Author: Vivian J. Paige

A former candidate, I've learned a lot about politics, both good and bad. I'd prefer more of the former and a lot less of the latter and I'm trying to do my part!

A Rotten Way to Pick a President

The Washington Post had article in the Sunday edition with the above title. In it, the authors give a bit of history on how we came to choose presidential nominees by the system of caucuses and primaries: The old ways [of allowing party bosses to chose the nominees] were unfair and autocratic, of course. But … Continue reading A Rotten Way to Pick a President →

Survey says: only one Norfolk council member gets passing grade

The Norfolk Tea Party 2 provided the results of its recent survey at Saturday morning's meeting, according to this article by the Virginian Pilot. The group sent out 10,000 surveys (the survey form is here (doc)) and approximately 1,000 of them were returned. Seems the only person the respondents felt was doing a good job … Continue reading Survey says: only one Norfolk council member gets passing grade →

Bill highlight: SJ23 – celebrating the life of Herbert M. Collins Sr.

WHEREAS, Herbert M. Collins, Sr., of Norfolk, revered citizen, former city council member, and noted voting rights activist who helped bring about the ward system in Norfolk, died on June 17, 2007; and WHEREAS, a lifelong resident of Norfolk, Herbert Collins grew up in the city, attended Norfolk Public Schools, and was a graduate of … Continue reading Bill highlight: SJ23 – celebrating the life of Herbert M. Collins Sr. →

Proposed budget amendments presented

The House and Senate presented their proposed amendments to the governor's biennial budget on Sunday. The remarks of House Appropriations Committee Chairman Lacey Putney can be viewed here (pdf) and those of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Colgan can be viewed here (pdf). I had a chance to chat with House conference committee member Johnny … Continue reading Proposed budget amendments presented →

Norfolk strong mayor? Um, no

Saturday's Virginian Pilot had an article floating the idea of a strong mayor form of government for the city. Currently, Norfolk utilizes the city manager form of government. According to Wikipedia, this type of government "is used in the majority of American cities with populations over 12,000." In the council-manager form of government, an elected … Continue reading Norfolk strong mayor? Um, no →

The Pulpit Speaks: November 16, 1957

An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender on the date shown. During His lifetime, Jesus said on one occasions, "I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly." I wonder at some point in each of our lives if we … Continue reading The Pulpit Speaks: November 16, 1957 →

OTR 2/17/08: Illegal immigration

This Sunday's On the Record continues the conversation on illegal immigration and will feature a lobbyist, a Mexican American and representatives of a major local landscaping company who say this country needs temporary workers and ought to be doing all it can to accommodate them for the sake of the economy. Host Joel Rubin will … Continue reading OTR 2/17/08: Illegal immigration →

NTP2 meeting Saturday, 9am

The Norfolk Tea Party 2 is having a meeting Saturday morning (2/16) at 9am at The Banque at 1849 E. Little Creek Road. The results of the recent survey will be presented along with an update on the homestead exemption by Del. Paula Miller and Sen. Ralph Northam. Doors open at 8:30.

Friday update (02/15): Verifiable voting

Weekly update of my legislative agenda issue. Also in the House P&E subcommittee on Elections this morning were some verifiable voting bills. I'm told that SB69, which would have allowed absentee voting without any reason, failed. SB62, which deals with registration receipts, passed the subcommittee as well as the full committee but was referred to … Continue reading Friday update (02/15): Verifiable voting →

Voting: why not reprogram the machines?

A couple of letters to the editor today in the Virginian Pilot raise the issue of privacy in voting [1, 2]. I'll ask the same question I asked back in 2005: given that we have computerized voting machines, why can't they be programmed to allow the voter to choose whether they want a Republican or … Continue reading Voting: why not reprogram the machines? →