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.
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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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.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Interesting……
Posted this on the Pilot site, as I drafted it, no one had commented. When I went back to cut and paste, Gypsy had.
I was amazed people are up in arms about higher fees from the state, but not the lack of ethics. Thems the voters!
“‘It’s not like we’ve had major ethics issues every year,” Griffith said. “The system seems to have worked,'”
I would think ANY issue with ethics is major. Whether it it legislators taking advantage of the systtem to line their, or their friends, pockets, family of legislators lobbying for organizations directly influenced by that legislator, or law breaking by elected officials, local, state or federal, the members of the House and Senate of Virginia should be looking out for us, not themselves, as Messrs. Alexander, Griffith, Quayle and Ms. Puller seem to be doing.
If Mr. Quayle were correct those of questionable ethics would have been turned out, since that didn’t happen, I would hope our legislators would listen to folks like Messrs. Northam and Gear and take the high road rather than continue down the low road.
The system is definitely broken, please – please – please… Fix it!
Del. Alexander:
Your cave-in on ethics reform is indefensible. It will lose you support among senior people like me who believe in government by the people and for the people–not a government that provides elected officials both income and privileges at the expense of the governed. Contrary to your recent statement, Del Phil Hamilton’s self-serving antics were just the tip of the iceberg of the “me-first” activities in the General Assembly. We the people want those issues and behaviors addressed. We would be impressed if the General Assembly showed the discipline to police themselves–as responsible adults are expected to do.
Not to pass some legislation–even if partial or imperfect– on ethics reform is to show us the people that our concerns and opinions have no merit in your eyes. It is rumored that you now wish to become bedfellows with Republicans–may you get more than fleas from that experience.
I have no stomach for the tea party, but it is easy to see what has brought them into existence. It started with lack of backbone and leadership in the General Assembly, as you have demonstrated regarding ethics reform.
I regret my past support of you and I will work to rectify my error in the future. Fred Quayle got that much right: We citizens will “take care of it” in the future. What the General Assembly needs is a new coach, as do the Washington Redskins, to clean house, starting with those who have been around longest–and have gathered the most personal privilege–at the expense of the “team”: We, the citizens of Virginia.
Neophytes like Speaker Bill Howell should take notes. This is how it’s done. Gear’s bill was ambushed, backstabbed and decapitated, but you won’t find Sen. Norment’s fingerprints at the crime scene.
Don’t give up just yet folks. Ward Armstrong’s bill, to which I am a Chief Co-Patron, is still alive. Let’s hope it gets to the governor’s desk.
Del. Abbott,
It will need to get through what looks like a very, very tight vote on the Senate floor.
Regarding the COA, I’m not sure I can agree with you on this issue.
I used to practice in a very small locality in Virginia with about 5 active members of the bar. Only one of us (me) handled complicated estate matters. While I would never run for political office, I can see where this would be a problem.
In these small localities, what if the best candidate for the House was an attorney who was the only estate attorney in that jurisdiction? It would be a shame to lose a good Delegate b/c of a shortage of estate attorneys. To some it may seem like a political “plum”, and it most certainly is in larger jurisdictions. But I know of a couple of Assistant CoA’s in SW Va who were literally begged by judges to serve (including myself at one point) b/c no one else would take the job b/c they had no experience in complicated estate matters. It’s not going to happen in a Hampton Roads or NoVa, but in SW and other rural jurisdictions, it’s a real possibility. Just something to think about when you consider a law that affects the Commonwealth as a whole.
If I’m not mistaken, the Code allows for the appointment of someone other than an attorney to COA is there are no attorneys available. So an accomplished CPA, for example, could be appointed.
The measures that are being taken in the General Assembly in regards to Ethics Reform have not been completely reported. Delegate Alexander strongly supports Ethics Reform legislation.
HOUSE BILL 655-Conflicts of Interests Act; revisions applicable to House and Senate Ethics Advisory Panels.
Delegate Alexander voted as follows:
02/09-House Rules Sub-Committee #4 Ethics: Voted to recommend reporting
02/11-House Rules full committee: Voted to Report
02/16-House: Voted for the Passage
HOUSE BILL 617-House and Senate Ethics Advisory Panels; completion of inquiry once initiated.
Delegate Alexander voted as follows:
02/09-House Subcommittee: Voted to recommend reporting
02/11-House Rules full committee: Voted to Report
02/16-House: Voted for the Passage
His motion to carry over the Senate Ethics bill (SB 186) to next session was for further work to be completed on that bill only. This information can be verified by visiting http://legis.virginia.gov.
Thank you, Vivian, for the correction concerning Delegate Alexander’s vote on the Charter School bill, House Bill 1390.
Indeed, he consistently voted against Charter Schools. Below is a breakdown of his efforts.
3/1/10–Del. Alexander lead the opposition and voted No in the Education Committee.
3/3/10–When the voice vote was called for by the Speaker on the House floor, Del. Alexander voted No to the motion for Engrossment of the Charter School Bill. That vote was reconsidered by the House for further debate.
3/3/10–When the voice vote was called for a second time, Del. Alexander voted No. Also, when an electronic vote was called for, Del. Alexander voted No. However, his electronic vote did not register. As such, he submitted a ballot which shows that he intended to vote No on Engrossment.
3/4/10–On the House floor, Del. Alexander gave a speech strongly against the Charter School Bill and voted No to its passage.
FYI – although she did not identify herself, Ms. Bellamy is the legislative assistant for Del. Alexander.
I’m not aware of the statute. Sections 26-8 and 26-10, which I used to deal with and may have been amended for all I know, required Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners to be attorneys.
Anyway, I can see your point about Mr. Norment. A browse of VPAP’s personal finance report is VERY interesting…..
Looking back, I can only think of two other legislators where this applied. I know Whitt Clement was Danville’s Commissioner of Accounts when he was a Delegate. I think Mr. Croshaw was also Commissioner of Accounts. Perhaps there were more?
I looked at the two statutes you mention and I see they required COAs to be attorneys. I seem to recall from an earlier reading of the statute (when I sat on the selection board the first time for a COA in Norfolk – I believe it was 2001) that it said something about “if no attorney was available to serve.” I see the statute was amended in 2005 – not sure if that was the change or not.
Yes, Norment is a problem.
And there were others who served as COA while in the legislature – but the names escape me right now.
His role as commissioner of accounts played a big role in the defeat of former Sen. Hunter Andrews.
Randy Forbes and Hunter Andrews were both COA’s. Dont know about Randy but Hunter was a business/financial lawyer and did a great job bringing Hampton’s COA system into the the modern era.
I see the potential for conflicts here. On occasion however it happens that the most qualified person for the COA position is a legislator.
The other issue is (for those not intimatly familiar with Peninsula politics) Gear’s intent on this bill. Gear and Norment have long been uneasy with each other to put it mildly. If the only COA were someone other than Norment (say Bill Janis, or John Joannau or Rob Bell) it is highly doubtful that Gear would have introduced this bill. Gear has a long history of doing things for no other reason than to antaognize people with whom he has had disputes in the past.
There is another issue here. Kaufman & Canoles which employes the most COAs in the state, including Norment, is counsel for a company that’s sueing Gear’s company.