McGuire wants a police officer in every school

Here are the latest stories from Virginia politics.

Dec 02, 2021

Here is the latest news from around the commonwealth for December 2. Later this morning, paid subscribers will find out another Virginia political figure that will likely be joining the Youngkin administration and leaving their current post. Paid subscribers will also receive exclusive audio from a VA-07 Republican nominee. But for now, here are some political headlines.

Reminder: If you were on the ballot for the Nov. 2 election, your campaign finance report is due today for the period between Oct. 22 to Nov. 25

Del. John McGuire is sponsoring a bill to put a police officer in every Virginia school, he says

“Not only will this provide an additional level of security for children & teachers, but it will allow our men & women in blue to foster positive relationships with students,” McGuire said Wednesday.

In addition to being a state delegate, McGuire is also seeking the Republican nomination in Virginia’s seventh congressional district.

Parents demanding an end to mask mandate represent the minority, says School Board member’s husband - Potomac Local

by Uriah Kiser

A statement posted to Twitter by School Board Chairman At-large Babur Lateef encouraged parents to speak out against the school division’s mask policy. In the Tweet, Lateef said masks should be optional and that people should get vaccinated. He added that despite the new Omicron variant, there’s no place for future lockdowns or school building closures. Lateef and other Prince William County School Board members referred to the coronavirus as endemic akin to the common cold rather than a pandemic in an about-face.

“Learning to live with the endemic is necessary,” states Lateef. However, that’s not the view of most parents who have children in the county school system, said Richard Jessie, husband of Occoquan District School Board member Lillie Jessie and a fixture at county School Board meetings.

Northam says he won’t rush pardons as term winds down - Virginia Mercury

by Ned Oliver

Cynthia Scott started serving a prison sentence on a robbery conviction at age 31. She’s now 52. Her release date won’t come until she’s 70. She doubts she’ll make it.

“Not with this medical care,” she says, describing a range of serious conditions she says have gone untreated despite leaving her incontinent and in danger of permanent kidney failure.

Youngkin says he wants Virginia to be 'most military-friendly state in America' - Washington Times

by Matthew Miller

Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin said during a Wednesday interview that he wants to make the Old Dominion "the most military-friendly state in America."

Youngkin made the remark during an on-air discussion with radio host Hugh Hewitt.

"I think families and military spouses are going to see a much different approach from this administration," Youngkin explained. "One of the things that we know is that they have a substantially different stress on them than a normal family."

Virginia Beach sheriff confirms deputy attended U.S. Capitol rally, doubles down on denying claims on delegate’s husband - Virginian-Pilot

By Stacy Parker and Julianna Morano

Sheriff Ken Stolle confirmed on Wednesday that a deputy who works in his office attended the Jan. 6 rally at the U.S. Capitol. But the sheriff denies that his reason for parting ways with another deputy — the husband of a Virginia Beach delegate — stemmed from the legislator raising concerns about the issue.

The confirmation comes after Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler publicly alleged Tuesday that Stolle fired her husband in retaliation for her raising concerns with the sheriff’s office about a deputy seen in attendance at the rally.

Glenn Youngkin Joins the GOP’s Crew of Kinder, Gentler Killers - The Daily Beast

(Activists on the right are fine with a more subdued approach now that the Supreme Court has their backs on expanding gun rights and further restricting access to abortion.)

by Eleanor Clift

Based on his early moves to sideline hot-button issues like abortion and gun rights, Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin is joining the ranks of popular GOP middle-of-the-road governors like Larry Hogan in Maryland (68 percent approval), Charlie Baker in Massachusetts (69 percent approval) and Chris Sununu in New Hampshire (54 percent approval).

You could call them the party’s kinder, gentler political killers, to borrow a line from George H.W. Bush, whose chief of staff was Chris Sunnunu’s father John. That crew now includes Youngkin, who can only serve one term under Virginia law, but the sky’s the limit for him in Republican politics if he can scale up the model he followed to turn the state red again by bringing college-educated suburban women back into the GOP fold.

Virginia Democrat Plays Up Defense, Not Biden’s Build Back Better Plan - WSJ

by Eliza Collins

Democrats’ difficult path to retaining their House majority runs through districts like that of Rep. Elaine Luria.

The former Navy commander flipped the seat in 2018 as Democrats took control of the House, and she won re-election in 2020 as a moderate who could work across the aisle to advance the interests of her military-focused district.

Now, Ms. Luria is one of Republicans’ top targets as they try to take advantage of sinking poll numbers for President Biden, redistricting that favors the GOP and the historical tendency for the party that wins the White House to lose seats in the next election.

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