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The rundown
Some Democrats are considering filing a lawsuit over the nomination process for the SD-07 special election.
A conversation with Norfolk City Councilor Andria McClellan (D)
Housing among several issues Rep. McEachin will address in 3rd term
U.S. House GOP lawmakers say they will probe Hunter Biden
I talked to Norfolk City Councilor Andria McClellan about her campaign for state Senate. McClellan is seeking the nomination for a new district that was created during redistricting last year. Del. Angelia Williams Graves is also seeking the Democratic nomination in this district (SD-21). Listen to my conversation with McClellan at the top of this newsletter.
Potential Lawsuit in SD-07 Special Election?
by Josh Stanfield
Stanfield served on the CD2 Democratic Committee from 2017 until 2022. He currently represents York County on the CD1 Democratic Committee.
The Democratic Party of Virginia announced yesterday that Aaron Rouse was selected as the Democratic nominee in the SD7 special election to fill the seat Congresswoman-elect Jen Kiggans vacated. But new developments suggest the fight for the Democratic nomination may have just begun.
Former Virginia Beach Democratic Delegate Cheryl Turpin, who had publicly announced her intention to run for the nomination in this special election and who lost to Jen Kiggans in the 2019 SD-07 general election by less than 1%, has asked Paul Goldman to help her explore her options. Goldman is an attorney, a former chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, and was recently called an election law expert by a federal judge in Richmond.
“I am unaware of any federal case that has upheld a $5,000 mandatory fee to get on the ballot for an office with a salary under $20,000 a year,” Goldman said. “They ought to read the 'white primary' cases which were explicitly intended to prevent issues like this."
Stay tuned for a longer analysis of the SD7 special election drama later today.
Housing among several issues Rep. McEachin will address in 3rd term
By Chloe Voss, Capital News Service
RICHMOND, Va. – The housing market in Virginia’s 4th District is turbulent on many fronts, but reelected Democrat U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin says he will fight to ease the crisis for his constituents.
McEachin for a third term will represent a district that generally encompasses a swath of territory stretching from parts of Henrico County down south past the city of Emporia, westward to Brunswick County and east over to Surry County.
McEachin secured a victory with almost 65% of the vote against previous Republican challenger Leon Benjamin, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
“I am going to continue fighting for forward-looking policy solutions that address the issues most important to Virginians: rising costs and inflation, job creation, the right to choose, gun violence, and housing insecurity,” stated McEachin in an email.
The most populous areas of the 4th District have faced a tumultuous few years in almost every aspect of the housing market.
Richmond City experienced a 14% rent increase on the low end and Henrico County experienced a 28% rent increase on the high end from 2021 to 2022 according to CoStar data published in March.
Evictions have increased 678% in Chesterfield County, 340% in Henrico, 513% in the city of Hopewell, 582% in the city of Petersburg and 751% in Richmond from 2021 to 2022 according to data from the RVA Eviction Lab.
Median home sale prices have increased 3.7% in Richmond, 8.7% in Henrico and 12.5% in Chesterfield from September 2021 to September 2022 according to data from Redfin.
The median household income varies throughout the 4th District, but a recent market value analysis report shows most homes are unaffordable.
McEachin’s campaign did not tout housing reform or relief as a platform issue, but he said he is aware of the problems in Virginia.
“I will continue fighting to expand and improve affordable housing, bolster rental assistance and other resources and explore additional legislative avenues to help tackle our nation’s housing crisis,” McEachin stated in an email.
House lawmakers have introduced several bills to combat housing insecurity, which have not yet come to a vote, but McEachin’s staff said he is committed to helping those in need through policy.
“Rep. McEachin remains committed to advancing smart policies that will provide much-needed assistance to renters and home buyers, as well as improve and expand affordable housing,” stated Shahid Ahmed, McEachin’s communication director, in an email.
McEachin helped secure $1.6 million in Housing and Urban Development funding to combat youth homelessness earlier in the year, along with almost $400,000 from Veteran Affairs to help with housing for homeless veterans.
“My staff and I will also continue to keep our localities apprised of federal grants and other funding opportunities to help improve affordable housing and reduce housing insecurity,” McEachin said.
The RVA Eviction Lab conducted through the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University released its third quarter data last month showing evictions are quickly climbing in the Richmond metro area.
State lawmakers began tackling housing reform legislation the year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, after five Virginia cities ranked in the top 10 for national eviction filing rates, including Richmond, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Chesapeake.
Renters have more legal protections in place than before the pandemic, but emergency housing protections that expired in June were most effective at keeping evictions at bay.
“I think there's certainly a risk that that could happen [pre-pandemic eviction rates] based on how it's already happened in certain places, but it's by no means inevitable,” said Ben Teresa, RVA Eviction Lab co-director.
There is still time for policymakers and advocates to help prevent the situation from worsening, Teresa said.
While housing aid may be available, the conversation around fiscal aid does not address helping those in need more permanently, according to Jatia Wrighten, an assistant professor of political science at VCU.
“This is the conversation of the deserving and undeserving poor,” Wrighten said. “Virginia actually does a pretty good job of allotting funds for social programs like housing, but they are very difficult to gain access to.”
A lot of housing solutions are going to be temporary, according to Wrighten. “Temporary is sort of the name of the game as it relates to social welfare programs.”
Resources for those in uncertain housing situations can see if they are eligible for aid on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website.
House GOP lawmakers say they will probe Hunter Biden
By NOLAN CLANCY, Capital News Service
WASHINGTON – Reps. James Comer of Kentucky, and Jim Jordan of Ohio on Thursday set the focus of the soon-to-be Republican-led House oversight and judiciary committees on an investigation of President Joe Biden and his family.
As the new 118th Congress takes shape and prepares to take office in January, the House will flip narrowly to Republican control, in turn giving the party the chairmanships of committees for the first time since the 115th Congress in 2019.
Comer is expected to chair the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Jordan likely will be chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. The pair, flanked by other Republican committee members, spoke at a press conference about the alleged international dealings of the president’s son Hunter Biden, and how they implicated the president.
“This is an investigation of Joe Biden, the President of the United States, and why he lied to the American people about his knowledge and participation in his family’s international business schemes,” Comer said.
A spokeswoman for the House Democrats, Nelly Decker, told CNN the GOP’s targeting of the Bidens was politically motivated.
“Now that former President Trump is running for office again, House Republicans’ top priority is attacking President Biden and his family in a desperate attempt to return Mr. Trump to power,” Decker said. More broadly, the future committee heads said they would make it a priority to investigate activities they consider overreaches by the federal government.
Jordan said the judiciary panel would target it deems to be political within the Justice Department, keying in on specific action that he said interfered with U.S. elections in the past.
Jordan alleged that the FBI spied on former President Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016 and went on to speculate that the bureau’s raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in August was an attempt to influence the most recent election.
“Maybe it’d be nice if the FBI and the Justice Department just stayed out of it and let we the people decide who we think should represent us, who we think should lead us?” Jordan asked rhetorically. “That’s supposed to be how America works.”
On the oversight side, Comer said the committee has obtained two Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) from banks that involved members of the Biden family. SARs are filed by financial institutions to report known or suspected violations of law, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
“We’re going to do a lot of investigations. We’re going to do a lot of probing,” Comer said. “We’re focused on waste, fraud and abuse and there’s no shortage of that in this federal government, let me assure you that.”
Republicans on the oversight panel published an interim staff report entitled “A President Compromised: The Biden Family Investigation,” a 31-page document that included screenshots of emails, SARs and articles that alleged corrupt dealings.
Most of the evidence presented was allegedly obtained from Hunter’s laptop, which was said to be recovered from a Wilmington, Delaware, repair shop in 2020. A Justice Department investigation led by the U.S. attorney in Wilmington began in 2018 and remains open, but no charges have been brought against Hunter or the president thus far.
Neither Comer nor Jordan responded when asked about the possibility of an attempt to impeach Biden in the House. “You’re going to be presented with something you haven’t been used to over the past four years: evidence,” Comer said.
More Links
State Senate candidate's restaurant has ABC license suspended, keeps selling booze
Two Va. lawmakers again seek repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition
Virginia attorney general to name special counsel after fatal U-Va. shooting
Va. education board delays review of new history and social studies standards
Youngkin discusses state education debate during Southwest Virginia visit
Potential Lawsuit in SD-07 Special Election?