The latest updates in Virginia politics

Appeals court to hear Fairfax defamation case, and Cox said he would fire the parole board

Mar 11, 2021

Welcome to Thursday! (Sorry for the delay on this today, I had some car trouble on the side of I-95.)

Anonymous attacks in the GOP gubernatorial race continue to scare party operatives

In what might be their best opportunity in a decade to win statewide in Virginia, Republican gubernatorial candidates are facing anonymous attacks which could potentially deepen the divide and make it harder for the party to unite behind one candidate in November.

Former state House Speaker Kirk Cox is facing pushback from a new PAC named First Principles Fund. In a video on the PAC’s website, they attack Cox for having over 30 years of experience in the state legislature and his role in helping with Medicaid expansion. The video fails to note that the federal government pays for 90% of the funding for the expansion in Medicaid that provided healthcare to more than 450,000 Virginians.

"Kirk's opponents are daunted by his history of winning under the toughest circumstances,” said Elizabeth Gregory, spokesperson for the Cox campaign. “Unfortunately for them, frivolous attacks like these won't land when held up against his proven conservative record."

Glenn Youngkin is also facing anonymous attacks from The Cornerstone PAC, which has done nothing but attack him. One of the attack ads accused Youngkin of outsourcing American jobs to China and tries to use details out of context to paint the gubernatorial candidate as being soft on China. Cornerstone is run on paper by a Republican operative named Chris Jankowski. He has not responded to requests for comment, nor has he indicated that he is doing this in favor of any of the other candidates.

Federal Appeals Court To Hear LG Fairfax Defamation Lawsuit - VPM News

By Whittney Evans

A federal appeals court will reconsider Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax’s libel lawsuit against CBS on Thursday. Fairfax accuses the television network of airing sexual assault allegations that were levied against him in 2019. The network broadcast exclusive interviews with the accusers, Meredith Watson and Vanessa Tyson, to a national audience. Both accuse Fairfax of assaulting them separately more than 15 years ago.

Fairfax alleges CBS failed to thoroughly investigate the women’s claims and was motivated by its “desire to respond publicly and aggressively to the #MeToo movement…”, according to the complaint.

Kirk Cox: I'll Clean House and Fire the Entire Virginia Parole Board

Kirk Cox joined The John Fredericks Show Wednesday to talk about news continuous steam of negative news coming from the Virginia Parole Board.

You're silencing a whistleblower, which I think is despicable. It goes against every law we hold dear, and to me, government employees have a right to protection for speaking out," Kirk told Fredericks. "The executive branch should not be in the position of politically editing this to make them look good. That is nothing more than a separation of powers and a good government issue... This parole board should have been fired long ago."

Full Interview

The Collective PAC Endorses Four More Leaders for State and Local Office in Virginia

oday, The Collective PAC, the nation’s largest political action committee dedicated to increasing Black political representation and power across all levels of government, endorsed four candidates for state and local office in Virginia: Delegate Lashrecse Aird (HD-63), Delegate Alex Askew (HD-65), Debra Gardner (HD-27), and Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales (Portsmouth). Founders of The Collective PAC, Quentin James and Stefanie Brown James released the following statement:

“From the statehouse to the commonwealth's attorney's office, Black leaders across Virginia continue to lead the charge for building a more progressive, equitable, and inclusive Commonwealth. The Collective PAC is proud to stand with Delegates Lashrecse Aird and Alex Askew, and Commonwealth's Attorney Stephanie Morales in their bids for reelection. We also look forward to helping community leader Debra Garner flip the critical HD-27 seat from red to blue. Lashrecse, Alex, Stephanie and Debra represent the best of Virginia and have the experience, integrity, and compassion necessary to bring about real change and champion the issues most important to Virginia’s working families and underrepresented communities.”

Nick Freitas Endorses Jason Miyares for Attorney General

Delegate Freitas said “During this legislative session the Democrats routinely advocated for policies that would grant early release to violent criminals while restricting the rights of law abiding citizens. And each time Jason stood up and defended us, our freedoms and the rule of law. That is the kind of courage and dedication I want to see in the attorney generals office and I am proud to stand with him.”

Jason Miyares said “I am honored to receive this endorsement from my dear friend and freedom loving colleague, Nick Freitas. Nick's leadership in the legislature and around the nation protects our Conservative rights and freedoms, especially our Second Amendment rights."

Virginia NAACP Urges Attorney General Mark Herring Appoint a Special Prosecutor in State Police-Involved Shooting of Xzavier Hill

The Virginia NAACP is calling on Attorney General Mark Herring to appoint a special prosecutor to review the evidence related to the death of Mr. Xzavier D. Hill during an encounter with the Virginia State Police on January 9, 2021. Further, the Virginia NAACP is requesting a meeting with the Attorney General at the “very earliest opportunity” to discuss this matter and urge him to take action to ensure justice and transparency.

“The Virginia NAACP has a long-held position of advocating for the appointment of special prosecutors to conduct the investigations related to the death of Black people resulting from an encounter with law enforcement,” said President Robert Barnette. “We are living in a time of heightened sensitivity and tension, and we call upon our elected officials and appointed policymakers to use the power of their executive authority to make sure that we have full transparency and equal protection under the law.”

Barnette continued to say that that the appointment of a special prosecutor or the appointment of a review committee should be the defined policy throughout the Commonwealth when dealing with a citizen’s death resulting from an encounter with law enforcement. “All too often we have seen the quest for justice thwarted by the slow internal process of police and commonwealth attorney’s investigations that serves to undermine the dwindling confidence of the community that justice will be served.”

Spanberger Votes to Send Major COVID-19 Relief Package to President Biden’s Desk

U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger (VA-07) released the following statement after voting Wednesday with a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the American Rescue Plan Act, a COVID-19 relief package.

“Nearly one year after the virus first arrived in the Commonwealth, we’ve built momentum in Virginia and across the country in our fight against the virus and in our economic recovery. This legislation provides a major vehicle for maintaining this momentum.

“The American Rescue Plan Act passed in the House today includes much-needed assistance for vaccine distribution, schools, small businesses, and Virginia families. In response to the financial challenges faced by working parents, the legislation prevents unemployment insurance from expiring in just a few days, provides one-time direct payments to individuals and families, and expands the Child Tax Credit — so that Virginia families will receive an extra boost as we accelerate the fight against the virus. I’m also encouraged that the American Rescue Plan Act establishes a new Restaurant Revitalization Fund to support family-owned restaurants as they work towards inviting customers back in the coming months. I’ve directly heard from many Central Virginia restaurant owners about the hardships they’ve faced throughout the pandemic.

“This strong, coordinated effort to protect our most vulnerable, reopen our businesses, and get our children fully back to school is a wise investment in our post-COVID-19 future. We are making progress, but we need to keep our foot on the gas. I look forward to President Biden signing this legislation into law as soon as possible.”

Wittman votes against COVID-19 relief package

Congressman Wittman (VA-01) issued the following statement after voting “no” on the COVID-19 relief package in the United States House of Representatives

“The Majority has decided to finance their political interests on the backs of the American people.” Congressman Wittman continued, “Wasteful provisions in the bill do more to achieve Democrats' political goals than responsibly dealing with the challenges facing our nation. This reckless pork package saddles every American household with an additional $14,000 share of the national debt --in the midst of historic unemployment-- and only sends 9% to actual COVID-19 health relief. It only directs 1% to vaccinations, ignores the science on reopening schools, and is stuffed with non-COVID-related spending. In fact, the remaining 91% of the $2 trillion package goes to a wish list of Democratic political priorities, like state bailouts and checks to prisoners and illegal aliens. As if that were not bad enough, even liberal economists say this bill is wrong for this recovery and are concerned the inflation caused by this “relief” package will burn out our economy and delay its recovery.”

Chesterfield Democrat quits House race, calls campaigning a 'bulls--- game' in tweet - Progress Index

Traditionally when a political candidate ends their campaign, they try to put on the most politically correct spin — my family needs me, present circumstances do not allow me to continue, I am withdrawing for health reasons, yada yada yada.

Gena Lashley might have come up with one of the most honest (and extremely politically incorrect) approaches to pulling her name off the ballot for Virginia's 62nd House District. She is withdrawing for health reasons, but not the ones you think.

Longtime Virginia Capitol Police officer dies of covid-19 - Washington Post

by Laura Vozzella

A veteran Virginia Capitol Police officer who greeted governors, legislators and tourists alike with a calm authority and a welcoming smile from his post on Capitol Square died this week of covid-19.

Master Officer Woodrow W. “Buddy” Dowdy III, 60, had spent 33 years with the nation’s oldest police agency, which secures the 13-acre park that’s home to the state Capitol, Executive Mansion and state office buildings.

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