Recently a Councilman in Hampton has put forth a bill to the General Assembly to require any sitting Councilman in Hampton to resign before running for Mayor. This was put forth at the council meeting this month in where the city now frequently puts something on to be discussed and is voted into law in … Continue reading Who should decided who can run for elected office?
To the surprise of, well, no one, Mark Warner has announced that he will not run for governor in 2013. The Pilot's Julian Walker broke the story just a few minutes ago. Warner, who served as governor from 2002 to 2005, released the following statement: Over the last year, a lot of Virginians - Democrats, … Continue reading Warner out
Looks like tax season is going to be delayed - again. According to The Journal of Accountancy: As the end of the year approaches, media attention is focused on the “fiscal cliff,” but a much more immediate result of Congress’s inaction threatens the 2013 filing season: the alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch, which expired at … Continue reading AMT patch needed now
I "watched" via Twitter the public honor trial of two University of Virginia students accused of cheating. As reported by Cavalier Daily, this was a rare public trial, as most students opt for a closed one. The two students were found to have participated in collaboration and cheating and were sentenced to expulsion, although they … Continue reading U.Va. students face expulsion for cheating
My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Wednesday. The legislative session starts in just under eight weeks. And, of course, we have the 100-member House of Delegates plus the three statewide offices up for election next year. Yes, the two are connected: watch the number of "brochure bills" that will be introduced next … Continue reading ICYMI: Follow the legislature in action
Sens. Mark Warner and Chris Coons introduced legislation today aimed at voting reforms. The FAST Voting Act of 2012 "creates a competitive grant program to encourage states to aggressively pursue election reforms. It would provide incentives for states like Virginia to invest in practices and technology designed to expedite voting at the polls and simplify … Continue reading Warner co-sponsors voting reforms legislation
UPDATE: See press release below. According to several sources, Evans Poston announced last evening his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for Commissioner of the Revenue. I am told that Poston has the support of all members of the Norfolk City Council except one, as well as most of the other constitutional officers and members … Continue reading Candidate announces for Norfolk Commissioner of the Revenue
It's not often that people from both sides of the aisle are in agreement but that's exactly where we are today. The Washington Post's editorial board and Virginian-Pilot columnist Kerry Dougherty both argue that something should be done - and soon - to free Jonathan Montgomery, a man serving a prison sentence for a crime … Continue reading Free an innocent man
With the election last week and all that entailed, I didn't get a chance to write my weekly op-ed for its usual Wednesday publication. I got in done in time for Friday's paper. In it, I addressed the long lines that voters experienced last Tuesday. As a political observer, I don't recall a previous time … Continue reading ICYMI: Those long, unnecessary lines
One of the characterizations of America that I have difficulty with is that we are a center-right nation. Results from last Tuesday should disabuse us of that notion once and for all: With 120,871,984 votes cast, President Barack Obama received 62,088,847 votes and Mitt Romney received 58,783,137. Some have argued that the president is really … Continue reading Myth: “We are a center-right country”
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 