Browsing: Politics

The area has the most liberal House member and most conservative Senate member in Virginia, according to rankings of the 2020 and 2021 legislative sessions compiled by a statistics major at Yale University. Armin Thomas compiled the maps based on an algorithm developed by two political scientists in the 1980s. In the results, Del. Lashrecse Aird (D-Petersburg) was the most liberal House member and Sen. Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) was the most conservative Senate member. Aird’s district includes southwestern Chesterfield County. Del. Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield) was the most moderate member of either legislative body, and the only one out of 100…

The No. 1 topic that will be decided during a special session of the General Assembly that begins Aug. 2 is spending $4.3 billion of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan. State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) said that various cities and counties are vying for money for capital projects. He said that the second biggest item would be appointing members to the state court of appeals. Recent legislation expanded the court from 11 to 17 members, but there have also been two retirements, Morrissey said, so legislators will have to appoint a total of eight new members. The legislation,…

On June 1, the Chesterfield County Public Schools board addressed several controversial topics, including critical race theory, gender identity and masks. Board Chair Ryan Harter (Matoaca) said critical race theory is not being taught in Chesterfield. The board unanimously approved a resolution recognizing June as LGBTQ+ pride month. They also approved the first reading of a new policy that requires school staff to, at the request of a student or parent, address the student using their asserted name and pronoun that corresponds with their gender identity. Final approval of the policy is scheduled for the board’s next meeting. The new…

State Sen. Joe Morrissey said Sunday that the Democrats will not have an easy time hanging on to the governor’s office in November.  The Republicans nominated Northern Virginia businessman Glenn Youngkin for governor, former Del. Winsome Sears for lieutenant governor and Del. Jason Miyares for attorney general during their unassembled convention on May 8.  “The Democrats are not going to be able to corner the market on a diverse ticket,” Morrissey (D-Richmond) said. Youngkin is a white man, Sears is a black woman and Miyares’ ethnicity is Cuban.  “The Republicans have put up a very formidable ticket,” Morrissey said, calling…

Cultural competency is one of the buzzwords that teachers, principals and school superintendents will become familiar with in Virginia, if they aren’t already. The General Assembly recently passed and Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed legislation that requires educational staff to complete instruction in cultural competency for initial licensure or renewal. HB 1904 and SB 1196 passed the Legislature with mostly Democratic votes. Among eastern Chesterfield legislators, Dels. Delores McQuinn (D-Richmond) and Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield) and Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) voted yes, while Del. Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) and Sen. Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) voted no. The bills were among 117 tracked…

A one-day “veto session” April 7 resulted in approval of amendments to legislation requested by Gov. Ralph Northam (D), specifically marijuana legalization for up to 1 ounce effective July 1 and approval of $250,000 for a private law firm to investigate and report on the state parole board and the inspector general’s office.  The former was legislation co-sponsored by Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond). The latter was in response to blowback after an inspector in the state IG’s office, Jennifer Moschetti, was fired after she sought whistleblower protection related to the release of information about the parole board not notifying the…

A number of bills have passed both houses of the General Assembly and await final passage after clearing a conference committee. State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) highlighted several of the bills on Sunday, Feb. 21. Legalization of marijuana — HB2312 and SB1406 — are under discussion. Some of the details yet to be ironed out between the two bills include licensing and distribution, Morrissey said. HB2047 would make a defendant’s mental health condition available at trial. Currently, state law only allows for an insanity declaration, which Morrissey described as an all-or-nothing approach. Other bills that could be signed by Gov.…

On Feb. 1, state Sen. Amanda Chase (R) filed a federal lawsuit against the state Senate and its clerk after she was recently censured by the Senate. The civil rights complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond. On Feb. 6, Chase noted that Judge Robert E. Payne had already held two hearings on the case with a trial scheduled for March 17. Chase was hopeful of a good outcome, noting that Payne was nominated to the seat by then-President George H.W. Bush on Nov. 20, 1991. Payne was unanimously confirmed by the…

By a vote of 24-9 with six abstentions, the Virginia Senate censured Chesterfield Sen. Amanda Chase on Jan. 27. It was only the second time in state history that a senator has been censured. The first was Sen. Peter K. Babalas (D-Norfolk) in 1987 for unethical conduct. That vote was 25-14. The censure of Chase was for failure to uphold her oath of office, misuse of office and conduct unbecoming a senator. Three Republicans — Tommy Norment of James City County, Bryce Reeves of Spotsylvania County and Jill Vogel of Fauquier County — joined all 21 Democrats in voting for…

Despite the efforts of freshman Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond) to avoid the censure of Sen. Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield), it appeared that the Senate would vote to censure her this week. “I worked tirelessly so we could come to a compromise,” Morrissey said on Saturday, noting he supports the freedom of speech. The compromise included Chase apologizing for certain things and denouncing certain things, Morrissey said. However, on Friday, Jan. 22, Chase instead gave a general apology while condemning violence that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. On Jan. 8, the state’s Senate Democrats called on Chase to resign…

1 2 3 4 9