VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local

Just yesterday, I wrote:

Lost in all of this is the reason they were elected in the first place: to represent us, not themselves, to the best of their ability.

With rare exceptions, it’s not about us.

Exhibit A:

Changes to ethics rules in the General Assembly, which seemed almost a sure thing in the wake of the scandal that felled Del. Phil Hamilton last year, now appear in doubt.

I learned of this yesterday after the vote. As the article points out, it was Norfolk’s Del. Kenny Alexander (D-89th) who moved to shelve fellow Norfolk Sen. Ralph Northam’s (D-6th) ethics reform bill. I understand that the move appeared orchestrated, with Del. Morgan Griffith (R-8th) quickly seconding Alexander’s motion. Further, I understand that others in the room, including Del. Ward Armstrong (D-10th), were stunned at the turn of events.

Alexander, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, has been closely watched this session, particularly after he was named to the House Rules committee. His actions yesterday were not the first that have raised the eyebrows of his fellow Democrats. The LBC came out strongly against charter schools, yet Alexander did not vote on HB1390, one of the signature bills on the subject.

Has Alexander made one of those “unholy alliances” with Speaker Bill Howell?

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UPDATE: I had a conversation Friday with Del. Alexander regarding the ethics bill. He assured me that the move was not orchestrated. He was mostly concerned about the questions that arose about some of the terms used in the bill, such as “sufficient,” that even the lawyers on the committee could not answer. As the result, he felt the bill should be carried over to next year’s session.

We also discussed the charter bill. Alexander told me that his voting button malfunctioned, which is why he was unable to cast a vote. He did vote against the bill in its final vote after having spoken against it on the floor.

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Exhibit B:

Del. Tom Gear’s bill, HB664, which easily cleared the House, would have prohibited legislators or their law partners from taking jobs as commissioners of accounts – local officials who oversee the disposition of estates. Commissioners are appointed by circuit judges, who are appointed by the legislature.

That’s a conflict of interests, Gear argued before a special subcommittee of the Senate Courts of Justice Committee.

What was most disappointing about this bill being killed was the comments of the Senators:

“If the citizens don’t approve, they’ll take care of it,” Sen. Fred Quayle, R-Suffolk, told Gear as he moved to kill the bill.

Sen. Linda Puller, D-Fairfax County, agreed. “The system is working,” she said. “If the citizens don’t like what their legislators are doing, they can vote them out of office.”

Ah, the old ballot box.

Quick question: how many people know what a Commissioner of Accounts (COA) does? Heck, not even the writer of the article explained it well enough, as estates are not all that the COA deals with.

I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Del. Tommy Gear but he got it at least partly right: the good-old-boy network is alive and well, and not just in the Senate.