Virginia candidates respond to Windsor incident, Kiggans is running for Congress and Chase is seeking Trump's endorsement
The latest in Virginia politics.
Tidbit: Sources say the Democratic Lieutenant Governor candidates will be participating in a May 25 debate at George Mason University.
Statement from Virginia State Vaccination Coordinator Dr. Danny Avula On Pause in Administration of Johnson and Johnson Vaccine
Due to reports of six women developing blood clots after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, the Virginia Department of Health has halted the use of that specific shot. Here is a statement Virginia State Vaccination Coordinator Dr. Danny Avula:
“We are closely monitoring the actions by the federal government to pause all Johnson & Johnson vaccinations while it investigates an extremely rare possible side effect. In Virginia, we will cease all Johnson & Johnson vaccines until this investigation is complete. If you have an upcoming appointment for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you will be contacted to reschedule that appointment.
“This pause is reassuring in that it demonstrates that the systems that are in place to monitor vaccine safety are working. We look forward to a thorough review by federal health officials. Meantime, we will continue Virginia’s vaccine rollout at this time with the other two authorized vaccines, developed by Pfizer and Moderna.”
State Sen. Jen Kiggans officially launches 2022 congressional campaign
Republican state Senator Jen Kiggans is officially seeking the Republican nomination to run for Congress against Elaine Luria (D-VA02) in 2022.
Kiggans was first elected in 2019 to represent the seventh state Senate district in Virginia Beach. “I’ve battled the liberal, one-party rule in Richmond, but we are now facing an even bigger threat in Washington,” she said in her video announcement Monday. “Our Congresswoman has voted with Nancy Pelosi 92% of the time and sides with a radical agenda that is wreaking havoc on our economy, our national security, and our Commonwealth.”
Luria has been representing Virginia’s coastal congressional district since 2018 when she defeated the Republican incumbent, Scott Taylor, by less than three points. Luria then faced Taylor again in 2020 with Trump on the ticket and saw a larger, five-point victory.
Dr. Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at Mary Washington University said this will be one of the most competitive districts in the country. “There is likely to be a lot of competition,” he said. “Congresswoman Luria has benefited from an energized, anti-Trump element of the electorate in her previous campaigns — but the electorate may look somewhat different in 2022 when Trump is neither president nor on the ballot.”
But the comparisons to recent years need to be taken with a grain of salt.
“We have an added dose of uncertainty in the line-drawing process this cycle with the new redistricting commission,” Farnsworth said. The legislative lines are redrawn every 10 years to reflect the latest census data and Virginia has a brand new bipartisan redistricting commission that was created to carry out the process this year.
There is no way to know ahead of time what the new potential lines will look like. Virginia’s House of Delegates elections this year are being conducted with the old lines due to the delay in census results preventing the commission from having the time to create a new map for the November elections. Federal races in 2022 should have adequate time, however, with the lines expected to be finalized before the end of 2021.
Farnsworth stressed the importance of acknowledging that any small changes in redistricting later this year could have a significant impact on such a competitive race for Luria. “Other districts may change more than VA-02 will, but in a closely divided congressional district like that one currently is, even small changes could have big impacts,” he said.
With more than a year until the Republican nominee will even be chosen, Kiggans has no lack of time to campaign and reach out to voters across the Tidewater region. “I’m running for Congress because I have the courage to fight back against this progressive agenda, to help Republicans win back control of the House, to balance the power in Washington, and give the workers, families, and job creators of the Second District the results they deserve,” she said.
Northam stars in McAuliffe ad
Chase says she is going to Florida to seek Trump’s endorsement
In an interview from a few days ago, Chase discusses going to Florida to seek President Trump’s endorsement in the gubernatorial race,
“I’m getting ready to travel to Florida in a couple of weeks to meet President Trump,” she said during the interview. “I am going to seek his endorsement because I am known as Trump in Heels and I stand for everything he stands for.”
Chase also said she leverages an Independent candidacy to “get the Republican Party to do what they need to do to represent the people.”
After more pushing from the host, Chase said she signed the Republican Party of Virginia pledge saying she would support the nominee under a fair and transparent process.
“I think that we need to make sure that as Republicans that we ensure an impartial, fair process, and that one campaign doesn’t have more of a leg up than others,” Chase said. “I use it as leverage, whenever I feel people getting out of line then I say look, I’ve got my signatures I could easily run as an Independent.”
Attorney General Mark Herring requests information from Windsor Police Department
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announced on Monday that he has requested a long list of information from the Windsor Police Department (WDP) after a video from a traffic stop in December 2020 went viral. This is a step towards a potential investigation of the incident, something that many elected officials and activists have been calling the attorney general to do.
In the video, two Windsor police officers approached Army 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario’s car after pulling him over on Route 460. After shouting conflicting orders at him, Nazario, dressed in his army fatigues, informed the officers who had their guns drawn, that he was afraid to get out of the vehicle. One of the officers then responded with, “Yeah, you should be.”
The officer then proceeded to hit Nazario with pepper spray multiple times before they forcefully detained him. Nazario was eventually released with no charges that night.
The reason the footage of the encounter from December of last year was made public now is due to Nazario’s lawsuit against the police department.
It is unclear when it happened, but the Windsor Police Department announced Sunday that one of the officers involved in the encounter, Joe Gutierrez, has been fired. Just a few days earlier, the town manager told reporters that both officers involved in the incident were still employed.
Governor Ralph Northam has directed the Virginia State Police to investigate the incident — but state legislators have been calling for more from Herring, the top law enforcement official in the commonwealth, as the video continued to be shared nationally. Del. Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) responded after Herring tweeted on Saturday that his office was monitoring the incident. “Meanwhile, [the] most powerful law enforcement person in the state is ‘monitoring’ the incident,” Scott tweeted. “You gotta stop “monitoring” (read: doing nothing) these incidents and do something.”
The Virginia NAACP held a press conference Monday in Windsor to reiterate their calls for transparency. “This is about decency, justice, and frankly, accountability,” Da’Quan Love, the executive director of the Virginia NAACP said while standing beside Route 460 Monday evening. “Imagine what happens when the body cameras are off … enough is enough.”
Valerie Butler, the president of the Isle of Wright NAACP Branch listed several demands during the press conference. In addition to the termination of the second officer involved in the incident, Butler called for transparency from Windsor and their police department — this includes the details around their investigation of Gutierrez that resulted in his termination.
Additionally, Butler said that she appreciates Governor Northam’s efforts to have the Virginia State Police investigate the incident, but after talking to people in her community, she believes the best way to move forward would be to have a completely independent investigation take place where a police agency is not involved.
Butler then called for the General Assembly to authorize Attorney General Herring to launch a full investigation into the incident.
A few minutes prior to the press conference on Monday, Herring’s office announced that they sent a letter to the Windsor Police Chief Rodney Riddle with a list of documents they want to review.
“The Office of the Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights has the authority to inquire into and investigate incidents that may constitute an unlawful pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by laws of the United States and the Commonwealth,” the letter reads.
In all, Herring’s Office of Civil Rights is requesting:
Any records or other documentation the Windsor Police Department (WPD) has created regarding the incident that occurred between the officers and 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario on December 5, 2020
Personnel records for the two WPD officers – Officer Joe Gutierrez and Officer Daniel Crocker – involved in the December 5, 2020 traffic stop
WPD policies related to use of force
WPD policies related to traffic stops
WPD policies related to de-escalation and engaging with members of the public
WPD training programs and/or materials for the last ten years related to any of the aforementioned policies
Complaints received by the WPD related to use of force for the last 10 years
Complaints received by the WPD related to traffic stops for the last 10 years, including, but not limited to stops where a person was detained
Complaints received by the WPD for the last 10 years related to treatment on the basis of race, color, and/or national origin
Herring has not indicated what the intention of collecting these documents is exactly, but in an interview on CNN Monday night, he fell short of committing to fully investigating the incident. He called the actions of the officers that night appalling and committed to working to find out if there is a pattern of related incidents within WPD.
“Nothing that I saw on the video justified the actions that the officers took,” Herring said on CNN. “Under no reasonable use of force policies would any of this conduct be permissible.”
McClellan and Jones renew calls for ending qualified immunity
Gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McClellan (D) and attorney general candidate Jay Jones (D) are calling for an end to qualified immunity for police officers in Virginia. Qualified immunity protects police officers from civil lawsuits while they are on duty.
“The horrifying incident that transpired between Windsor police officers and Lt. Col. Caron Nazario is unacceptable, and we must put an end to the mistreatment of Black and Brown Virginians at the hands of law enforcement,” McClellan said. “I was proud to support Del. Jeff Bourne’s push to end qualified immunity in Virginia and pass legislation to reform sentencing for low-level offenses. As Governor, I will make it a priority on day one to stop the unjust treatment of Black and Brown communities by ending qualified immunity, demanding real accountability when the oath to protect and serve is broken, and reforming the criminalization of low-level offenses that disproportionately punish low-income Virginians and Virginians of color.
“I echo the commitment from the Virginia NAACP and the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus to continue building on the sweeping reforms we have passed over the past two years to build a truly just Commonwealth where no Virginian will fear a traffic stop may be their death sentence.”
Jones called on his primary opponent, Attorney General Mark Herring, to support the repeal of the immunity. “Today, I’m calling on Mark Herring to support the repeal of qualified immunity in Virginia and fight to bring true accountability to policing in our Commonwealth,” Jones said Monday. “Too often, justice before the law is denied to Virginians who have suffered at the hands of law enforcement because of the outdated practice of qualified immunity. It’s time to tear down this dark relic of the past and instead build true trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve by holding responsible officers who abuse their position. Despite numerous instances of police misconduct coming to light, Mark Herring has refused to take action on police accountability. Instead of fighting for reform, he has played political games, pointed fingers, and sought to dodge responsibility however he can. Our Commonwealth needs an Attorney General who understands we cannot continue down the same path of unaccountable police brutality if we are going to truly embrace the new Virginia decade.”
All of the other Democratic gubernatorial candidates now support ending qualified immunity as Terry McAuliffe was the final candidate to express support for the repeal, Tuesday.
‘Do you have to go a little crazy to stop the ones that are crazier?’ Virginia’s governor’s race is a window into the GOP’s turmoil - Boston Globe
Amanda Chase thinks some Republicans are afraid of her, and she is probably right. Chase is a GOP state lawmaker who has embraced the nickname “Trump in heels,” legislated from a plexiglass box because she does not wear a mask, and complained that removing Confederate statues is an effort to “erase all white history.” And she is running a campaign for governor that could reveal the limits of her party’s appetite for the most inflammatorytrappings of post-Trump Trumpism — if there are any.
“I said, the 2020 presidential election was stolen,” she told a county GOP meeting here last week, ticking off the reasons why she was recently censured by the state Senate in the chipper tone other politicians use to explain why people like them.
Viral police stop in small Virginia town renews focus on qualified immunity - Virginia Mercury
by Graham Moomaw and Ned Oliver
“For far too long, Virginia’s criminal justice system has unfairly targeted Black and brown people, and the horrific act against Army Lt. Caron Nazario is one of too many that show the critical need for continued reform,” said McAuliffe spokesman Jake Rubenstein. “Terry believes Virginia must increase police accountability and transparency in incidents of misconduct, improve training, expand body-worn camera programs, and end policies like qualified immunity that can prevent accountability when heinous acts are committed against Virginians.”
The four other Democratic candidates for governor — former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, Sen. Jennifer McClellan, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Del. Lee Carter — had all endorsed ending qualified immunity at a forum last month McAuliffe did not attend.
Nine newsroom employees to be laid off at Roanoke Times - Virginia Business
by Kate Andrews
Nine newsroom employees at The Roanoke Times were notified of their pending layoffs Monday by parent company Lee Enterprises Inc., according to the newspaper’s local newsroom union and multiple staff writers who spoke with Virginia Business. The layoffs, set to take effect April 23, would cut the editorial staff to 37 positions, a nearly 20% decrease in newsroom staffing, the union said in a news release.
Virginia Tech beat reporter Henri Gendreau and Claire Mitzel, who covered local K-12 schools and broke news last year about Black cadets’ complaints about racial incidents at Virginia Military Institute, were told by phone that April 23 will be their last day as Roanoke Times employees, they said in interviews Monday afternoon. They say they were told not to work or to access their Roanoke Times email accounts during the next two weeks.
Stone challenges Delegate Danica Roem in Prince William - Potomac Local
Prince William County has been through a political transformation over the last four years. A majority of suburban voters chose to elect Democrats in every competitive House of Delegates district in the county.
Many blamed President Donald Trump for being the driving factor.
First time a Republican seeks 57th House District House seat in 16 years - CBS19
by Sarah Robinson
The first Republican in 16 years to run in the 57th District is making his case for why he should be a state delegate. Phillip Hamilton held a rally on Saturday to spread his message.
J. Miles Coleman at the University of Virginia Center for Politics says he's excited a Republican is running, because it's a good indicator the two-party system is working.