Jason Miyares announced his pick for solicitor general

Virginia Political Newsletter

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Jason Miyares announced his pick for solicitor general

What can a $100K sponsorship get you at Youngkin's inauguration?

Brandon Jarvis

Dec 08, 2021

The audio at the top of this newsletter is the latest episode of the Virginia Scope Podcast: 'In the Scope' featuring Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin and others for a wide-ranging discussion of Virginia politics. In addition to Youngkin, Henrico County Democratic Committee Chairman Marques Jones and Democratic operative Nathan Kiker discuss the DPVA Chair and other inner-party politics. Listen now, and support our work by subscribing to this newsletter.

Attorney General-elect Jason Miyares made the first administration staffing announcement by revealing his pick for solicitor general today. His selection formerly worked for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Find out who he selected here.

(The Office of Solicitor General represents the Commonwealth in the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Virginia, and federal circuit courts in non-capital cases that call into question the constitutionality of a state statute or that bear on sensitive policies of the Commonwealth.)

Youngkin talks about Northam’s budget proposals, the transition, and inauguration

Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin ran in part on shaking up the status quo in Richmond from an outsider’s perspective along with a promise to address kitchen table issues for Virginians. Now, Virginians expect him to live up to those promises that voters across Virginia flocked to the polls in record numbers to express their support for last month.

He is keeping his word so far on doing things differently as he is changing the routine of the governor’s inauguration. Instead of a formal ceremony on the night of the inauguration, Youngkin will be hosting an event with a musical performance. “Choosing boots over ball gowns,” the description of the event reads in the announcement from the transition committee.

Youngkin said this type of event is a reflection of the diverse range of support they received.

“Suzanne and I have continued to be so encouraged but also reassured by the vast support from Virginians from all parts of Virginia, from all walks of politics, and from all backgrounds,” the gov.-elect said in an interview with Virginia Scope Tuesday. “So we wanted to make sure that everyone who wanted to participate had a way to participate. Often times that Saturday night event which has been a ball where somebody had to buy a gown and wear a tuxedo just all of a sudden became something that folks couldn’t attend.”

The theme for his inauguration will be “Strengthen the Spirit of Virginia Together,” according to an announcement from Youngkin’s transition team Tuesday. “The theme for inauguration weekend celebrates Virginia’s spirit—one linked to a rich history, but an even more exciting future as Virginians come together to make Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family,” the gov.-elect and First Lady Suzanne Youngkin said in a prepared statement.

As for the kitchen table issues that helped propel Republicans to victory last month, the current governor seems to be trying to steal some of Youngkin’s talking points in the final days of his administration. On Monday, Gov. Ralph Northam announced that he will be proposing a 10% pay increase for teachers in his outgoing budget proposal. Then on Tuesday, he announced a proposal for a pay increase to law enforcement officers across Virginia. Both of these moves were key facets of Youngkin’s gubernatorial campaign. Any proposals will ultimately need Youngkin’s signature during the next General Assembly session, however, so the moves from Northam are largely symbolic.

Youngkin said Tuesday that he believes it is a sign that Democrats received the message that voters sent last month in record numbers when they elected him and gave control of the House of Delegates to Republicans. “Virginians spoke very loudly and the mandate that Virginians gave us broadly is one that I think that everyone recognizes,” Youngkin said. “So I am not surprised by Governor Northam’s initiatives. We are going to go to work on day one.”

Day one has always been a key phrase for Youngkin, but his transition remains behind schedule as he originally promised to announce his education department appointees by Dec. 1. He has repeatedly cited a high volume of applicants that they want to properly vet before making a decision on who to hire as the reason for the delay. On Tuesday, he said over 150 people applied for the top few jobs in the Department of Education.

He has also noted multiple times that he has hired several teams in his career, but this is the most important one so he wants to take his time. “We are not quite ready,” Youngkin said of announcing his education department appointees. “We are pressing forward as quickly as we can because I know it is important but I also want to make sure we make a great decision.”

While he announced a long list of transition team members the day before Thanksgiving, we are now one week into December and Youngkin has not announced any administration appointments yet.

Youngkin provided no new information about the transition Tuesday, other than to say they are working hard to have a legislative agenda ready for the session that begins next month. “We are of course getting ready for the first legislative session and our day one game plan is incredibly important to get done,” Youngkin said. “I have been really encouraged by not only the leadership from the Republicans but also the ability to have bipartisan discussions around lowering taxes and making sure our schools are returning to a standard of excellence and well funded.”

The gov.-elect has also been spending time meeting with Virginians in the weeks since he won the race. He visited a basketball camp, spoke with a police department, bagged groceries, and held multiple rallies thanking supporters across the commonwealth.

“My primary objective has been to continue to engage with Virginians on the issues that are most important to them. The last thing I wanted to do was have a big gap between Nov. 2 and Jan 15 where the gov.-elect was nowhere to be seen,” Youngkin said Tuesday. “Virginians hired us — as I have said many times, we were granted a license to lead. The folks that have the ability to take that license away are everyday living their lives. So I am starting to serve now.”

Gov.-elect Youngkin will be sworn into office on Jan. 15.

*A full list and description of the inauguration events can be viewed here.

Executive moves

Governor Northam is continuing his thank-you tour with stops in Richmond today. First, he will be making an outdoor recreations announcement at Brown’s Island in Richmond this morning. Later this afternoon, First Lady Northam and Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dr. Vanessa Walker-Harris to visit a mobile child vaccine clinic.
Governor Northam released the Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan on Tuesday. The goal of the master plan is to provide a foundational and fundamental step towards protecting Virginia’s coast.

Northam proposes pay increase for law enforcement in outgoing budget

On the second day of his “Thank you Virginia” tour, Governor Ralph Northam announced that he will be proposing pay raises for law enforcement in his outgoing budget. The proposal is largely symbolic as Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin will take over budget negotiations with the General Assembly on Jan. 15 when he is sworn into office Youngkin pushed for law enforcement pay raises throughout his campaign, however, meaning it is likely that some sort of raise will happen.

Northam is proposing pay increases for Virginia State Troopers, correctional officers, deputy sheriffs, and regional jail officers. “Law enforcement officers carry a heavy burden as they work to protect Virginians, and this raise is the right thing to do,” Northam said Tuesday. “It is also important that our officers are paid enough to create a positive work environment free from as much stress and burnout as possible.”

Under Northam’s proposal, newly-sworn state troopers will receive a 7.7 percent pay raise; the starting salary for new correction officers will increase by 25 percent; and the average entry-level salary for deputy sheriffs and regional jail officials will increase by approximately 20 percent. The Governor’s budget also includes funding to address pay compression and provide additional raises to a range of targeted officers and sworn personnel. Virginia gave one-time bonuses of $3,000 to $5,000 to public safety officials in 2021, in addition to a one-time bonus of $500 in 2020.

“This raise and increased funding is a huge step forward,” Northam said Tuesday.

On Monday, Northam announced that he included a 10% proposal for Virginia teachers. Both of these ideas were prominent within Youngkin’s campaign for governor. A source close to the gov.-elect provided Virginia Scope with a statement Monday afternoon. “Glenn’s entire Day One Game Plan is online if the Northam team wants to crib any other ideas to help Virginians or turn around Virginia’s economy.”

Rumor mill

Prior to earning the Republican nomination earlier this year, Glenn Youngkin told Republicans that he would want former House Speaker Kirk Cox as his Sec. of Education. The pick would have made sense due to Cox’s long career both in the legislature and as a public school teacher in Chesterfield. It appears, however, that the gov.-elect will not be hiring Cox. According to multiple sources within the Republican Party, Cox and Youngkin are not on great terms at this moment and it is unlikely that Cox joins the administration.
The cost to be a sponsor at Youngkin’s inauguration is HEFTY. Strike a $100K check and can get you nearly 50 tickets to various inauguration events. View More
This is not so much a rumor, but Democratic House Leader Eileen Filler-Corn announced a new chief of staff on Tuesday, David Cary. Cary has served as the Chief of Staff to the First Lady of Virginia since she took office in 2018. He also served as Assistant Secretary of Education since 2020, helping to design, develop and implement programs investing in public education to serve a record 25,000+ preschool students across the Commonwealth. Prior to serving as the Chief of Staff to the First Lady, he worked on the Northam for Governor campaign as well as campaigns throughout Virginia and the country. Cary replaces Kevin O'Holleran, who has served as the Speaker's Chief of Staff since January 2020.

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