State and National Government
Rep. Ben Cline
It has now passed in the House of Representatives – the estimated 1.9 trillion dollar Build Back Better legislation that moves on to the Senate. One local GOP Congressman on why he did NOT vote for the bill, as WFIR’s Clark Palmer reports:
Hear the full-length conversation with Congressman Ben Cline below, watch it on Facebook.
Chances appear very strong that southwest Virginia will carry more clout in Richmond that it has for a decade. This follows election results not just for governor but the House of Delegates as well. Virginia Tech Professor and WFIR Political Analyst Bob Denton says Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin is unlikely to forget the difference that our region made in his victory. In the House, the three presumptive incoming Republican majority leaders are from the Shenandoah Valley, far southwest Virginia, and Bedford County. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia House Republicans on Sunday unanimously elected their leadership team for the upcoming legislative session, nominating Del. Todd Gilbert to serve as House speaker.
The vote came nearly two weeks after Republicans flipped the Democratic-held offices of governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general in a red surge. Republicans also flipped at least five seats in the House of Delegates and appear poised to take control of the chamber.
Republicans now hold 50 seats in the 100-seat House. Two races remain uncalled, but Republicans hold narrow leads in vote totals in those districts. GOP leaders have said they’re confident they have won those seats, which would give them a 52-48 majority over Democrats.
In House Districts 85 and 91, Democrats are eligible for state-funded recounts because Republicans are leading by margins of less than 0.5%. The two Democratic incumbents in those districts — Martha Mugler in District 91 and Alex Askew in District 85 — have not said yet whether they will seek recounts.
“I am proud to serve with and lead a strong and united Republican majority as we look toward the 2022 General Assembly session and beyond,” Gilbert said in a statement.
“I am humbled by the vote of trust and confidence by my colleagues. When we were in the minority, no one believed that we could return to where we are now. But we rallied together, worked together, and won together. I could not be more proud to be a member, let alone the leader, of this caucus.”
Del. Terry Kilgore, a House member since 1994, was elected as House Majority Leader.
Kilgore briefly threw his name into the running for the speaker’s position after Republicans swept Virginian’s statewide elections on Nov. 2. But Kilgore and Gilbert told Republican caucus members in a Nov. 5 letter that they had agreed to support each other for different leadership roles. Gilbert endorsed Kilgore for Majority Leader, while Kilgore endorsed Gilbert for House Speaker.
“As Majority Leader, I look forward to helping chart a policy agenda that works for all Virginians,” Kilgore said in a statement. “While we will debate our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, we will also work with them when we can to ensure the best possible policy outcomes for every Virginian.”
House Republican Caucus Chair Del. Kathy Byron was elected to her second term. Del. Jay Leftwich also was elected House Majority Whip for a second term.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia officials certified the results of the Nov. 2 election on Monday, giving Republicans a two-seat majority in the House of Delegates. But two races where Republicans are leading by razor-thin margins are eligible for recounts, leaving open a remote possibility of a 50-50 split in the chamber.
The certified results show Republicans with a 52-48 majority over Democrats.
The Associated Press hasn’t called the two races that are within the margins for recounts: District 91, where Republican A.C. Cordoza leads Democratic Del. Martha Mugler by 94 votes out of 27,388 votes counted; and District 85, where Republican Karen Greenhalgh leads Democratic Del. Alex Askew by 127 votes out of 28,413 votes counted. The margin in both races is under 0.5%, which allows losing candidates to request state-funded recounts.
Mugler and Askew have not said yet whether they intend to seek recounts. Spokespersons for the candidates did not immediately respond to text and voicemail messages left by The Associated Press on Monday.
Department of Elections Commissioner Chris Piper told a Richmond civic group last week that recounts are unlikely to change the outcomes of the races because of the size of the margins.
“We conducted a safe, secure and incredibly smooth election,” Piper told the Board of Elections just before it voted 5-0 to certify the election results.
If Republicans hold onto districts 85 and 91, they will control the House, 52-48, and complete an elections sweep in which they also reclaimed the offices of governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. The state Senate has a slim 21-19 Democratic majority, with elections scheduled for 2023.
Democrats conceded control of the House to Republicans several days after the election, but tempered that concession after it became clear that the 85th and 91st districts appeared headed for recounts.
Republicans have repeatedly said they are confident the recount will not change the results of either race and that they will control the House when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.
Recounts in Virginia are not automatic. Under state law, a candidate cannot request a recount until the results are officially certified by the State Board of Elections.
If Mugler and Askew file petitions, a “recount court” of three judges would oversee the recounts. It is unclear how long the process would take, but in 2017, when partisan control of the House came down to a pivotal Hampton Roads seat, the recount was not held until late December.
The Republican victories are seen in part as a backlash against a series of progressive reforms that the former Democratic majority pushed through over the past two years, making Virginia an outlier in the South. Those included repealing the death penalty, loosening abortion restrictions and legalizing marijuana.
Democrats held a 55-45 majority in the House heading into the election.
FALLS CHURCH, VA. (AP) — The Supreme Court of Virginia, now tasked with drawing new legislative districts in the state to conform with the 2020 census, has told Republicans to submit three new nominees to help it in its task amid complaints that they are too partisan.
In a unanimous ruling signed by the chief justice, Donald Lemons, the court said the nominees “must be neutral and must not act as advocates or representatives of any political party.”
Democrats had objected to the three nominees put forth by Republicans, saying all three had a history of partisanship that was disqualifying. Republican legislative leaders defended their nominees and said Democrats’ objections were “a media and mud-slinging attack meant to dirty the process before it even starts.”
The court’s order outright disqualifies one of the three nominees and expresses that the other two have similar conflicts. The order requires Republicans to come up with at least three more nominees by Monday.
The court also rejected one of the three nominees put forward by Democrats. The ruling said that nominee had cited his own reservations about working under the process set forth under Virginia law. Democrats were told to submit at least one more name by Monday.
The task of redistricting for the Virginia General Assembly and the state’s congressional delegation has fallen to the court under a new law approved by voters in a 2020 referendum.
The law created a bipartisan redistricting commission that was supposed to submit new maps to the state legislature for approval. But the commission failed to sign off on a single map, with Democrats and Republicans on the commission evenly divided on almost every proposal that came before them.
The court’s role in the process is being watched closely now that the duties have been shifted to them. Democrats who opposed the 2020 referendum had argued that the court leans Republican and that the maps would reflect a GOP bias.
In its order Friday, the court took pains to emphasize that it wants to keep the process as free from partisanship as possible. It said the special masters it selects “will not be permitted to consult with any political parties, partisan organizations, outside experts, or any other person or entity except for their personal support staff and individuals specifically authorized by this Court.”
Once the court receives a list of nominees it considers acceptable, it will appoint one special master from each side, who will then be given 30 days to work together and come up with a single set of maps for the court to review.
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An earlier version of this story said all three GOP nominees were rejected. The court’s order only explicitly disqualifies one nominee and expresses concerns about the other two.
Photo: Winsome Sears Twitter
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Winsome Sears says voters learned where she stands as she made history campaigning to become the first Black woman elected to statewide office in Virginia.
But Sears may be less known for her policy positions than for a campaign photo showing the 57-year-old former Marine posing with a military rifle. The image launched the Republican from political obscurity after a nearly 20-year absence from elected office to win the GOP’s nomination for lieutenant governor, and she completed her comeback in November as Republicans swept Virginia’s top offices.
Those who know her say Sears is more than a gun-toting caricature — they point to her willingness to buck her own party at times, and her dedication to school choice and other conservative education priorities. The photo grabbed attention, but she held it with an engaging, almost stream-of-consciousness speaking style, firing up the crowds for her ticket mate Glenn Youngkin, now the governor-elect.
She had one-liners ready for the press as well. When asked about her pro-gun stance after the votes were counted, she told a local television station: “Harriet Tubman carried a gun and if it was good for her, then it was good for me too.”
Having won 51% to 49% over Democratic state Del. Hala Ayala, who as a Black Hispanic also would have made history, Sears is ready to pivot again, from speechifying to governing.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Sears said in an interview with The Associated Press. “And that’s why I couldn’t wait until we got to the end. So that I can really show the people that I mean to do right. That I’m not just using flowery language.”
The word that best describes Sears is “authentic,” according to Chris Braunlich, who served with her on Virginia’s board of education a decade ago. She had little tolerance for local school superintendents who made excuses for their students’ poor performance, he said.
“When you tell me that I’m a victim … how? Tell me how,” she said in one campaign speech in which she emphasized, as she often does, the progress that’s been made over the decades in American race relations. “Everything I’ve had, I’ve had to work for. Everything.”
Sears has embraced President Donald Trump, serving as co-chair of a group called Black Americans to Re-elect President Trump, and defending him against charges of racism. Still, she has taken action when she believes Republicans fall short on racial issues.
In 2018, she launched a write-in campaign for U.S. Senate when Corey Stewart, whose campaign had links to white supremacists and used the Confederate flag as a prop, won the GOP nomination.
“The Republican Party never saluted the Confederate flag, did not fight under the Confederate flag … and he is our candidate, our nominee?” she said at the time. “He does not represent the party of Lincoln. … He is not a true Republican.”
When she is sworn in in January, she will be the first woman in the post, which is considered part time but often is a launching pad for future governors. Five of the past 10 lieutenant governors in Virginia have gone on to serve as governor.
Former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, the nation’s first African American elected governor, said Sears has an independent streak that has served her well.
“She’s experienced, and she’s shown she’s someone who’s willing to listen, and willing to learn,” said Wilder, a Democrat, who met with Sears during the campaign and has agreed to serve on Youngkin’s transition team.
Wilder, now a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, had been a lieutenant governor as well. He found the post to be a surprisingly sturdy platform for advancing an agenda, because it provides many opportunities to speak in front of influential audiences.
“You can define your issues,” he said.
Presiding over the Senate is one of the lieutenant governor’s key duties but the job could be more than ceremonial for Sears since Republicans not only won the governor’s mansion, but also reclaimed a majority in the House of Delegates.
That leaves the 21-19 Senate as Democrats’ last bastion of power, with Sears poised to cast tie-breaking votes whenever a single Democrat can be lured to the Republican side.
Democrats are particularly concerned about her strong anti-abortion record. Ayala repeatedly warned voters that the Senate is essentially split 20-20 on the issue, with Democratic Sen. Joe Morrissey having voted against some legislation to expand abortion rights.
Sears said voters heard that pitch as Ayala more than doubled her fundraising, and rejected it.
Voters “cared about the bread-and-butter issues that are facing them,” she said. Sears pointed out that she would allow abortions in cases of rape or incest and to save a pregnant woman’s life or health. Asked if she would like any changes to abortion in Virginia, she was noncommittal, saying only, “Let me see about that.”
Sears represented Hampton Roads in the legislature for a single term two decades ago, sponsoring legislation against KKK-style cross burnings and squabbling with the Legislative Black Caucus, where she was the only Republican.
While absent from electoral politics, she was appointed to the Veterans Administration, the Census Bureau and the state school board and ran a plumbing and electrical supply company in the Winchester area. She said she moved there to provide a better environment for one of her daughters, DeJon Williams, who had mental health problems. Williams and her two daughters died in a car crash in 2012 after witnesses reported her speed exceeded 100 mph.
“I’m reminded that God gave us the ability to grieve, he gave us tears for a reason,” she told The Winchester Star in 2012.
Sears speaks frequently about her faith, writing a book titled “Stop Being a Christian Wimp!” long before she re-entered politics. She also led a prison Bible study.
Vinson Palathingal, a GOP activist from Fairfax County and an early supporter, said the party should have promoted her more prominently.
“Expanding the tent is something I’m working on, and that is exactly what Winsome is talking about,” he said as he handed out sample ballots.
Sears argues that lower taxes, school choice and opposition to abortion have more appeal among minorities than conventional political wisdom allows.
“We’re going to need new voters if we’re going to win,” she said in a GOP podcast earlier this year. “You know where we’re going to get them from? The only place: the Democrats. They’re in the Democratic Party, they’re conservatives, and they don’t even know it.”
The Virginia Employment Commission is installing a new system to process unemployment claims, and until it is operational, you cannot file a new claim or update an existing one. The new system is supposed to significantly improve operations, and the VEC says it should be up and running some time next week. This comes as a legislative audit says the update is one of many changes that come far too late. The report cites a decade or more of poor management and outdated and inefficient systems wholly unable to handle the demands when the pandemic struck — and it says even after COVID arrived, the commission’s response remained far too slow. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers should strengthen their oversight of the still-struggling employment commission, the state’s legislative watchdog agency warned in a highly critical report issued Monday.
The report outlined how problems with staffing, technology and improper payments have persisted long after a surge in applications during the coronavirus pandemic initially laid bare the struggles at the Virginia Employment Commission.
“It’s clear that additional oversight and assistance is needed,” Lauren Axselle, the project leader for the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, or JLARC, told lawmakers Monday.
Axselle also said “different executive decisions” from Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration would have improved the administration of benefits during the pandemic.
Axselle said the number of incorrect payments — which can result from fraud or mistakes and are almost always overpayments — has increased to more than $1 billion. JLARC’s report recommended that the agency resume efforts to collect those overpayments, something that was put on hold as staffers tried to work through a backlog of applications for benefits that needed adjudication.
The report also found that the commission, or VEC, was less efficient than most other states’ agencies in most functions the federal government measures.
Because the agency is almost entirely funded with federal money distributed under a complicated formula that takes efficiency into account, those rankings have put it at a financial disadvantage, she said.
The report suggested hiring a national firm to conduct an efficiency review.
The agency also has a long-running problem with short staffing, including too few supervisors, that contributed to its poor pandemic response, the report found.
VEC’s vacancy rate ranged from 13 to 25 percent of full-time staff positions between 2015 to 2019 and increased to a high of 46 percent last September.
The report, nearly 200 pages long, included 40 specific recommendations for improvement and urged the creation of a temporary legislative entity to monitor VEC’s ongoing improvement efforts.
No one from the VEC or administration provided a response during Monday’s meeting.
Hal Greer, director of the JLARC staff, said the VEC commissioner had been advised by counsel to refrain from speaking due to pending litigation over the backlog of cases needing adjudication. Megan Healy, Northam’s secretary of labor, was not present.
In a statement afterward, Healy thanked JLARC for its report and emphasized the improvements the agency has already made.
“The VEC has successfully paid out 10 years worth of claims over the past 20 months — a remarkable achievement for an agency that has long been under-resourced,” she said.
States around the country struggled to keep pace with the surge of unemployment insurance applications during the pandemic, but Virginia stood out in several measures for its poor response.
Republican Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin, who will take office in mid-January, campaigned on a promise to overhaul the agency. He has not yet announced leadership for key cabinet positions.
The agency was set to take its information technology system offline starting at 5 p.m. Monday to begin the long-delayed process of implementing a new one. The agency has been in the process of modernizing the system for 12 years and is eight years behind schedule, according to the report, which said that contributed to “persistent inefficiencies.”
Customers were encouraged to complete any filing or certifying of claims before the start of the project to avoid a delay in payment. Customers won’t be able to file initial or new claims or get through to the telephone system during the outage.
A Marijuana advocacy group says the results of last week’s election could mean that legal recreational sales don’t get moved up from 2024 anytime soon. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
As we prepare to turn our clocks back with the end of Daylight Savings Time, AAA Mid-Atlantic is reminding drivers to be prepared, as WFIR’s Ian Price reports:Rep. Ben Cline
The Virginia Public Access Project website now shows Republicans flipping 7 seats in the House of Delegates – more than enough to take control back from the Democrats. Former GOP delegate Ben Cline – now a US Congressman – said live on air this morning that’s a better scenario for Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin than the alternative would have been.
Democrats still hold a 2-seat advantage in the State Senate. Hear the complete conversation from this morning with Ben Cline below; watch it on Facebook.
For the first time in 12 years, Virginia will be led by a Republican Governor. WFIR’s Clark Palmer has more about Glenn Youngkin’s apparent victory