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Adams and Elliott face off for the Democratic nomination in House District 68
(Listen to an audio interview with Elliott at the top of this newsletter!)
In 2017, Del. Dawn Adams flipped the seat in the 68th district of the House of Delegates when she defeated the Republican incumbent Manoli Loupassi by less than 400 votes. She won reelection in 2019 by a much larger margin, but now the two-term delegate is facing a primary challenger who has concerns over her voting record and treatment of staff.
“Del. Adams and I probably share a number of similarities because we are both Democrats — because we do both share a vision of the Democratic party but I think I am more progressive in a number of areas where I think her votes and her legislative actions have kind of demonstrated why we need better leadership in the 68,” said Kyle Ellott, the man challenging Adams for the Democratic nomination.
HD-68 encompasses parts of Chesterfield, Henrico, and Richmond. Before losing to Adams in 2017, Loupassi held the seat for 10 years with little competition. Adams’ upset victory took place in a year when Democrats flipped 15 seats across the Commonwealth.
With Trump out of office, Democrats are worried about keeping this seat along with a few others in November. Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn has made helping Adams in this primary race a priority for the caucus. In addition to the Speaker’s full support, other party leaders like Governor Ralph Northam and Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw are supporting Adams as they attempt to keep the House caucus intact.
But even with the support of the party of the establishment at her back being an endorsement of her job as a Democrat, Elliott believes that Adams has let her constituents down while in office.
First, he discussed Adams being one of only two Democrats during the 2020 session that voted against a bill that made it a civil penalty to not report a lost or stolen firearm. “That is a commonsense gun safety legislation bill that keeps guns out of the hands of people who should not have them,” Elliott said.
The bill still was able to pass even though Adams voted against it.
Elliott then talked about the time in 2019 when Adams withdrew her support for a bill that would have eased restrictions on abortion if the mother’s life was in jeopardy.
The Republicans used this bill to attack Democrats for weeks, eventually resulting in death threats for the bill’s chief-sponsor, Kathy Tran. After heavy backlash from Republicans, Adams sent a letter to her constituents apologizing for sponsoring the bill and said she did not properly read the legislation before agreeing to sign on.
“That to me is problematic,” Elliott said. “This is going to be a quintessential fight here in Virginia in the upcoming session. We need to make sure we are doing everything we can here in Virginia to make sure we are enshrining protections in the Virginia code as well as the constitution. That is another key difference from Del. Adams and I — I will not back down from the radical right.”
Adams also confidentially settled a lawsuit with a former staffer in 2020 after she was accused of hacking into that staffer’s personal email to delete files related to work. The delegate denied the accusations at the time and released the following statement after the lawsuit was settled. “I agreed that concluding the matter was in the best interests of my family, constituents and the parties most directly involved. I continue to believe I have always acted in the best interest of those I have served in any capacity. I look forward to continuing doing the legislative work I was elected to do and wish Ms. Hains the best.”
Elliott referenced that situation when noting that he wants to bring ethical leadership to the district. “That is problematic to me, the way you treat your staff with dignity and respect is important to me.”
Adams did not respond to an interview request for this article.
As for what drove him to jump into this race against an incumbent, Ellott says the social justice movement that took place across the country last year encouraged him to use his voice and help reform the criminal justice system.
“I think like a lot of people, I was really moved to action by the events of 2020 — the murders of Geroge Floyd and Breonna Taylor really inspired a lot of us to want to fix what I think is an acute problem in criminal justice and policing,” Elliott said in an interview. “I was really proud to lend my voice to this movement.”
Adams outraised Elliott in the recent filing by $28,000, but the donor lists for the candidates in this race are a window into the current state of politics across Virginia. With the Speaker and the Democratic establishment supporting Adams in the primary, Clean Virginia was still her largest donor in the latest filing with a $20,000 donation at the end of May. Clean Virginia is funded by Michael Bills, who is married to Sonjia Smith, who is the largest donor to Elliott’s campaign after giving him $79,000 in the latest quarterly filing. Either way, Smith or Bills will have been the largest donor to the winner in this primary.
Democratic voters in HD-68 will be choosing which of the two will be their nominee on Tuesday, June 8.
Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Rich Anderson comments on Hala Ayala and her Clean Virginia pledge reversal
Del. Hala Ayala (D) is facing backlash from Democrats in the final days of her primary campaign for lieutenant governor for reversing on a pledge and accepting $100K in money from Dominion Energy. Now the chairman for the Republican Party of Virginia, Rich Anderson, is speaking out as well.
Anderson is currently a constituent of Ayala and was the delegate for the district before losing to her in 2017 amid the blue wave. Now he is issuing a sharp rebuke of Ayala and the job she has done as a representative. (This was first reported by Blue Virginia.)
Read an excerpt from what Anderson had to say below:
Time to speak truth to power. Residing in the district that Hala Ayala “represents,” Ayala’s exposed lie in this RTD story is no surprise to thousands of PWC citizens. Here’s why:
• She falsely misled her constituents about representing them in the Virginia House and has now jettisoned them for higher office partway through her 2nd term as a Delegate.
• She falsely pledged to carry meaningful legislation. But her record is shallow, often signing on as a patron to someone else’s bill, rather than carrying consequential bills of her own.
• She falsely pledged to be responsive to constituents, but I regularly receive calls from district residents who ask for my help as a former Delegate in the face of her unreturned calls and unfulfilled constituent requests.
McAuliffe, Lopez, and Filler-Corn Talk Small Business at Columbia Pike Pie Shop - ARL Now
by Matt Blitz
Less than a week before the primary, gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, Del. Alfonso Lopez, and Virginia Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn paid a visit to Acme Pie Company on Columbia Pike.
All three Democrats are running for office in the upcoming primary, set for Tuesday, June 8 — with early voting happening now. (Filler-Corn is unopposed in the primary.)
With 17 Va. House incumbents being challenged, Tuesday could be a wild primary night - Virginia Mercury
by Graham Moomaw and Ned Oliver
Del. Ibraheem Samirah, D-Fairfax, pitches himself as one of the most progressive members of the House of Delegates, but in this year’s primary, he’s fending off a challenge from a fellow progressive who says the district could do better.
“He has seemed to be an incompetent and ineffective legislator, and I think that is not a unique vantage point that I have,” says Irene Shin, who directs a Democratic civic organization and is making her first run for public office.
Youngkin Aims to Float Above GOP Infighting in Virginia - Wall Street Journal
by Joshua Jamerson
Glenn Youngkin, the private-equity boss-turned-Republican nominee for Virginia governor, is so new to politics that many Virginia GOP activists had never heard of him.
“He was a virtual unknown,” said Rich Anderson, a longtime GOP activist in Virginia and head of the state Republican Party. Mr. Anderson described Mr. Youngkin’s best asset as being a “blank page” with no government record, making it potentially harder for Democrats to define him and easier for GOP voters of all stripes to see themselves in him. “I’ve been amazed that he’s been able to appeal broadly to the entire Republican spectrum,” said Mr. Anderson, adding that he didn’t know anything about Mr. Youngkin until he reached out last year to indicate he was considering a gubernatorial bid.
Virginia NAACP Demand State Leaders to Make Immediate Changes at VMI
The Virginia NAACP responded to the investigative report released this week regarding the years-long culture of racism and sexism at the Virginia Military Institute VMI.
Virginia NAACP Education Chair Dr. Amy Tillerson-Brown said: “This report tells us what Black people and women have known for years: Racism and sexism have been allowed to thrive on the campus of VMI. The absence of policy to protect students and faculty from racism and sexism renders VMI complicit in upholding the racist and sexist culture documented in the investigation.”
Virginia NAACP Political Action Chair Gaylene Kanoyton said: “No publicly-funded institution should be allowed to operate with such blatant disregard for civil and human rights. The Virginia NAACP firmly believes that absent immediate changes, all funding from the Commonwealth to VMI should be revoked.”
Virginia NAACP President Robert Barnette said: “The Virginia NAACP demands that state legislators return to Richmond this summer to implement the report’s recommendations and set a swift timetable for implementation.”
The Virginia Supreme Court will hear arguments next Tuesday on whether Gov. Ralph S. Northam has the authority to remove the Monument Avenue statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee - Richmond Free Press
by Jeremy Lazarus
The fate of the giant statue of slavery-defending Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that has loomed over Monument Avenue for more than 130 years now rests with the seven justices of the Virginia Supreme Court.
The court has scheduled arguments for next Tuesday, June 8, on lawsuits questioning the authority of the state to remove the symbol of white supremacy from property owned by the state. The cases involve two sets of litigants seeking to block Gov. Ralph S. Northam from getting rid of the monument.
Democratic super PAC launches seven-figure ad buy in Virginia ahead of governors race - The Hill
by Julia Manchester
Democratic super PAC American Bridge launched a seven-figure ad buy in Virginia on Thursday, highlighting President Biden's American Rescue Plan ahead of the commonwealth's gubernatorial election in November.
The Virginia buy is a part of the PAC's planned $100 million campaign in key swing states — including Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona — before next year's midterm elections.
More election news:
Dominion Energy and anti-Dominion group spend big in race for Portsmouth state House seat
Montgomery rakes in cash, pulling ahead of incumbent King in HD2 Democratic Primary race
General Assembly candidate in Richmond convicted of criminal misdemeanors in 2018 and 2019
Turnout expected to be about 3% for Tuesday's Democratic primary in Dan River Region
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