Governor Youngkin Can Make History - and Virginia Democrats Can’t Stop Him, Virginia Launches Pilot to Mentor New Principals
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Governor Youngkin Can Make History - And Virginia Democrats Can’t Stop Him
By Josh Stanfield of Yorktown
With U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s recent announcement, many Virginia Democrats see a chance to make history by electing the first woman governor of Virginia - a historic moment perhaps more poignant in the midst of the post-Roe nationwide battle for reproductive rights.
But Governor Glenn Youngkin, badly bruised by his failure this year to take the Senate or at least hold the House for the Virginia GOP, could unilaterally make that history with a single decision, a decision he could make before the 2025 gubernatorial election.
I hadn’t considered this possibility until last week, when I received one of Paul Goldman’s regular mass texts to Virginia journalists, activists, and whoever else made it on his list:
Goldman’s referencing former Republican New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller who, in late 1973, resigned his position three years into his fourth term as governor. His Republican Lieutenant Governor, Malcolm Wilson, served out the term and then lost the 1974 election to Democrat Hugh Carey.
But Wilson did get to be governor, if only for a year.
I called Goldman to find out if this had ever happened in Virginia. He couldn’t come up with historical examples, but he did note that while working with then Lieutenant Governor L. Douglas Wilder, Goldman had considered the possibility that Democratic Governor Gerald Baliles would resign towards the end of his term, allowing Wilder to assume the governorship and run in 1989 as a de facto incumbent history-maker.
That didn’t happen - though it undoubtedly would’ve changed the trajectory of Governor Baliles’ post-gubernatorial career.
In 2019, Virginia almost experienced this political phenomenon. Governor Ralph Northam, flailing in response to his blackface scandal, was rumored to be considering resigning, a move which would’ve made then Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax the governor.
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Still, Article V, Section 16 of the Constitution of Virginia is clear: “In the case of the removal of the Governor from office or in the case of his disqualification, death, or resignation, the Lieutenant Governor shall become Governor.” Not much room for interpretation there.
So what’s Youngkin’s move, what Goldman calls the “Queen’s Gambit”?
After he deals with the 2025 General Assembly legislation, he resigns in the summer, elevating Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears to the historic position of the first Black woman governor in the nation.
Not only would that give Sears a leg up in the 2025 gubernatorial general (assuming she runs and secures the GOP nomination), but it would hand Youngkin a unique opportunity to make national news and shape his image. Goldman’s suggestion in his mass text gets straight to the point: “It also helps Youngkin for President in 2028.”
In the end, it’s Youngkin’s move to make.
And neither the electorate nor Virginia Democrats can do anything about it.
Virginia Launches Pilot to Mentor New Principals
By Nathaniel Cline for the Virginia Mercury 🌞 The Virginia Department of Education is launching a pilot program to help support new and inexperienced principals at federally designated at-risk schools in an effort to address what officials call a “crucial need.”
“We are excited about it. Mentoring principals has been a long time coming to the commonwealth,” said Randy Barrack, CEO of the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals, which along with the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals is partnering with VDOE, in an email to the Mercury.
Nationally, 80% of all public school principals remained at the same school in 2020-21 where they had been the year prior, according to National Center for Education Statistics data. The remaining 20% moved to a different school or left the principal role altogether.
In Virginia, according to reporting by WTOP, Fairfax County has lost dozens of principals since the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who spoke with the news station cited pandemic-related burnout and growing pressures to overcome learning loss as reasons for leaving the profession. Some also said their departures were due to a disconnect with and lack of transparency from administrative offices.
Virginia’s principal vacancy rate is less than 2% for each of the three school levels — elementary, middle and secondary, according to VDOE data from 2021 to 2023.
Under state law, new principals serve a three-year probationary period before acquiring continuing contract status.
Krista Arnold, executive director of the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals, said many principals accept leadership positions with limited years of experience because of the growing national shortage of educators. Mentors, she said, will be able to provide management and instructional tips.
“This is going to give new principals a highly skilled, experienced veteran who’s not within their division, who is a safe person for them to talk to, who could be a sounding board because the principalship is really lonely and can be isolating,” said Arnold, who spent 20 years as an elementary school principal.
Besides shaping instruction, Arnold said principals have a significant influence on student achievement, attendance, teacher retention and community involvement.
Virginia’s new mentorship program, she said, will hopefully end the outdated notion that principals should be left to “sink or swim” and instead offer essential aid and support, “providing a partner in what too often can often be an isolating role.”
The program’s focus on principals in at-risk schools, whose populations include students from low-income families with a higher than average probability of dropping out or failing school, will also help improve teacher performance and student learning, Barrack and Arnold said in a joint statement with the Department of Education.
The pilot program is expected to be rolled out before the start of the next school year.
“Principals are the leaders in their school buildings. They set the tone and are the ones looked to establish a vision for high standards and success,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons in a statement. “For many new principals, it can be tough, on-the-job training. With this mentoring pilot project, we are focusing on supporting our new principals leading in some of our most challenged schools and equipping them with support that can help them and their schools be successful.”
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I would like to add to what Ms. Shantell Lewis said. The entire tone of this article seems disingenuous and quite frankly, odd. The ongoing theme that somehow Virginia Dems want to 'stop' Winsome Sears from becoming the first female governor of the Commonwealth is laughable. Neither she nor Gov. Youngkin has greatly benefited Virginia in general or the Black Community here in particular. This was clearly indicated in the past election where the Dems gained total control of the State legislature. To bring up Abagail Spanberger as some sort of counterpoint to Sears is also equally ludicrous, as it implies that Black Virginians (who normally vote overwhelmingly Democratic, and with good reason) will now vote against their best interest and vote for Sears PURELY because of her skin color. Do better, "Black Virginia News"
I am disappointed to see that Black News Virginia would support and publish information from Paul Goldman. Mr. Goldman revealed how he felt about having the southside of Richmond have the opportunity to have Black economic development by advocating for the prevention of the Richmond Grand Casino and created an organization to stop it. I was hoping that Black News Virginia would would not pull in individuals that do not support our community, but from this article, that doesnt matter to them. Well this will be my first and last annual subscription. I will continue to support Black News and Media outlets elsewhere. Pretty sad because there is not too many of them.