Norfolk City Council has approved a legislative agenda package for the upcoming session. The package can be viewed on the the Intergovermental Relations page of the city's website. I had a little free time last week and took a look at the video from the council sessions where this was discussed. The council received a … Continue reading Norfolk’s legislative agenda
My state senator, Ralph Northam, has made it official: he is running for Lieutenant Governor. “While Virginians desperately needed their representatives to find solutions that would improve education, fix our broken transportation system, and help put people back to work, Republicans used their majority to launch an all-out assault on women, working families, and the … Continue reading Northam in for LG
Virginia Beach wants to build a new arena - and they want Virginia taxpayers to help them. The city would contribute $195 million. The state will be asked for $150 million, of which $70 million would be for the arena, and Comcast-Spectacor, the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company that would lease and operate the arena … Continue reading VA General Assembly: Just say no
Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling has "suspended" his campaign for governor, according to an email to supporters this morning. The action was first reported last night on the blog, Black Velvet Bruce Li, and on Twitter by Ben Tribbett. This isn't really a surprise. The entrance of AG Ken Cuccinelli into the 2013 governor's race was … Continue reading Bolling out
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
Although published just after the election, I didn't run across this until yesterday. Frank Rich does a good job in this piece. Worth the read.
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
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 