. She pointed out that “what is sexually explicit to one person is not to another.”
“If you don’t want your kid to read it, then that’s a conversation that you need to have with your kid,” Haas said. “I just don't see how a spreadsheet is going to be helpful."
The bill died on a 9-6 vote in the Senate Education and Health committee. The move killed the bill, but is not the end of the issue.
“Parents are angry,” Anderson said. “This is really one of the reasons why Glenn Youngkin is the governor and the Republicans have the House.”
Batting averages
From VPAP
Three local delegates score in top 25 among colleagues passing legislation in 2023 session - Progress Index
by Bill Atkinson
When it comes to "batting averages" in the General Assembly, southern Chesterfield County's House of Delegates representative swung one of the hottest bats in the chamber for getting sponsored legislation passed, the Virginia Public Access Project said Thursday. Thirteen of Republican Del. Carrie Coyner's 15 bills made it to the governor's desk in the recently concluded legislative session. That translates to an 87% passage rate, which was second only to Buchanan County GOP Del. Terry Austin's 88%. Ten of Coyner's bill went through with unanimous approval, which also was the second highest total in the House to Pittsylvania County Republican Del. Les Adams' 17.
Also placing in the top 10 VPAP batting averages was Del. Mike Cherry, R-Colonial Heights, who saw 10 of the 15 bills he sponsored get passed, including six unanimously. VPAP set that rate at 67%.
Negotiations on filling vacant State Corporation Commission seats falter - Virginia Mercury
Two seats on the Virginia State Corporation Commission remain vacant due to ongoing squabbles between Democrats and Republicans on who should fill the vacancies and the process to do so. The SCC, a powerful regulatory body overseeing utilities, insurance and business in the state, is down to one member following the resignation of Judge Judith Jadgmann in December and the General Assembly’s failure to reappoint Angela Navarro last year.
A quorum of two members is needed for the SCC to issue rulings, which include approval or denial of proposals from electric utility companies that aim to comply with the Virginia Clean Economy Act’s mandate to decarbonize the electric grid by midcentury. While the Virginia Constitution authorizes the commission to have up to five members, it has traditionally had three.
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