If you haven’t kept up with what’s been happening with the proposed slave museum, this Washington Post article, reprinted in today’s Virginian-Pilot, gives a lot of the background. Not only is the museum in bankruptcy, but Wilder has stopped talking to people about it, including not talking to those who donated artifacts.

What has happened to those artifacts is the thing that bothers me the most.

So much of black history has been lost over the years, because much of it relied on oral history. I still remember watching “Roots” as a kid and being amazed that a family had passed the story of Kunta Kinte through its generations. While I know I am the descendent of slaves on both sides of my family, my ability trace my own roots is limited by the lack of records.

To be able to see the artifacts, such as the mask that Wilder is holding in the photo above (see the slideshow here), is to see a history that wasn’t written down, that was, in many ways, whitewashed. As I said in an earlier post, history is written by the victors.

Wilder, who is pretty good at talking about a lot of other things, does the black community a disservice by not talking about the museum, by not letting all of us know what happened to the donations. Those artifacts need to be returned to their donors or, at the very least, contributed to another museum, where they can be seen by all. (I don’t count this as “talking.”)

I have no idea whether they have the space for it but the perfect place for all of the artifacts would be Fort Monroe, as mentioned in this 2011 editorial.

Whatever is decided, the sooner it is, the better. For all of us.

Enter the failed project that the county has spent millions, and some amount in kind, to a developer who so far will not disclose his investors or any other money details of his project.

Granite Hills Inn and Conference Center is the project and Bob Fowler is the developer. He is the same person involved with the questionable and failing golf club next to where this new project will go. Twice Community Development Block Grants were turned down for this project. The county is going to a lot of trouble and work to prop up someone who is as yet, unproven. The land for the inn was sold to the developer at about one-fourth or less its true commercial worth.

Enter Route 628, the present road that is running past the school facilities just south of US 460 and Farmville. The county insists that this road needs to be realigned and run through property that is private. Eminent Domain is being used to accomplish this. Never mind that the inn, etc is dead in the water right now, with no hope of financing. The excuse? The moved road will provide more safety for the school traffic. The real reason? The Inn and conference Center would be located on that new road.

One last thing; the county will pay an average of $45,000 for the road land in Eminent Domain proceedings. $4,000 to $45,000. Do you see something wrong here?

Below is a letter from Jack Houghton, an activist and citizen in Farmville who has fought this and other projects for years. It provides a good synopsis of what has gone on. This is what happens when there is no accountability from our local governments and people do not participate. Thanks, Jack.

Thank you also to The Farmville Herald, who also published this letter after I received a copy of it.

One of the points I’d make is the invasive nature of transvaginal ultrasounds, which would be necessary in many cases. I’ve had such a procedure – and without going into too many details, let me just say it was not a fun experience. No one should be subjected unnecessarily to such a procedure.

Members of the Virginia Legislature 1871-1872. Library of Virginia.

My latest op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Wednesday. With February being Black History Month, I wanted to write something for it. I had run across Senate Joint Resolution 13 when looking at bills earlier, reading just the synopsis of the bill. Thinking that there might be a local connection, I finally found the time to read the whole thing and noticed that one of those referenced shared my last name.

From the time I moved here, people have tried to connect me to the Paige family of Norfolk. But my own family is from the Peninsula and I’ve never found a link. Seeing the name of Richard G.L. Paige made me spend more time than I have right now to try to find a link again – to no avail. Nevertheless, as is always the case, I learned a lot about Paige during my search.

One of the things I ran across in my research was the photo above, which accompanied the column in the printed paper. Of note is the placement of the black legislators: all are at the bottom. R. G. L. Paige is 5th from the right in that row.

My own great-grandfather, Edmund G. Paige, was a contemporary of R. G. L. Paige. While R.G.L. was serving in the legislature, Edmund was doing some real estate investing of his own. I have a copy of the deed dated July 4, 1874 in which he purchased 6 acres of land in Elizabeth City County, now Hampton. Also like R.G.L., Edmund had been born a slave, but other than that piece of information, which was passed to me by my father many years ago, I have no other information. It is possible that my great-grandfather made his way to Hampton because of Freedom Fortress, Ft. Monroe. But that is pure speculation. Despite my efforts over the past 30 years, I’ve never found anything older than that 1874 deed about him.

As for the Paiges of Norfolk – I doubt I’ll ever find a link between the two families. I’ve been told many times – as recently as yesterday – that I look like them. While that is true, it’s not because of my Paige ancestry; as far as I can tell, there is no white ancestry on that side. My mother’s side of the family is a different story; it is that side which I resemble most.

My weekly column appears in The Virginian-Pilot on Wednesdays. You can see the columns as they are published here. With the recent update to the PilotOnline home page, navigation to my columns has been simplified: click on Opinion and then choose my name at the bottom of the dropdown list. You can also see the columns by liking my Facebook page.

So there is a little proof that gifts received by lawmakers don’t always have their intended results.

Nevertheless, I’d prefer Virginia lawmakers be paid a reasonable salary and not receive gifts at all. So kudos to Senator Harry Blevins and Delegate Bob Purkey for being among the 15 legislators who reported no gifts.

By the way – this is the second time in the last few days that Sen. Blevins gets my kudos. His vote last week on abortion legislation was the other.

I watched the story unfold and read a lot of very strong opinions on the subject on both sides following the articles in the paper. One supporter of Komen’s decision to cut of funding said something that I found to be correct and directly to the point for me. They said it was the Komen’s money and they should do with it what they wished.  That is true in my opinion. Once I give money to an organization, I am trusting them to administrator it with the same criteria in the past which was why I choose to donate to them. I tend to be very picky on who I donate money to, anyway. Researching them on charity search engine, looking at what they have accomplished and what percentage goes to administrative.  So that is why the writer’s comment really made me think. I always buy the pink ribbon products and also sponsor my friends who do the fund-raisers for the pink events.  This amount is trivial to the overall budget of the Komen foundation, of course,but this little contribution is my part. So if I am unhappy with how an organization is being run it is easier for me to switch to some other organization.  This is not the case once I am dead and they have the more significant amount left in my will. This actually was my concern.

The Komen foundation hired Karen Handel as a Senior Vice President.  She has always stated she is pro-life and does not support Planned Parenthood. She never has hidden her personal beliefs in this manner. Now it seems like this whole issue is being linked to her specifically,  calling for her termination. However, Komen President Elizabeth Thompson and CEO  Nancy Brinker knew how strong her personal beliefs were when she was hired. Now some groups are suggesting that Thompson apparently knew that Planned Parenthood was the only organization affected by the new rules. So it came down to for me was the organization’s future. Is this organization in the future likely to be more concerned about women’s overall health or more concerned with their personal beliefs?  Instead of worrying about which it is, I will just move my money to another organization.  Not supporting the Komen foundation does not mean you don’t support education, testing and hopefully the curing of breast cancer. They do not own the color pink nor the concern for breast cancer.

In Virginia there is an organization known as Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation (VBCF) which several of my friends donate to.  Their slogan Educate, Advocate, Eradicate best exemplifies VBCF’s strategy in the battle against this epidemic. They are the people who brought the state the pink breast cancer license plates.

However, I am giving my money to Planned Parenthood. The reason is they are concerned for all women’s health issues and I have had friends die from female issues/cancers related to other areas than breast. They also help the poor get screenings, advice and help. My mother ran a health center for over 30 years which specifically targeted the underserved. This is something I have seen first hand and you really can not relate to it if you are able to drive to your doctor hand them your insurance card and say I don’t feel well.  That is not an option for a lot of people. So that is why I have decided to switch my donations to Planned Parenthood. Also I am hoping that Planned Parenthood will get enough of funding to keep their proposed mobile van for mammograms and screenings. I believe especially when dealing with the undeserved you can help more if you can get to them.

Again my little donations won’t even be noticed by the Komen foundation. Even if some of my friends decide to change it is likely not to be noticed.  It is worth noting that Planned Parenthood has seen a significant increase in donations as well at the Komen foundation has raised a significant amount from the anti-abortion people.  So maybe people taking sides has helped both organizations. I just know that I feel better about my choice now that this has come to light.

Angie that is the best explanation I can give you from my personal point of view.

A quick look at some of the stories and other stuff from the past week.

Scott Rigell disavows tax pledge
2nd Congressional district representative Scott Rigell has stepped away from his no-taxes pledge. Needless to say, there are some folks who are unhappy about that, including two letters printed in today’s paper (1, 2). There’s not much that Rigell and I agree on, but stepping away from the idiotic pledge is one of them. Kudos to Rigell for showing some independence of thought.

Komen vs Planned Parenthood
Over the course of a few days, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation went from one of the most respected organizations to one of the most reviled. It was a PR mistake of epic proportions. No surprise that they backtracked on the decision to continue making grants to PP, but theirs is a brand ruined, because political hacks, including Ari Fleischer, made a poor decision. And, for the record, abortion services represent only 3% of the services provided by PP.

Meanness in the General Assembly
Unless you are a social conservative, the actions so far in the Virginia General Assembly have been nothing short of mean. When conservatives like Kerry Dougherty call you out, you know you’ve gone too far. Between abortion and voter suppression bills, what has this General Assembly accomplished? I feel like Ed Schultz – where are the jobs?

Best joke of the week

Next week on the Apprentice: Trump and Romney try to fire 243,000 people to account for today's job numbers report.—
Don Mark (@DonMarkRVA) February 03, 2012

If it weren’t so sad, this would be funny.

Geary’s campaign ran into trouble after a highly orchestrated attack on his character by Republican leaders, including U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-7th. The leaders revealed that Geary had engaged in an affair with a married woman in recent years.

I watched this happen from afar, knowing none of the players personally. It was not a pretty sight.

This is why the legislature won’t pass a bill to allow party ID on the ballot for local offices, even when that office is nominated by party. Because it allows party officials to support another candidate – in this case, former Del. Bill Janis, who gave up his seat to run as an independent.

We’ll never know what caused Geary to take his life, but no doubt this effort to smear him played a role. Some people can come back from this; others cannot. Those who participated in this smear campaign should be ashamed of themselves.

My thoughts and prayers are with Geary’s family today.

Participants are asked to gather at the Bell Tower in the southwest corner of Capitol Square (Ninth & Franklin Streets) at 9 am. More details are on the flyer – click to enlarge.

A quick look at some of the stories and other stuff from the past week.

VA Republican primary: still Romney v Paul
This was my lead last Saturday but it appears it is now final. Rick Perry appealed the judge’s ruling but the appeal was denied. Absentee ballots have been printed and voting has begun. Oh, and that stupid loyalty oath is gone.

Republican primary field narrows further
Perry was the originator of the lawsuit but Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman, and Michelle Bachmann joined in. Bachmann was gone after Iowa. This week, two more Republican candidates dropped out: Huntsman on Monday and Perry on Friday. Santorum, despite his official Iowa win, will be the next to go. I expect he’ll finish a distant fourth in today’s primary in South Carolina. Gingrich, whose race-baiting is fueling this latest surge, is in it for a while, although I still expect Romney to the be nominee. Gingrich garnered Perry’s endorsement (for what it’s worth) while Huntsman endorsed Romney, as did our governor, Bob McDonnell. As for Ron Paul – well, he’s not going anywhere. I expect him to take it all the way to the convention.

Speaking of Iowa – having watched some of the coverage on caucus night, and then seeing that they lost some of the precincts’ ballots, I think it’s time for them to give up the “first in the nation” position.

Congressional redistricting headed to the governor’s desk
Both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Senate have passed the incumbent-protection congressional redistricting bill. A couple of tweets from yesterday:

Under GOP VA map, none of 11 CDs are between D+5 & R+5 in Cook PVI. #VA10 Wolf (R) goes R+2 -> R+5, #VA11 Connelly (D) goes D+2 -> D+6—
Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) January 20, 2012

Only non-solid incumbent in our VA ratings is #VA02 Rigell, who is Likely R. VA = perfect example of competitive state, uncompetitive lines—
Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) January 20, 2012

Yep. But at least I live in VA-02. Democratic candidate Paul Hirschbiel, already on the DCC’s Red to Blue list, will officially kick off his campaign Monday.

Uranium ban to stay in place
At least until regulations can be written. This might take a while.

Passenger rail coming to Norfolk
By the end of the year, passenger rail service from Norfolk will restart. I am really looking forward to this. I think it would be kinda cool to take the train to Richmond (although I haven’t figured out how I’d get from Staples Mill into downtown Richmond).

Taxes
No, not Newt Gingrich’s (pdf – the one I’d like to see is Gingrich Holdings, Inc.,  by the way) or Mitt Romney’s (no link because he hasn’t released them yet) but your taxes. It’s time to think about them. The IRS announced a new Free File option that is open to everyone, regardless of income: fillable forms. And the Virginia Department of Taxation has followed suit. Electronic filing of tax returns began this week. The federal tax filing deadline is April 17.

Goodbyes
Once a fixture in my childhood neighborhood, I distinctly recall an item my godmother purchased for me from Mugler’s: a plaid shirt-shaped jacket that was popular with the kids back then. It was one of the few times that I ventured into the store, although I walked past it daily, mostly prior to its move up the street. I really didn’t know that it wasn’t located in Phoebus anymore until I read that the store is closing. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

R&B singer Etta James died yesterday. Another beautiful voice gone. Here is a live version of her singing perhaps her best-known song, At Last.

Playoffs
After going 1-for-4 last weekend, I hope no one puts much stock in my football picks anymore Nevertheless, I’m picking the Patriots over the Ravens and the 49ers over the Giants. (Have I mentioned how much I dislike Eli Manning? )

The other thing is that with Richmond Sunlight, we citizens really don’t have to wait for somebody to tell us what bills are out there. We can do it ourselves. Yes, there are organizations that do it for us – organizations who rely on individuals like me to review all of the bills – but that’s really the easy way out. We can all watch Richmond – and hold our legislators accountable.

I’ll be back at it this weekend, although it will be a little easier: only 52 house bills and 24 Senate bills have been introduced since I wrote my column Tuesday.

Now I agree that groups need to have a policy about social media to protect from actions that might result in a lawsuit on an entity. It is sad but a reality that they have to put in writing that employees can not blog or tweet about their students. However this policy goes way beyond most general policies.  In fact,  Hampton’s School Board policy pretty much assures that the city will be eventually sued.  The problem arises with the restrictions it places on employees in their off time and on non-city equipment systems. ( full policy here)  What is so worrisome is employees can be fired if their comments  “Harms the goodwill and reputation of Hampton City Schools “.  Now not only does this infringe on the freedom of speech but it would also seem to cross Virginia’s Fraud and Abuse Whistle Blower Protection Act  (Chapter No. 340, 2009) .

On top of that consider that the School Board in Hampton is elected not appointed. Therefore, if someone who currently works with the schools wishes to run for office they have to speak about what they would change.  If this policy goes into effect then they could be fired. This is not just censorship but also an infringement on citizens being able to participate in civic involvement to better the school system.

Of course this will eventually lead to a lawsuit which Hampton will have to defend. I have heard in the past elected officials tell me something is legal till someone sues you.  However, when you knowingly doing something that will take you to court it is not the elected officials who pay but the citizens. This is similar with another case in Hampton where the Sheriff fired all officers who supported his opponent in the last election.  The Sheriff refused to settle as he says his officers “serve at his pleasure” ie they are required to support him . So this case is going to court and who will pay? The citizens because it is his pleasure but not his money.

What it comes down to is if the citizens will care enough to stop this policy or will they just agree to pay off another lawsuit waiting to happen.

In fact, I’d say the chance that those who are elected to represent us in Richmond are less likely to do so today than ever before. They just can’t stop playing politics long enough.

Take a look through the nearly 2,000 bills that have been introduced so far. Show me where the bills are that are about governing this commonwealth. Yes, there are a few. But the large majority – excluding the commemorations and celebrations – are about advancing a political agenda.

What has happened in Washington is happening here in Virginia.

And through their lack of attention, the people are allowing it.

Throughout its history, Virginia has always prided itself on being different. Even in the hated heydays of the Byrd machine (which I will argue still exists in many localities throughout Virginia, and certainly exists in the Code of Virginia – constitutional officers, anyone?), we stood apart from other states.

Now, it’s all about politics. Forget doing what’s best for the Commonwealth.

If they were doing what is best for the Commonwealth, we wouldn’t have the transportation mess we have.

If they were doing what is best for the Commonwealth, we wouldn’t have the education mess we have.

The list is getting longer and longer every day.

We have systematically replaced those who put Virginia first with those who put party first.

On both sides.

So, no, Virginia. We aren’t going to fix transportation, because that would require actual governing, instead of political posturing. And it might include compromise, another dirty word these days.

And so no, I won’t waste my energy on putting out a legislative agenda.

When I see articles like this, I am reminded that our only hope for better government at the top lies with better government at the bottom.

The two are from South Norfolk but are running to bring equality and a voice to all parts of Chesapeake, they said.

Both are independents.

Amick, a Navy veteran who works for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said voters this year will be able to choose candidates who will vote on the issues, not the party line.

“We are independent thinkers without directed ideology,” Hill said.

Hayes, who was present at the announcement, said there is not a “D” or “R” next to their names, but a “C” for Chesapeake.

“These two want to see what’s best for Chesapeake,” Hayes said.

Yeah.

It sure would be nice to see a V – for Virginia – next to the names of our state representatives.

A quick look at some of the stories and other stuff from the past week.

VA Republican primary: still Romney v Paul
The week started off with a ruling by Judge John Gibney to delay the printing of the ballots for the March 6 primary. When he put the ruling in writing the next day, it appeared that his final order might be in favor of the plaintiffs. (Rick Perry had filed the lawsuit but was joined by Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman and Michelle Bachmann, the latter three having not even bothered to turn in any petitions.) That was not to be. Friday, the judge heard the arguments in the case and ruled that Perry, et al, had waited too long to fight the rules (pdf).

General Assembly back in session: Republicans in charge
The General Assembly convened Wednesday. To the surprise of no one, Republicans in the Senate claimed control of that chamber. With the large majority in the House, Republicans are now in complete control of Virginia’s government. Despite the exhortation of Gov. Bob McDonnell in his State of the Commonwealth address that Republicans not “be arrogant” and not “overreach,” I simply don’t see that moderation coming to fruition. Elections have consequences, and how Republicans act with their control might just come back to bite them in November.

Republicans in charge: fast-track for congressional redistricting
I have to say I didn’t see this one coming, although I mentioned it as being on the table in my op-ed this week. I just didn’t think they would get to it as quickly as they did, with the first committee vote coming on the opening day of session. The bill has passed the House, but not without some division amongst the members of the black caucus. I have seen the memo – and my first response was that was something that needed to be spoken to the members of the VLBC, not committed to writing, simply because I knew it would end up in a story somewhere. The black caucus is a minority within a minority – and the need to stick together on the big issues cannot be overstated. But next time, I hope this kind of conversation takes place in the caucus meetings.

Bob Marshall is in!
Delegate Bob Marshall, author of HB1, the personhood bill, is running for the U.S. Senate. Marshall, who nearly pulled off an upset in the 2008 Republican convention for Senate, is entering an already crowded primary field. If nothing else, it’s going to be fun to watch Marshall debate front-runner George Allen.

Transparency? Um, no
The finance committee of the Portsmouth School Board canceled its meeting on the budget, rather than allow a Virginian-Pilot reporter to attend. When those who are supposed to represent us are afraid of the media, something’s very wrong. “Stop treating residents with contempt.” And the media, too.

Missing
The latest addition to the Virginian-Pilot editorial board, Michelle Washington, wrote a nice piece earlier this week about the lack of women in public life. Women, as I learned during the 2008 Democratic presidential contest, can be our own worst enemies. The sentiment of that woman she quoted in the story was one I heard far too often from women who would not support Hillary Clinton. If you substituted black for women in the article, you’d find a similar sentiment. There’s a name for it: internalized oppression.

Missing, part 2
Speaking of missing, I attended the Norfolk Forum Tuesday night and the speaker was University of Richmond president Dr. Edward L. Ayers. Ayers is a historian and an expert on the Civil War, the topic of his remarks. I don’t recall a speaker ever not having received a standing ovation before, but Ayers didn’t. Perhaps his blunt talk on the causes of the war made his overwhelmingly white audience uncomfortable.

Playoffs
My picks for the NFL playoffs this week: Saints over the 49ers, Patriots over the Broncos, Texans over the Ravens and Packers over the Giants.

Not many details are available, but Mr. Estes at one time was making $285,000 a year for representing this county of 10,000 residents. In recent years, the county has fallen on hard times, and is $50 million dollars in debt. Mr. Estes was present as the County Attorney during most of the adding to that debt.

No one at the Cumberland County government had any comment for this story. It is unknown if this development has anything to do with the swearing in of 4 new Supervisors this week. The Board is comprised of 5 members.

People often ask me how I keep up with what’s going on in Richmond. The live streams are the only way – and that’s assuming I have some time. Otherwise, I’m left to catch up on Twitter later on. I follow enough folks that are either in the legislature or cover the legislature that I get a pretty good idea of what’s going on. (And I use the best Twitter client available: UberSocial, which remembers the last tweet read.)

One thing I didn’t see yesterday, although I mentioned it as upcoming in my article, was the House
P&E committee vote on congressional redistricting. For that, I had to rely on a text that I received, which let me know the vote. I was proud of Del. Lionell Spruill, Sr. who joined Del. Mark Sickles in voting against this plan. Thumbs down to the other Dems on this committee who voted in favor.

There will be plenty of opportunity to watch the show that is the Virginia General Assembly this year. I hope more tune in and see it.

The text of the speech as prepared is here. I still find it ironic that the governor eliminated funding for public broadcasting last year, including money to our local PBS affiliate, WHRO, and yet his speech was carried on that very station.

The Democratic response was provided by Senators George Barker and Donald McEachin. In light of this afternoon’s acrimony regarding Senate control, I found the speech quite conciliatory. The entire text of the prepared remarks is below.

Senator McEachin: Good evening, I’m Senator Donald McEachin, Chair of the Senate Democrats.

Senator Barker: And I’m Senator George Barker.

We’re happy to be with you to discuss our future as Virginians. We have challenges. We have opportunities. And, most important of all, we have responsibilities.

Governor McDonnell presented some lofty goals tonight. We embrace challenges and will work with the Governor, Republicans in the legislature, and all Virginians to meet many of them. Two years ago we adopted a bold plan to restore Virginia’s pension system to fiscal health. We are pleased that the Governor’s proposed budget restores funding as promised, honoring our commitment to teachers and State employees.

Over the past decade, under Governors Warner, Kaine, and McDonnell, Virginia has received many accolades: Best State for Business, Best Managed State, Best State for Children. We have achieved such recognition by working together, Democrats and Republicans, in the interest of all Virginians.

Although our economy struggled recently, Virginia has done far better than most states, with unemployment well below the national rate. Over the past two years, we have partnered with the Governor and our Republican colleagues to help create more jobs in Virginia. We worked with Governor McDonnell to increase funding and improve targeting of money to bring businesses and investment to Virginia. We have put your interests and problem-solving before partisan bickering.

Over the last several years we cut 6 billion dollars and balanced the budget without raising taxes. We also did it without decimating support for education, public safety, and services for children, the elderly, and those with disabilities. We look forward to working with the governor to pass a budget that is best for all Virginians.

But we are concerned that aspects of the budget Governor McDonnell has put forth will damage Virginia and our economy by cutting hundreds of millions from public education and critical initiatives for children and families. Rather than making such cuts, we should be meeting our legal and moral responsibilities to our children and families.

In the past Virginia has met many needs with limited state funds by partnering with local non-profit agencies. However, the Governor’s budget would eliminate funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs and centers protecting victims of child abuse, and slash support for free clinics and community health centers, among others. We and our children need these programs.

Particularly short-sighted are cuts to pre-Kindergarten programs that put disadvantaged children on a path to success. These programs serve children who need to catch up to their peers before starting kindergarten. Studies have shown that children who come to kindergarten well-prepared are more likely to graduate high school, have higher earnings, and are less likely to be arrested. We all have an interest in continuing Virginia’s tradition of investing in our children.

The governor is also short-changing our kids by proposing to eliminate so called “cost-to-compete” money for our local school districts. This fund allows our localities to keep the best and the brightest school personnel here in Virginia, instead of losing them to higher paying states. This amounts to a nearly 65 million dollar cut to Northern Virginia schools alone.

And now I’d like to re-introduce Senator Donald McEachin.

Senator McEachin: Overall in this, his first budget, the governor is cutting Pre-K and K through 12 public education by hundreds of millions of dollars. His proposal to take more sales tax revenue to fund transportation is perhaps where we have our strongest disagreement. Governor McDonnell’s program would take 110 million dollars out of the General Fund, which is money that pays for our schools.

And taking money from education is a terrible approach to transportation funding. The governor needs to work on a real long-term solution to funding transportation instead of treating public education as a piggy bank to be raided. Taking money out of our classrooms to pave roads doesn’t help build Virginia’s future. It doesn’t help our children and it doesn’t solve our transportation problem.

We also oppose another Republican pet project, giving big corporations tax breaks for donations to private schools. We need to educate all of our children, not just the select few who can afford private schools. We strongly believe taxpayer dollars should be used for public education, not for rich private academies.

Weakening our public schools will not only hurt our children’s ability to compete in a cut-throat global economy, but also will make our state a less attractive place to do business. Last year, as in several years past, Virginia was named the “Best State for Business.” We earned that title for a variety of reasons, including education, a category in which received one of the highest ratings. Businesses will choose to come here if they know their employees’ families will be happy and their children will get a good education. We want to be a first choice for businesses so we can offer good-paying and numerous jobs.

This past November the voters of the Commonwealth elected 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans to the Senate, so to pass a budget we need to work together. We will work with the governor and with senators and delegates of both parties toward putting Virginia on the right track to economic growth, but we will not agree to short-changing our children and our future. Short-term band-aids are not a real solution to problems. Public education, transportation, a well-run and efficient state government-these are important priorities and all of them will determine whether Virginia is a state that leads the country with a robust economy in the next decade, or whether we fall behind.

We have obligations to future generations, and I hope we can all keep that in mind this session.

So I say tonight to the governor and his party, we share many of the same goals; let’s work together to make progress this session. That is what the people of this great commonwealth voted for and that’s what they deserve.

Thank you, and God bless the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States.

~

The General Assembly opens tomorrow. This AP story says a fight might break out for control of the Senate. Um, no. One need only read the words of the Democratic leadership to know that no such fight is coming. The Republicans will get their committee chairmanships and control of the committees. And the Democrats will end up going along. Honestly, I doubt there will be many 20-20 ties. There are a couple of Dems who are all too willing to vote with the Republicans on certain issues.

~

The congressional races in Virginia have been rather quiet so far. But not for long. Paul Hirschbiel, who is challenging Scott Rigell in the 2nd CD, is having his campaign kickoff in a couple of weeks. The special guest will be none other than Sen. Mark Warner. This is going to be an interesting race to watch – and an expensive one.

~

On the local level, don’t forget that the first organizational meeting of the Norfolk Citizens for An Elected School Board is this coming Saturday. While not a fight, it’s going to be a battle to get the nearly 12,000 signatures needed by July 18. I suspect this article about the $20 million shortfall may prod some to get involved. Sure would be nice if the legislature would reduce the number of signatures required to a more manageable level.

There very well might be.

Democrats are claiming that Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling can’t vote on organizing the Senate. Republicans claim that vote gives them the majority. Ironically, the two parties are taking the opposite positions that they took the last time the Senate was deadlocked 20-20, in 1996. At that time the lieutenant governor was a Democrat, Don Beyer.

A judge refused to grant an injunction against Bolling casting the tie-breaking vote because the issue was not “ripe,” since he hadn’t yet done so. The lawsuit filed by Democratic Caucus Chairman Sen. Donald McEachin is still in front of the court. If, really when, Bolling casts his tie-breaking vote, the Democrats could go back to court. Of course, that would require them to walk off the floor, denying a quorum in the Senate until the issue could be resolved. And that’s complicated by the fact that Bolling, like the governor or a member of the legislature can’t be compelled to answer to a civil suit during the General Assembly session.

So chaos could ensue.

But it’s not necessary. Because there could be a deal that gives both sides part of what they want.

Bolling put out a well-reasoned memo dealing with what issues he believes he can cast a tie-breaking vote on and which he cannot. He believes that he can vote on organization, but not on issuing debt, constitutional amendments or final passage of the state budget. I think his analysis is right.

Which could cause problems for Republicans, as well as Democrats. They now need consensus with Democrats on the budget and they are unlikely to get it if Democrats feel that Republicans are trying to grab power they didn’t win at the polls.

But there would seem to be a deal out there.

In recognition of their victory at the polls and Bolling’s tie-breaking vote, Republicans would be recognized as the majority and control the floor. Sen. Tommy Norment would be the Majority Leader and Republicans would chair every committee.

But, reflecting what each side earned in November, instead of the 10-6 majorities Norment has talked about on committees, each side would have an equal number of seats on committees. This would allow Democrats to kill some bad social issues bills coming over from the House in committee, which probably wouldn’t really make Norment, Bolling or Gov. Bob McDonnell — who could avoid having to sign nutty social issues legislation while auditioning for the vice presidential nomination — unhappy either.

Democrats would probably also want a pledge that Norment will not, as he’s threatened, “revisit” last year’s legislative redistricting. From a good public policy perspective, that’s a good thing. Redistricting shouldn’t be on the line in every election, to be engaged in whenever the majority changes.

In return, Democrats could probably agree to pass the incumbent protection Congressional redistricting plan that all the incumbent representatives signed off on last year. True some think that would lock in the current 8-3 Republican edge. I don’t, because that edge isn’t natural anyway. Virginia’s not a 75% Republican state so there’s no way the GOP will hold that kind of advantage long term. In the incumbent protection plan the 2nd District and, to a lesser extent, the 5th would remain “swingy.” The 10th would also probably become a swing district once Rep. Frank Wolf retires. The Democrats could probably get a better deal out of the federal courts. They might still have that opportunity. Just because the “incumbent protection” plan passes the legislature doesn’t mean it will clear the Obama Justice Department, which could very well prefer the Democratic plan which offered the possibility of electing another African-American to the U.S. House.

This is a deal that could satisfy both sides. Nobody gets everything they want. Nobody gives up everything. That’s sort of the point of a “power sharing” agreement. And it’s the best both sides can probably get and still get on with the people’s business. Democrats will have to recognize that they have lost the majority. And Republicans will have to recognize that 20 seats in a 40-member body don’t justify 63% of the committee seats.

Both sides will have to recognize that they will have to compromise and cooperate to handle the range of complex issues, from the budget to uranium mining to highway funding to support for public and higher education that constitute the real work of the 2012 legislative session.

• A newspaper article from 1965 which mentioned the 255 signatures Rockwell turned in. At the time, the requirement for governor was a mere 250 signatures. (I found a number of sites claiming that Rockwell paid a fee in lieu of signatures. That does not appear to be the case. I found no reference to a fee in lieu of signatures.)
• This short article about the 1965 results, in addition to discussing Rockwell, reminded me that my good  friend’s father – “a militant segregationist and member of the John Birch Society” – was also on the gubernatorial ballot that year. Also interesting was the use of the term “right-wing Virginians.”
• A William & Mary Law Review article (pdf) on election law reform from 1970, which explains the differences between the then-existing law and the new law. I note there is no mention of the signature requirements by Congressional district. It seems no one knows for sure when that crept into the law. The legislative history, although cited (like here), doesn’t go back far enough. Clicking on the 152 at the bottom brings up this bill, which shows the signature requirements being increased from 200 per CD to 400.
• I discovered a new source of info – The Virginia Elections and State Elected Officials Database Project, 1776-2008 – at the University of Virginia Library. This allowed me to see the results of the 1965 election, including how much money the candidates each spent, both in 1965 dollars and in 2007 dollars. (For comparison, look at the 2005 and 2009 gubernatorial races. Yes, a lot more voters but a LOT more money spent.)

I do believe Virginia’s 10,000/400 signature requirements are going to be reduced to a more manageable level. Del. Jennifer McClellan introduced a bill in the 2011 session that would have reduced the signature requirement to 5,000. Her bill was incorporated into this one by Del. Mark Cole, which didn’t have the reduction in the number of signatures. Cole’s bill passed.

But that was only the latest effort to reduce the signatures. Back in 2003, Del. Marian Van Langingham introduced this bill (identical Senate bill introduced by Benny Lambert) which would have cut both the overall signatures and per CD signatures in half – to 5,000 and 200, respectively. The bill passed – but without any changes to the language in section 24.2-545.

Opening up Virginia’s ballots to more candidates is the right thing to do. But, as I mentioned in my article, it may very well mean that people like Rockwell gain access; thus, the op-ed’s title (which I didn’t write, by the way). I don’t see that as a problem – after all, Rockwell only got about 1% of the vote.

It was a bit mind-boggling to note that we’ve not had four candidates for governor since 1965. So while I can’t prove the connection between Rockwell and the 1970 election law changes, it sure does make a lot of sense.

Bottom line is that Virginia survived Rockwell’s run in 1965.

It’s past time to change the law.

Wait, he is voting on abortion bills that will go nowhere, while his constituents lose their houses and have lost their livelihoods and can’t afford even the necessities?

Welcome to the 112th Congress, where the Republicans stonewall everything but socially conservative legislation in the House. Bills that will go nowhere, that Robert Hurt has voted affirmatively on, bills that deal mostly with abortion, contraception, women’s rights to determine her health decisions, and more.

Lots of time has been wasted, and unless they are putting on a show, the Republicans seem to scratch their heads and wonder why all those bills die in the Senate, and then vote and pass more of them (going nowhere).

While people in Martinsville, Danville and many other localities suffer at the hand of this cruel economy wrought by Bush, Robert Hurt and his colleagues have decided to do nothing to improve job creation. They say that the bills they pass are “jobs bills”, but they are 100% centered around business and what the House can do to make it easier for businesses to do business.

This is a nice idea, but totally wrong and totally misguided.

Right now, we don’t need Ned to start a cabinet shop and hire two people. We need large, well established businesses to open locations in the 5th District. For instance, IKEA has a factory in the southern part of the district.

We need 20 more IKEA-sized business to come to the 5th District and provide hundreds of jobs. 15.6% unemployment is inexcusable. This climate is tearing at the very fabric that makes the localities, the 5th District, and Virginia a great place to live and raise a family.

When Virgil Goode promised all those great jobs in Martinsville early in the last decade, people believed him and made decisions accordingly. MZM turned out to be a bust, and Goode himself was found to have taken boatloads of money from Mitchell Wade (now a convicted felon) and his employees. (straw donations, company requirement)

Do we really have to wait now and see what another Republican who just follows orders will do to improve the plight of all the residents of the 5th District? We have an opportunity in November to go back to the kind of independent thinking and unbought representation we had before Robert Hurt. What I mean of course, is electing a Democrat to that seat.

After all, we can’t afford to wait for another MZM or other calamity brought on by Robert Hurt. We need help now.

Miller’s announcement read:

The upcoming session of the General Assembly will deal with a variety of issues that will affect you. From budget cuts to gun laws, from lifting the ban on uranium mining to deciding how to improve our transportation infrastructure. Senator Miller wants to hear your views. Join him for his Town Hall meeting.

Williamsburg           Jan 3rd at 7 pm at the library

Hampton                  Jan 4th at 7 pm at the Northampton Community Center

Newport News         Jan 5th at 7 pm at the Ferguson Center

Suffolk                       Jan 7th at 2 pm at the fire station #5

Note: RSVPs are due by tomorrow, January 3rd.

This will be a great time. With the legislative session starting on January 11, no doubt most of the legislators will be in town for this. I’ve attended them in the past and it’s a nice opportunity to hang out with the legislators, not all of whom will be members of the VLBC.

UPDATE: Can you say “oops”? Cuccinelli reconsiders changing 2012 Virginia ballot

However, after working through different scenarios with Republican and Democratic leaders to attempt to make changes in time for the 2012 Presidential election, my concern grows that we cannot find a way to make such changes fair to the Romney and Paul campaigns that qualified even with Virginia’s burdensome system

In other words, he didn’t have the support in the legislature for his idea.

Round 1 goes to Bolling.

I guess it’s true that a broken clock is right twice a day

Newt Gingrich has done a whole lot of huffing and puffing but has yet to actually file any legal action to be included. I suspect he won’t; after all, he already looked like an idiot by saying he was going to pursue a write-in campaign – which he can’t do under Virginia law. He followed up that “oops” with another – claiming that “fraud” on the part of one signature-gatherer cost him a place on the ballot. A number of reports coming out of the RPV during the counting process indicated that Gingrich petitions lacking addresses were tossed. Is that “fraud”? Or a simple misunderstanding of the process by the State Board of Elections, the RPV and those gathering signatures?

The section of Virginia code relating to the presidential primary is § 24.2-545. While the code says that the SBE is charged with designing the petition form, nowhere in that section is there a requirement that addresses be included. It does appear in § 24.2-506, but that section clearly does not apply to presidential primaries – note that the office is not listed there. If the RPV did toss Gingrich petitions because of the lack of addresses, I believe they erred.

The truth, though, is that the petition deadline and requisite certification was poorly timed. There is no reason why this process was scheduled to take place over the Christmas holiday. It wasn’t the number of signatures that created this problem – after all, as this editorial points out, it’s going to take 12,000 petition signatures to force a vote on elected school boards in Norfolk – it was the timing. There was no time, for example, for a candidate to challenge the reasons the petitions were discarded.

And maybe, just maybe, one person would not have lost her life.

In all honesty, I expected the Republican Party of Virginia to find a way to put these two on the ballot, despite their failure to obtain the necessary signatures. After all, the certification lies with the RPV, and what constitutes sufficiency is left in their hands. The RPV has, instead, dug its heels in. There is no time, as others have said, for legislative action, despite efforts on the part of some to pursue it.

As the result, only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul will appear on the March 6 primary ballot.

To add insult to injury, the RPV has decided to invoke the “loyalty oath” provisions allowed under the code. Supposedly, State Central voted on December 3 – just days outside of the 90-day window – to include this, even though the SBE didn’t vote on it until yesterday. Personally, I find that rather curious, because if this was the case, how come we are just hearing about it now? Rare is the occasion where a bombshell like this escapes notice of everybody. But I have confirmed with someone that I trust who was there that the vote did occur. Guess they were good about keeping it quiet.

Even worse, though, is that the provision even exists in the code. How can you ask all Virginia taxpayers to pay for a primary and then only allow some to participate? I have no problem with closed primaries – as long as the parties pay for them themselves.

I know this isn’t the first time that loyalty oaths were required: they were also used in the 2000 Republican presidential primary. While I don’t remember signing it, I must have as I did vote in that primary. And as long as I’m paying for it, I intend to vote in this one, too.

I’ve heard all the arguments about Republicans choose their own candidate – and I ain’t buying them. My reason for voting in March 2012 is the same as my reason for voting in 2000: somebody is going to win the presidency in November and I’d like that person to be the best choice possible.

No, my vote will not go to the candidate I think is the easiest to beat. That’s not my style. Without knowing what things will look like in November 2012, my vote will go to the candidate who I think is best suited to be president of all of us.

I believed in 2000 that John McCain as president was preferable to George Bush, even though I hoped that Al Gore was going to win. Had he made the ballot, my vote in March would have gone to Jon Huntsman, because of the entire Republican field, I believe him to be the best choice.

I don’t know how I’m going to vote in March with just Romney and Paul on the ballot. But, loyalty oath be damned, I intend to. Because the possibility exists that one of those guys could be elected president. And as a taxpayer in Virginia, I intend to have my voice be heard in the process.

UPDATE: Since writing this, I have received information that the Gingrich petitions were tossed for reasons other than just addresses. In fact, my sources say that it was fraud, that names and addresses were copied from some source – maybe a phone book – all in the same handwriting. In addition, I’m told that Perry turned in maybe 2,000 signatures, not the 6,000 he claimed in his lawsuit nor the 11,911 first reported.

The relevant code section allowing this is here.

But wait! The code says:

The requirements applicable to a party’s primary shall be determined at least 90 days prior to the primary date and certified to, and approved by, the State Board.

Given that the primary is March 6, it seems that would mean that this should have been done by December 6 or so.

So not only is it unenforceable, it seems to be illegal.

UPDATE: As NotCatherineCrabill mentions below, the Republican State Central Committee approved this at their meeting on December 3. Further, I am told that the SBE parses the sentence above to mean that the 90 days applies only to the party’s action, and not theirs. So while the oath remains unenforceable, it appears to be legal.

But Gingrich wasn’t the only candidate who failed to make the ballot. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whose campaign thus far had seemed to be deficient in brainpower, charisma and debating skills, but not in money or organizational expertise, also failed to turn in enough signatures to qualify.

Michele Bachmann, John Huntsman and Rick Santorum didn’t bother to turn in any signatures. Not much of a surprise for the latter two. They’ve just been hanging around. Neither has gotten a bump as the Republican’s “flavor of the month” to be the Not-Mitt Romney candidate. Hell, even Donald Trump got a bump and he never got in.

In fact, only Romney and septuagenarian Libertarian Ron Paul made the ballot. The first is the definition of the smooth, well organized, Establishment Republican. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling heads his campaign in Virginia and there wasn’t much chance he wouldn’t get the necessary signatures. The second is a cult figure who has never won much besides straw polls, but his Paulistas can manage a signature gathering campaign.

While Gingrich and, to a lesser extent, Perry and Bachmann have been whining about how tough Virginia’s ballot access laws are — they require 10,000 signatures, including 400 from each of the state’s 11 congressional districts — the fact is everyone knew what the rules were from the jump.

And how hard can it be? In 2008 Democratic candidates like Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich, neither of whom were exactly at the crest of a rising tide, made it onto Virginia’s ballot.

They had help though. The Democratic Party of Virginia gathered signatures for all of the candidates at various events. The Republican Party of Virginia didn’t make that kind of effort this year. They aren’t required to, of course, but it might have helped.

Republican incompetency has taken a good deal of fun out of what could have been a very exciting year in politics here.

Because, if all the candidates — of at least the ones with some following (sorry Huntsman and Santorum) — had made it on to the ballot, the Virginia Republican Primary might have been very important.

Because, if Romney has some early defeats — and poll numbers in Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina suggest that he might — Virginia, where the Lt. Gov. Bolling chairs his campaign, might have been the state where Romney rallied and took control of the race. Virginia played that role for George W. Bush in 2000 and John McCain in 2008.

It can’t play that role this time because, with only the quirky Paul n opposition, nobody will pay much attention to Virginia. The only thing of consequence that could happen here now is an embarrassing Romney defeat. That’s unlikely. But remember Paul’s cultists are going to vote no matter how hopeless the situation looks. And Virginia is an open primary state and, with an incumbent Democratic president in office, Virginia Democrats really don’t have anything better to do on Primary Day than go out and vote for Paul in an attempt to humiliate the Republican front-runner.

And, through the rise and inevitable fall of each “Anti-Mitt” candidate, Bachmann and Perry and Herman Caine and Gingrich and maybe even Paul, Romney has been unable to seal the deal with more than 25 to 30% of Republican primary voters.

Gingrich put on a brave front and promised a write-in campaign. Until someone told him Virginia doesn’t allow write-ins in a primary. Then, there was talk of legislation in the General Assembly to change that.

I doubt that will happen for three reasons:

1. It would require emergency legislation that would require the consent of a super-majority of the General Assembly. Democrats — and Republicans supporting Romney or Paul — don’t have any reason to do Gingrich and company any favors.

2. In the unlikely event it passed the General Assembly, Gov. McDonnell would have to sign it. I’m pretty sure Bolling would take up permanent residence in the governor’s outer office to make sure that didn’t happen.

3. There’s a reason that Virginia has a rule against write-ins in primaries. We’re an open primary state, with no registration by party. Suppose we allowed write-in votes next year. Suppose 400,000 Republicans show up and 40% of them write in Gingrich and Romney gets 30% of the vote and Paul gets 15% and Perry gets 10% and Bachmann gets 5%. Then suppose 200,000 Democrats, who don’t have anything better to do that day, show up and all of them vote for Barack Obama. Obama wins the Virginia Republican Primary.

Is that going to happen? No.
We’re just going to have a barely-noticed contest between Romney and Paul.
And we could have been a contender…if any of the other Republicans were as well-organized as the Dennis Kucinich campaign in 2008.

In an opinion issued this morning, Judge Beverly Snukals concluded that “the public interest would not be served by having a deadlocked Senate that is unable to agree on organization.”

Elections have consequences, folks.

There are so many issues with having judges chosen by the legislature, some of which I mention in this article. I have to admit, though, that having lawyers pick the judges they practice in front of is at the top of my list.

A couple of the references in the article that you might find interesting:

• The O’Connor Judicial Selection Initiative
• American Judicature Society

In an interview with the Farmville Herald published on October 6, 2011, Robert Hurt answered the questions of Ken Woodley, the Editor of that publication.

The interview was interspersed with Woodley’s comments, which makes it harder to pay attention to the meat of the interview. Woodley has a love affair with one line sentences/paragraphs, something which bugs me to no end.

Enough about the newspaper (which is in the 5th District, located in Prince Edward County in Farmville.) On to the interview and my take on it.

Hurt seems to talk only about businesses when he talks about the economy. He mentions the bills that have backed up waiting for the Senate to act on them. There is “so much” opportunity to cut expenditures. He sounds like a campaign commercial, almost indistinguishable from during his term.

A balanced budget is one of the congressman’s high priorities. With no consideration of how we got to this place of economic calamity, talk of balancing the budget is spoken of in the same breath as cutting taxes on the wealthy. This is a fairy-tale proposal.

“I don’t want to hear excuses but I will tell you that my frustration is compounded by the fact that since January on the House side we’ve taken very serious, serious, serious action in terms of trying to promote job creation. We’ve sent dozens of bills from the House side down to the Senate and Harry Reid and the United States Senate haven’t done anything. These are jobs bills that are stacking up. These are bills that would make it easier and less costly for people to run a business, to stay in business, and make it more attractive for them to hire and reinvest…”

Look at the way a “jobs” bill is described. Bills that “…would make it easier and less costly for people to run a business…” Who will be running this business? There are so many unemployed, so many struggling just to remain in their houses. Since the upper end of the income spectrum is where this is really aimed, why lie about it?

The richest of the rich are who are targeted by Republican lawmakers. They recite the mantra, “taxes are bad” and go about their way to taking money from education and other worthy programs, like the law enforcement in your communities. The richest citizens need another $30,000 tax cut? This is clearly not in sync with reality.

Just like Robert Hurt, Cantor, Forbes, Wolf, Griffith and the rest, the script calls for more tax cuts, so that’s what they are pushing.

Grover Norquist would have the groupthink no other way. Robert Hurt knows where his orders come from. Look at his record, it is almost a mirror of many others. No votes on what his district needs, yes on motions to reconsider in order to gut a competing bill. Don’t watch the sausage being made.

Norfolk Circuit Judge Norman A. Thomas faced tough questions Friday from state lawmakers with the power to give him another eight-year term. Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Ramona D. Taylor was not invited for an interview – the only judge with an expiring term to be so snubbed, according to a legislative official.

An earlier blog post mentioned the two lawmakers who grilled Thomas about his 2005 plea by name: retiring Del. Bill Janis and announced candidate for AG in 2013 Del. Rob Bell.

I guess the panel figured Taylor, who was censured in 2009, is just not going to be re-appointed so why waste the time on an interview.

Judges from across the state were interviewed (pdf) Friday. It will be interesting to see the outcome as time progresses.

The project, as outlined in this article, includes input from business executives in the region and is being led by the Hampton Roads Partnership, which describes the project here. The report from the committee is expected in early 2012.

Virginia is unique in the nation to have all of its cities independent of a county; only three other such cities – Baltimore MD, St. Louis MO, and Carson City NV – lie outside of Virginia. When coupled with its strict interpretation of the Dillon Rule, I would suspect duplication of services in Hampton Roads to be rampant. I applaud the cities for taking on this effort, despite its $150,000 price tag.

My only complaint (you knew there would be one, right? ) is that the steering committee has no ordinary citizens included. The members:

The steering committee includes E. Dana Dickens, III, president and CEO of Hampton Roads Partnership; William Harrell, Chesapeake City Manager; Rick West, Chesapeake City Council; Marcus Jones, Norfolk City Manager; Barclay Winn, Norfolk City Council; Jim Spore, Virginia Beach City Manager; Glenn Davis, Virginia Beach City Council; James Fothergill, chief people officer of Dollar Tree; Jeff Gough, Smithfield Foods vice president for Logistics, Human Resources and Safety; and Tina Gill, Amerigroup vice president for External Relations Operations.  Jim Hixon, Norfolk Southern executive vice president-Law and Corporate Relations, serves as chair of the steering committee, which plans to meet monthly.

I believe the inclusion of the citizens’ perspective is critical to any undertaking like this. The top-down approach doesn’t work in business and it certainly doesn’t work in government. Surely they could have expanded the steering committee to include a citizen from each of the cities who are party to this.

This one was included in last Friday’s paper:

And this one was in Wednesday’s paper:

Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words

As always, click to enlarge.

The question of Cuccinelli running for governor was always just a matter of when, not if. As I said in the article, I fell into the camp of later rather than sooner, and tried to figure out why now.

In the wake of November’s election results, 2013 just became too tempting for Cuccinelli.

[...]

As governor, he would not have to nibble around the edges of remaking Virginia in his own image.

But that’s not all. Head over and read the whole thing. Then you’ll understand the title of this post. Hint: it starts with M and ends with R

• Location: Hampton Convention Center in Hampton, VA 
• Date: December 11, 2011 @ 3:30 p.m.
• Speakers:

• Ray Ganthner from Virginia Energy Independence Alliance
• Mary Rafferty from the Sierra Club
• Nathan Lott from the Virginia Conservation Network
• Patrick Wales from Virginia Uranium
• Tom Leahy from Virginia Beach Public Utilities

This is one of the issues that the 2012 General Assembly will be taking up when they are called into session.  This was a topic that was discussed a lot this year in the media because of the sponsored trips to France for a site visit for the General Assembly.  Also it was a frequent topic in the elections debates.  However, it has not been in the media so much recently. That is likely to change this week however as the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report is due out this week.

This has been a controversial issue. Pro people are saying the Uranium Mining will help the economy (example here and here)  .  The other side has voiced concern over possible contamination of water, including the City of Virginia Beach. Also many have voiced concerns over the fear of how it will be regulated.

You can submit questions for the forum in advance here.  You can also see more information on the Virginia Peninsula MAL League of Women Voters website.

Filed under: Hampton Roads, Local, Politics, Virginia ]]> http://blog.vivianpaige.com/2011/12/08/uranium-mining-forum-by-lwv/feed/ 2 LWVLogoLarger post2it LWVLogoLarger http://blog.vivianpaige.com/2011/12/06/required-reading-civil-war-edition/ http://blog.vivianpaige.com/2011/12/06/required-reading-civil-war-edition/#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:22:41 +0000 Vivian J. Paige http://blog.vivianpaige.com/?p=19013 ]]> With Virginia preparing for the sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War, this week’s required reading comes from The Atlantic.

For realists, the true story of the Civil War illuminates the problem of ostensibly sober-minded compromise with powerful, and intractable, evil.

A copy of the Hampton Roads map with a ring of fire engulfing the region has circulated around city halls and in the community. (City of Norfolk staff)

A second Midtown tunnel means tolls are returning to Hampton Roads. And not just the 25-cent variety. As announced by Gov. Bob McDonnell yesterday, a public-private partnership to build the second Midtown tunnel, rehab the Downtown tunnel and extend the Martin Luther King Freeway (whoops! – guess that’s the wrong name for the road) means tolls “initially ranging from $1.59 to $1.84 per car for the tunnels and $.50 for the Martin Luther King Freeway extension for tunnel users and $1 for non-tunnel users.”

In an op-ed published in today’s Virginian-Pilot, Art Collins, the former executive director of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission and Metropolitan Planning Organization, eviscerates the deal.

The rest of the commonwealth gets its operations and maintenance paid out of the state transportation accounts. So Hampton Roads drivers will pay to maintain facilities in our region as well as the rest of the state through the existing gas tax and other fees.

And he raises a good question:

If the state is going to mandate a toll, which is a tax, without a referendum, why not mandate a sales tax and fix all our major transportation deficiencies?

I think I can answer that one: tolls aren’t taxes, Mr. Collins, at least not in the language of the legislature. That’s why they gave us the referendum. We are allowed – if approved – to raise taxes on ourselves, but Richmond can’t do that.

UPDATE: At the time of writing, the article had not been posted online. You can now find it here.

The refund amounts to 60 percent of Dominion’s overearnings – all the company is required by law to repay.

Are you kidding me? Where is the incentive for Dominion to bill us properly when the law allows them to keep 40% of the overcharges? If I were in charge at Dominion, I’d overcharge, too.

Virginia has been a major beneficiary of the federal government’s largesse in terms of military spending and infrastructure development in northern Virginia. Those days may be coming to end according to Zandi who says, “As the fiscal screws tighten, it is going to be more difficult for Virginia to maintain the growth rates and success it has had in the past.”

I missed this article when writing this week’s op-ed, which appeared in Wednesday’s Virginian-Pilot. But there was plenty fodder for the column, even without this article. The reports to the money committees of the General Assembly – House Appropriations and Senate Finance – contained a lot of data about what’s coming down the pike, particularly in light of the failure of the supercommittee.

It’s not going to be pretty. And it’s certainly not going to be fun.

OMG, Virginia.

A couple of the items on the governor’s list caught my eye:

• Among the 19 boards and commissions to be eliminated is the Small Business Advisory Board. In the Commission’s report, the reason given for eliminating this board is that it hasn’t had a quorum for the last eight meetings and is not a policy board. Who in the heck is on that board? Perhaps the reason there hasn’t been a quorum is because no one is listening to it, anyway.
• The Office of Consumer Affairs to be moved to the Attorney General’s office. This was something that AG Ken Cuccinelli mentioned in a conference call prior to the election. He wants the agency under the AG’s control. Interestingly enough, the move is not mentioned in the Commission’s report.

The governor’s proposal will be introduced as a resolution to be acted on in the upcoming General Assembly session.

Two of the museums which are my favorite are seriously effected by the downturn in economy and lack of donation.

Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe  Going to the Casemate you will hear the history of the Fort Monroe (the Freedom Fort) that has recently been made a National Monument.  The Army left all the weapons and artifacts to keep the Casemate open. You can see where Jefferson Davis was held under arrest after the Civil War. You also can hear of the emancipated slaves and see the various guns / cannons used during the life of the war. The Casemate however was caught in the transition of Fort Monroe financially and they had to lay off two of their four staff. They may now be forced to close if funds can not be found to support it during the process of Fort Monroe getting back on its feet. To help you can send a check to Casemate Foundation PO Box 51341, Fort Monroe, Va 23651 or you can go for a free tour and drop a little money in the box as you leave the museum.

Virginia Air & Space Museum This is a wonderful place if you like Science or Aircraft. They often have speakers from NASA . They also have a large IMAX screen. This Saturday (unless pushed back) they will show the launch of MSL (Mars Science Laboratory) which will lift off this weekend destination Mars. The next space lander (MSL) is due to land  on Mars in August.  The launch is already sold out by people who support NASA and want to see the next lander shot into orbit. Of course the main attraction at the museum is the hands on exhibits and the planes hanging from the ceiling. However, the Daily Press recently reported that they were in financial trouble. It is their 20th anniversary this year.  They are having their annual fund drive. donations can be made to them on-line and they could use it.

I typically go to museums but do not join. This changed this year when I went to the Mariners Museum. I went to hear Linda Greenlaw talk about being a women swordfish captain. She is most know for being the captain of the Andrea Gail in the “perfect storm”. She is also on the show Swords on the Discovery Channel. While I was there I decided to join the museum. It was the fact that I loved going there and that I wanted to make sure they stayed open. They also house the part of the USS Monitor. They always have various interesting exhibits.    They take donations at Mariners Museum.

These are not the only museums of course. But my wish is for anyone that is grateful that these or other museums are around that they consider joining them or giving them a couple of dollars. A small amount of money may not seem like much but when many donate it can become quite a bit and the museums really need it.  I also attend Nauticus , Chrysler Museum and the Virginia Zoo . I don’t know if they are in financial trouble but I am sure if you go there they would appreciate a donation.

Below please add any museum you know that could use help and for which you are glad they are around for you to visit. Maybe if you haven’t visited some like the Casemate now is a good time especially if they are in fear of closing.

Happy Thanksgiving.

From LWV-VA president Lynn Gordon:

It would be nice if politicians would put voters first for a change, by giving them the chance to choose their representatives rather than letting the politicians pick their voters.

Um, yeah.

Not that anyone is listening.

The full release:

[Virginia Beach, VA]: The League of Women Voters of Virginia today addressed reports that congressional redistricting decisions may be delayed yet again and responded to the news that state legislative lines may be reassessed when new legislators go to Richmond in January:

“For months, we have heard straight from leaders on both sides of the aisle that redistricting process will be completed by December 31, as required by the Constitution,” stated LWV-VA president Lynn Gordon.  “Suddenly, we are hearing post-Election Day reports that lawmakers would rather wait and deal with it during the 2012 General Assembly session.

“Punting the redistricting football further down the field isn’t just a blatantly partisan tactic, it is one that could lead to massive voter confusion as we move into a presidential election year.”

The Virginia constitution requires that redistricting be done in the year following the decennial census.  Both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate drew the maps for their respective houses and each approved the other’s map.  These redistricting lines went into effect for the November 2011 election.

Now, according to a November 20, 2011 article in The Virginia Gazette, newly reinstated Senate Majority Leader, Senator Tommy Norment (R-3^rd), told a reporter for the newspaper that he wants to revisit redistricting of the Virginia Senate in the 2012 General Assembly session.  Although there was tweaking to the lines in 1991 and 2001, according to the article, Norment “made it clear that what he has in mind goes beyond ‘tweaks’.”

Both Houses drew their own maps for U.S. Congressional redistricting.  Neither House was willing to approve the other’s map so a committee comprised of members of both parties from the House of Delegates and from the Senate was appointed to try to work out the differences.

“By stalling on congressional redistricting, and threatening to re-open the book on legislative redistricting, legislators are showing where their true interests lie: their own partisan gains,” added LWV-VA’s voter services chair Betsy Mayr.  “Neither is in the best interests of Virginia voters.”

After lines are drawn and a map for congressional redistricting is approved by both houses of the General Assembly, it must go to the governor for his signature.  At that point, Gov. McDonnell can either sign off on the plan or send it back to the legislature for additional work.  Once it is finally approved by the governor, because of federal Voting Rights Act requirements, it next goes to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval, a process that can last as long as sixty days.

Currently, candidates must file their intent to run for office no later than March 29 with primaries scheduled June 12.  If congressional redistricting is not completed in 2011 as required by the Virginia constitution it is likely that the filing dates and primaries will need to be rescheduled.  This could drastically shorten the election process, making it difficult for voters to be educated sufficiently on the issues and candidates prior to casting their vote in November 2012.

In other states where one party has attempted to revisit redistricting mid-way during a decennium, it has been seen as an escalation of partisan politics.  Undoubtedly, that will be the case here in Virginia.  This, too, is not in the voters’ best interests.  It continues the pattern of incumbent state senators and delegates acting out of concern for their political livelihood instead of their constituents.

Gordon concluded, “It would be nice if politicians would put voters first for a change, by giving them the chance to choose their representatives rather than letting the politicians pick their voters.”

As if there’s not enough on the plate of the legislature this session.

This, along with the refusal of Republicans to share power in the Senate, prompted Senate Democrats to announce their intention to file suit. In a press release, Senator Dick Saslaw said, “Republicans are showing us right now that their number one priority is the accumulation and exercise of political power for their own benefit.”

At issue is the power of the Lieutenant Governor. Republicans believe he can cast a vote in certain circumstances, including the reorganization of the Senate, while Democrats believe he cannot.

This is going to be an interesting struggle. And I hope the Democrats don’t give up as easily on this as they did on the redistricting, which is what got us in this mess in the first place.

The entire press release:

Senate Democrats to File Lawsuit to Stop Republican Power Grab
Republicans Overreaching in Claiming a Majority and Seeking to Re-do Redistricting

Richmond, VA – In one of the largest power grabs in modern Virginia history, Republicans are claiming a Senate majority they did not earn and also announced they would like to “re-visit” redistricting. In response to the Republicans claiming the Lt. Governor has the authority to break a tie for re-organizing the Virginia Senate, Senate Democrats today announced they will file suit to force a ruling on the power of the Lt. Governor to break tie votes in a Senate that now has 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans.

“You would think after an extremely close election Republicans would come out with a plan that addresses jobs, education, transportation, and other issues facing Virginia families” said newly-elected Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Donald McEachin (D-Henrico). “Instead, the first thing Senate Republicans do is claim a majority they do not have and announce their intention to re-draw Senate district lines. Republicans are showing us right now that their number one priority is the accumulation and exercise of political power for their own benefit.”

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D-Fairfax ), said the reason for filing suit “is that according to the Virginia Constitution the Lt. Governor does not have the right to break ties in regards to re-organizing the Senate, the budget, or appointing judges. Further, the Republicans are ignoring the will of the people. Just two weeks ago, the citizens of Virginia elected 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans to the Senate. They have called for divided government and not one-party rule.”

In a media report published Saturday, Senate Republican Leader Tommy Norment announced his intention to go through the re-districting process in January after a Senate redistricting plan was passed by the Republican-controlled House and a Republican Governor earlier this year.

“The Republican Senators desire to re-district again is another abuse of power plain and simple. Even Senator Norment admitted that nothing like this has been done before in Virginia, said Senator Saslaw.

Senator McEachin noted, “We have seen what happens in other states when Republicans overreach in their quest for power. Voters let them know they went too far and I think that’s what will happen again.”

*In the interest of full disclosure, Steve Vaughan is also a contributor to this blog.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 19, 2011

House Democratic Caucus Selects New Leadership

Today, the members of the House Democratic Caucus met for their annual legislative retreat in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to planning for the upcoming legislative session, Caucus members selected a new leadership team.

Delegate David Toscano of Charlottesville (57th House District) was the unanimous choice for Minority Leader. Delegate Toscano was first elected to serve in the House of Delegates in 2005. Prior to his service in the House, he served on the Charlottesville City Council for 12 years and was mayor for one term.

Toscano’s vision for the future of the House Democratic Caucus is clear. “We are the party of economic opportunity, job creation and protecting the middle class. Our caucus will work to develop and implement solutions that will move our Commonwealth forward to a better future. We cannot and will not stand idly by as Republican leadership in the House fails to address the challenges we face. I ask all Virginians to join with us as we work to put Virginians first.”

Delegate Mark Sickles of Fairfax (43rd House District) was chosen to serve as Caucus Chairman. Delegate Sickles has served in the House of Delegates since 2004. He served on the Fairfax County Library Board for 11 years and well as serving as chair of the Board for one term. From 1995-1998 he served as Chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee.

“The last two election cycles have been very difficult for our Caucus. In the coming months, I will work with the caucus to develop a comprehensive plan to elect more Democrats to our body including a rigorous candidate recruitment process. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I remain committed to winning a majority in the House of Delegates” said Sickles.

Other leadership members selected at the meeting include Vice Chair for Operations, Delegate Rosalyn Dance of Petersburg (63rd House District) and Vice Chair for Outreach, Delegate Jennifer McClellan of Richmond (71st House District). Delegate Jeion Ward of Hampton (95th House District) retains the post of Caucus Treasurer. Delegate Betsy Carr of Richmond (69th House District) is Caucus Secretary. And, Delegate Delores McQuinn of Richmond (70th House District) is Sgt. at Arms.

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For more information, contact:

Minority Leader David Toscano, 434-960-7171

Caucus Chairman Mark Sickles, 703-608-2837