LG Candidate Aaron Rouse Backed by Union; Is a John Reid Lawsuit Coming; Scott Bday Bash in Hampton, Virginia's Shaboozey on Tour; Rev. Barber Protests GOP Cuts
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NEW PODCAST - Podcast 50 🎙️ John Reid, History… and Blackmail? With attorney and former campaign manager to Gov. L. Doug Wilder, Paul Goldman
Birthday Bash for Rep. Scott in Hampton
The annual birthday party fundraiser for Rep. Bobby Scott took place at the Hampton Convention Center on April 26. Rep. Scott’s birthday is tomorrow.
“To my always dependable supporters, Democratic candidates and elected officials who graciously came to my Birthday Party, I appreciate you all. Together, we will work to end the nonsense and make government work again for those who need it most,” the Congressman wrote on social media on Saturday.
This week, Democrats will be battling against Republicans working to implement over a trillion dollars in budget cuts, including cuts to Medicaid.
Below/Above: The Saturday night party in Hampton was attended by Mayors, Delegates and community leaders around Hampton Roads.
Podcast 48 🎙️ Fergie Reid, Jr. on the 2025 Virginia House Races
Rev. William Barber and Other Activists Protest on Capitol Hill
As republicans prepare to make $1.5 trillion dollars in cuts, cuts that will include government assistance to low income Americans, Rev. William Barber traveled to the U.S. Capitol to push back against them.
Photos by 📸 Paulette Singleton
The trip to speak out against what he views as economic injustice and unfairness was not his first to Washington. It is unlikely to be his last. When Donald Trump began his second term as President 99 days ago he spoke out about austerity and making the government smaller. So far, Trump’s approval ratings are at a record low — lower than any other President of the United States in the modern era.
In a statement before his arrival, Rev. Barber stated that, “his urgent action comes as Congress considers devastating cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and housing—threatening millions of children, seniors, and people with disabilities.”
All But Two Virginia School Divisions Signed Federal Anti-Discrimination Forms
By Nathaniel Cline for the Virginia Mercury 📖 All of Virginia’s educational divisions, except two, have signed Title VI certifications pledging their commitment to treating all students equally regardless of their race, following a mandate by the state education department that builds on President Donald Trump administration’s campaign to demolish diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in federally-funded agencies.
Two school divisions — in Loudoun and Fairfax, the state’s largest school district — submitted alternative documents that they say signify the same commitment, flouting the certification form created by the U.S. Department of Education. Norfolk signed a modified certification form.
Schools could lose federal funding and face further investigation if they don’t comply with the certification, federal leaders have said. Loudoun County Superintendent Aaron Spence wrote a letter to the Virginia Department of Education explaining the division would not sign the certification because it already has policies to ensure Title VI compliance, so “it is not clear what purpose the requested certification serves.” Read entire.
LG Candidate Aaron Rouse Endorsed by Key Union, Hashmi Fundraiser in Alexandria
“I’m proud to have the support of the Virginia State Building and Construction Trades Council. I know what it means to stand shoulder to shoulder with working people. Together, we’ll invest in apprenticeships, lower costs for working families and fight for Virginia’s workers,” wrote candidate for Lt. Governor Aaron Rouse on April 28.
State Senator Rouse is in a competitive race for Lt. Governor with a colleague in the Virginia State Senate, Ghazala Hashmi, and four others running for the office. A fundraiser for Hashmi will take place tonight in Alexandria. The event is hosted by former LG candidate Gene Rossi and will be attended by Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell.
NEW PODCAST: Attorney Paul Goldman and Lauren Burke discuss John Reid, history… and possible blackmail?
Attorney for GOP Nominee for LG John Reid Sends Cease and Desist to Head of Gov. Youngkin’s Political Team
CEASE AND DESIST 💼 DOCUMENT PRESERVATION NOTICE SENT. On April 28, an attorney for John Reid, who is the 2025 Republican nominee for Lt. Governor, sent a document preservation notice to Matthew Moran, the Executive Director of Spirit of Virginia. Spirit of Virginia is the political arm for Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Reid, a longtime radio host of Richmond’s WRVA-FM, became the GOP nominee for Lieutenant Governor on April 21, after his only competition Pat Herrity, a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, dropped out of the race for health reasons.
Four days after Herrity dropped out of the primary race, it was reported in The Richmonder that Gov. Glenn Youngkin phoned Reid on the morning of April 25 and asked him to withdraw from the race “after GOP researchers found sexually explicit posts online that they believe are connected to Reid,” according to The Richmonder. Reid strongly denied that the photos were connected to him and stated that the social media account in question was not his. To date no evidence has been presented that Reid is incorrect and that he is linked to the account in question.
Above: The April 28, 2025 letter sent by John Reid’s attorney to the Executive Director of Spirit of Virginia and others.
John Reid then posted a video statement on April 25 hours after the news broke and said, “what's happened today was my worst fear. A totally fabricated internet lie so basic that a middle-schooler could have constructed it.” There are no known photos of Reid on the account cited, which existed on Tumblr, until it was reportedly deleted last Friday.
Last night, it was reported by The Washington Post that Charles Spies, an attorney for John Reid, sent a cease and desist and a document preservation notice in anticipation of litigation to several entities and individuals.
Reid has defined the efforts against him as “extortion.” In a video statement on Sunday, April 27, he said that his staff was contacted and informed that, “if I dropped out of the race, they would purchase the opposition research and the lies and threats against me would suddenly stop. This is extortion and it is illegal in Virginia.”
The tactic of suddenly tossing out defamatory unverified allegations of a sexual nature is not new in national politics or in Virginia. On Feb. 8, 2019, New Jersey attorney Nancy Erika Smith e-mailed attorneys representing then-Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax demanding he resign his office on the basis of a false sexual assault allegation by a client of Smith’s alleged 19 years prior in 2000. Prior to that, a story containing no corroboration over 13 years alleged an allegation against Fairfax that was immediately published in the New York Times unvetted on February. 6, 2019.
On July, 22, 2022, it was reported by Associated Press, The Washington Post and The Intercept that the FBI spoke with at least five individuals regarding what The Intercept reported as “potential political motivation” regarding the 2019 allegations directed at Fairfax. The former Lieutenant Governor sued CBS in Sept. 2019 for airing false and defamatory content about him but was not successful.
The suspicious allegations against Fairfax took place during a week in Virginia when it appeared that then-Gov. Ralph Northam would resign his office. Northam was reeling in the wake of a scandal over racist images in his 1984 medical college yearbook. Demands for his resignation followed his initial acknowledgment that he was in the photos in question. Though none of what was alleged against Fairfax was verified as true and Fairfax called repeatedly for investigation by law enforcement, the allegations were quickly published in the press and damaged his reputation. Since 2019, Fairfax’s accusers have disappeared.
RELATED: Del. Helmer sues fellow Va. Dems over groping claim ahead of primary (Feb. 14, 2025)
Last year before a congressional primary for Virginia’s 10th district, Delegate Dan Helmer was the target of an allegation that surfaced less than ten days before the primary election date of June 18, 2024. Del. Helmer lost the competitive primary to then-State Senator Suhas Subramanyam who was elected to Congress. Helmer has filed a lawsuit in Fairfax County against those he claims were involved in a false allegation against him which he strongly denies.
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