Across Virginia
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrats who have transformed Virginia at whiplash speed over the past two years will be defending their full control of the statehouse this fall. But first, they are trying to get an usually high number of House incumbents past primary challenges.
Fourteen House Democrats are spending and organizing against challenges from their own party this year, compared with only three Republican incumbents.
“Like somebody that drinks too many Red Bulls, too much energy is not always healthy for the party,” said Albert Pollard, a former Democratic House delegate who went on to say he thinks the “vast majority” of incumbents will hold on.
Several factors seem to be driving the surge in primary challengers, which is far higher this year than any other since at least 1999, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project.
Some observers say it’s just an appealing time to be a Democratic candidate.
David Toscano, the former Democratic minority leader, said he “toiled in the wilderness for years trying to find good candidates” when the party’s membership was in the 30s out of 100 seats.
People thought they would have a hard time raising money or being competitive, he said. And then, even if they won, they would still be part of what at the time was a fairly powerless minority.
“Now the Democrats are in the majority, everybody wants to run,” he said.
In solidly blue northern Virginia in particular, a number of longtime officeholders – including the longest serving delegate, Ken Plum – are being challenged.
Some Democrats are facing challenges from the ideological left, though two of the chamber’s most progressive members, Del. Lee Carter and Del. Ibraheem Samirah, also have primary opponents.
“They’re learning what it’s like to be in power,” said Matt Moran, formerly the chief of staff for Republican House Speaker Kirk Cox. “No one is ever satisfied.”
A handful of delegates who are running in one of the three statewide races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general without giving up their House seat have also created potential openings. For instance, Carter, who is making a bid for governor, has two opponents.
At least two Democratic challengers are getting a boost from Clean Virginia, the good governance and environmental advocacy organization founded by wealthy investor Michael Bills as a way to counter the influence of Dominion Energy.
In the Democratic-leaning 79th House District in Hampton Roads, Del. Steve Heretick, one of the caucus’ more centrist members, has two primary opponents, Dante’ Walston and community organizer and activist Nadarius Clark, who is being backed by Clean Virginia.
Clark, 26, wants to bring a more progressive perspective to Richmond. In an interview, he criticized Heretick’s votes against bills allowing localities to remove Confederate monuments, ending qualified immunity and banning assault weapons. The first passed; the others failed.
“This doesn’t sit well with me, and the district deserves a better choice,” Clark said.
Clark’s campaign manager, Sully Peterson-Quinn, said the campaign’s next finance reports will show Clark has raised over $500,000 in the last quarter, an eye-popping amount for a first-time candidate.
Heretick declined an interview request made through Kate Sarna, spokeswoman for the House Democratic Caucus.
Sarna, speaking generally, said the incumbents have “proven themselves” and their opponents haven’t shown an understanding of how they will pass effective legislation.
The state Senate, where Democrats have a more narrow majority, is not up for election this year.
Once the June 8 primary results are in, attention will turn to the November general election, where the stakes are enormous.
Democrats have passed transformative legislation over the past two years that’s made Virginia an outlier in the South. They’ve expanded voting access, loosened abortion restrictions, legalized marijuana, passed a clean energy mandate, repealed the death penalty and raised the minimum wage. Even if a Democrat were to win the race for governor, losing control of the House would make it far more difficult to pass priority legislation in a building where bipartisanship is rare.
In what’s seen as a sign of enthusiasm, both parties are contesting an unusually high number of seats. Democrats will be fielding a candidate in all 100 districts. Republicans say they’re hopeful to get close to that number. They currently have 96.
With only three incumbents to protect in the primary election, and with their slate of statewide candidates already settled in a May convention, Republicans have their eyes on the fall. They are hoping their unusually diverse field of both statewide and House candidates and a backlash against single-party control in Washington will power them to a win.
GOP Del. Emily Brewer, the caucus’ deputy campaign chair, said her recruiting efforts were made easier by the Democrats’ agenda, particularly what she called a soft-on-crime approach to criminal justice, and schools that were virtual for most of the past year.
“Kids not being in schools really put a toll on the family unit and (was) probably the hardest on mothers. So I think that’s why we have a record number of women running,” she said.
Come September, Pollard said, Virginia is going to look like the final scene of “Braveheart,” where two opposing armies line up for battle.
“It’s going to be hand-to-hand combat,” he said. “I give the edge to Democrats.”
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Asking dogs to follow their noses won’t work anymore in states that have legalized marijuana.
As Virginia prepares to legalize adult possession of up to an ounce of marijuana on July 1, drug-sniffing police dogs from around the state are being forced into early retirement, following a trend in other states where legalization has led to K-9s being put out to pasture earlier than planned.
In Virginia, the rush to take marijuana-detecting dogs out of service began even before lawmakers voted last month to accelerate the timetable for legalization. A separate law that went into effect in March prohibits police from stopping or searching anyone based solely on the odor of marijuana.
Virginia state police are retiring 13 K-9s, while many smaller police departments and sheriff’s offices are retiring one or two dogs. Most are in the process of purchasing and training new dogs to detect only illicit drugs, including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines. Some departments are unable to afford up to $15,000 to buy and train a new dog, so they are disbanding their K-9 units.
The dogs trained on multiple drugs alert in the same way for all of them, so it’s impossible to tell whether they are indicating the presence of marijuana or an illicit drug. The dogs also cannot distinguish between a small, legal amount of marijuana or a larger, still-illegal amount of the drug. For police, that means they can no longer be used to establish probable cause for a search.
“We won’t use our dogs trained in marijuana because that could be a defense an attorney would raise for a client, to say, ’Which odor did the K-9 alert on — was it marijuana or was it an illegal drug?” said Bedford County Sheriff Mike Miller.
Using a dog that has been trained to detect all drugs except marijuana can help “guarantee he didn’t hit on marijuana, that he found heroin or something else,” Miller said.
Miller’s office retired one dog and is now using a second dog for tracking and apprehension duties only, not for drug detection. His office also bought a new dog not trained on the scent of marijuana; that dog will be used to detect other drugs. Miller said he’d like to purchase a second drug-sniffing dog, but isn’t sure when he will find the money in his budget.
Other states that legalized marijuana earlier have had to make similar adjustments.
“The trend is everywhere,” said Don Slavik, executive director of the United States Police Canine Association.
“Once you train a behavior in a dog, that never goes away. They don’t want any mistakes, so that is why they want to bring in new dogs,” he said.
A 2017 ruling from the Colorado Court of Appeals solidified concerns that using marijuana-trained dogs in places where the drug is legal may not withstand legal challenges.
Kilo, a Moffat County Sheriff’s Office dog trained on multiple drugs, alerted on a man’s truck during a 2015 traffic stop. Officers found a methamphetamine pipe containing white residue. The court found that Kilo’s alert was not a reliable indicator of illegal activity because the dog could not differentiate between marijuana and an illegal drug. The court overturned the man’s drug possession conviction, finding that police did not have legal grounds to search his truck. The ruling was later upheld by the Colorado Supreme Court.
In Massachusetts, where recreational marijuana became legal in 2016, the Quincy Police Department shifted two dogs from drug detection to patrol work, then retired them about 18 months later.
Lt. Bob Gillan, the department’s K-9 Unit Supervisor, said drug traffickers quickly figured out how to raise doubt about the legality of a search by a dog trained to detect marijuana.
“Usually, when they’re delivering their illegal drugs, they will always have marijuana burning in the car. Any defense attorney worth his or her salt will say, ‘Well, your dog hit on a legal substance,’ (not the illegal drugs),” he said.
Sgt. Scott Amos, the canine training coordinator for Virginia State Police, said that with the July 1 legalization date approaching, police are busy training new dogs to detect MDMA, also known as ecstasy; cocaine, heroine and methamphetamines, while also getting 13 dogs ready for retirement. Apollo, Aries, Bandit, Blaze, Jax, Kane, Mater, Nina, Reno, Sarge, Thunder, Zeus and Zoey are being adopted by their handlers, Amos said.
Cumberland County Sheriff Darrell Hodges said his office recently had to retire its drug-detecting K-9, a Belgian Malinois named Mambo. He said his 17-person department doesn’t have the money to purchase and train a new dog.
“You work with them day in and day out, and they become part of you, and to just take it away is kind of tough,” he said.
Hodges said all turned out well for Mambo, who was adopted by his handler.
“The dog is actually living a wonderful life,’” he said. “He has his own bedroom in a house and is getting spoiled rotten.”
MGN
When the Memorial Day holiday weekend kicks off tomorrow, so will the traditional start of the summer travel season. And from all indications, a lot of people are making up for lost vacation time. AAA Mid-Atlantic expects the number of Virginians hitting the highway this weekend to be up 50% over last year — air travelers up six-fold from 2020. Bookings for the coming summer season are surging as well, as WFIR’s Evan Jones reports:
Gov. Ralph Northam
From Governor Today Governor Ralph Northam released the following statement on the passing of former U.S. Senator John Warner:
“Virginia, and America, have lost a giant.
As a sailor, a senator, a statesman, and a gentleman, former U.S. Senator John Warner spent his life in public service. A World War II veteran of the Navy, he served as Secretary of the Navy, led the Senate Armed Services Committee, and was a respected voice in Washington on military affairs.
John helped build up his political party and always remained an independent voice. He used that voice in the Senate to forge bipartisan compromise, knowing how and when to reach across the aisle. And he always put Virginia first.
John Warner truly was the best of what public service and elected leadership should be, and his loss leaves a deep void. Pam and I join the Commonwealth in mourning his death. Our prayers for comfort go out to his wife Jeanne, his three children, grandchildren, scores of friends, and all those who loved him.”
In honor of Senator John Warner, Governor Northam ordered that the Virginia state flag be flown at half-staff over the Virginia Capitol on the day of his funeral.
Courtesy of US Senate Historical Office
One Virginia’s longest serving U.S. Senators and ex husband of a Hollywood actress has passed away. WFIR’s Clark Palmer has that story.
Former Republican Virginia Senator John Warner died yesterday evening at 94-years-old of heart failure, with his wife and daughter at his side. That’s according to an email sent out overnight to Warner alumni and family by his longtime chief of staff Susan Magill. The World War II and Korean War veteran served three decades in the Senate after a stint as secretary of the Navy.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Former Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia, a courtly figure and longtime military expert whose marriage to Elizabeth Taylor gave him a potent dash of starpower, has died at 94.
Warner died Tuesday of heart failure at home in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife and daughter at his side, his longtime chief of staff, Susan A. Magill, said Wednesday.
A centrist Republican, Warner had an independent streak that sometimes angered more conservative GOP leaders. But he was hugely popular with Virginia voters.
That popularity was only amplified by his marriage to a mega movie star, which drew huge crowds when he was elected to the Senate in 1978.
Warner was the sixth of Taylor’s seven husbands. The two were married in 1976 and divorced in 1982. Taylor wrote later that they remained friends, but she “just couldn’t bear the intense loneliness” when he became engrossed in his Senate duties.
Warner served five Senate terms before retiring from the chamber 30 years later. He was succeeded in 2008 by Democrat Mark Warner — no relation — who had challenged him for the Senate in 1996 and went on to serve a term as Virginia’s governor. After years of rivalry, the two became good friends.
“In Virginia, we expect a lot of our elected officials,” Mark Warner said Wednesday. “We expect them to lead, yet remain humble. We expect them to serve, but with dignity. We expect them to fight for what they believe in, but without making it personal. John Warner was the embodiment of all that and more. I firmly believe that we could use more role models like him today.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said, “Once I came to the Senate, I understood even more deeply the influence of John Warner. I came to know John McCain, Carl Levin, and so many others who served with him and attested to his integrity and outsized influence in a body he loved so dearly.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lauded Warner as “a great patriot…a leader unafraid to speak the truth but always committed to finding common ground and consensus.”
The courtly senator with chiseled features and a thick shock of gray hair was so popular with Virginia voters that Democrats did not bother to challenge him in 2002.
A veteran of World War II and Korea, Warner devoted most of his career to military matters. He served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and as Navy secretary.
He was a key supporter of President George W. Bush’s declaration of war and often defended the Bush administration’s handling of the war in Iraq. But he also showed a willingness to buck the White House.
After a 2007 trip to Iraq, Warner called upon Bush to start bringing troops home. He summoned top Pentagon officials to hearings into the torture of detainees at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison and the Iraq war.
In 2005, Warner was part of a group of centrist senators who defused a showdown over judicial filibusters on Bush’s appeals court nominees. That same year, Warner was the lone senator to formally object to the federal government stepping in on the Terri Schiavo right-to-die case. She had suffered brain damage and her husband sought to remove her feeding tube, over the objections of Florida lawmakers.
“Greater wisdom is not always reposed in the branches of federal government,” he said at the time.
Republicans nominated Warner for the Senate in 1978. He was ridiculed by some who thought he was riding on the coattails of his then-wife, Taylor, whom he had married in late 1976.
In 1994, Warner angered conservatives by opposing GOP nominee Oliver North’s bid to unseat Virginia Democratic Sen. Charles S. Robb. Warner declared the Iran-Contra figure unfit for public office and backed independent J. Marshall Coleman, who drew enough independent and moderate GOP votes to ensure Robb’s reelection.
“I sure risked my political future, that’s for sure,” Warner said in 1994. “But I’d rather the voters of this state remember that I stood on my principle. … That’s the price of leadership.”
Steamed by what they viewed as disloyalty to the party, GOP conservatives tried to deny him a fourth term in 1996, backing a challenge by former Reagan administration budget director Jim Miller. Miller portrayed Warner as an elitist who spent too much time squiring celebrities, including Barbara Walters. But Warner easily defeated Miller in the primary, and went on to beat Democrat Mark Warner in the general election.
John Warner mended his strained ties with the GOP by supporting the successful campaigns of Jim Gilmore for governor in 1997 and George Allen for Robb’s Senate seat in 2000.
Born in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 18, 1927, Warner volunteered for the Navy at 17 and served as a 3rd class electronics technician. He received an engineering degree from Washington and Lee University in 1949.
He entered law school at the University of Virginia in the fall of 1949 but volunteered the next year for the Marines, serving in Korea as a first lieutenant and communications officer with the First Marine Air Wing. Following Korea, he returned to law school and received a degree from the University of Virginia in 1953.
He was a law clerk at the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, went into private practice, and then served four years as a federal prosecutor. He became under secretary of the Navy in 1969 and served as secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974.
Warner got an estimated $7 million fortune in the breakup of his first marriage, to Catherine Mellon, daughter of multimillionaire Paul Mellon. He and Taylor divorced in 1982 and he married real estate agent Jeanne Vander Myde in 2003.
Warner had three children, Mary, Virginia and John, and was a member of the Episcopal Church.
The VDH today is reporting no new coronavirus deaths or new related hospitalizations in the Roanoke Valley in the latest 24-hour reporting period. State officials are reporting 11 new coronavirus cases among Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Salem and Botetourt County. According to the department, there are 2 new cases in Roanoke County, 4 new cases in Salem and 5 new cases in Botetourt County.
A former GOP Congresswoman from Northern Virginia is calling on the party to return to its founding principles and reject extremism. WFIR’s Clark Palmer has that story.The VDH today is reporting just 76 new coronavirus cases across the Commonwealth which is the smallest single-day increase in cases across the state since late March 2020. State officials say of those of new cases, 7 came from the Roanoke Valley . According to the department, there are 5 new cases in Roanoke County, 1 new case and 1 new death in Salem and 1 new case in Botetourt County.
Photo: Glenn Youngkin Facebook
Earlier this week we spoke with Republican nominee for Attorney General Jason Miyares, and this morning we spoke live via phone with the man who will be at the top of the Republican statewide ticket this fall, GOP Governor Nominee Glenn Youngkin about the issues he will run on.