Virginia NAACP Backs Locke for Majority Leader, Did Virginia AFL-CIO Impact 2 Key Senate Races? Daily Wire Hits Stoney
👊🏽 Saluting Virginia’s many veterans not just on Veterans Day but all year long.
👨🏽💻 Vote turnout numbers in Virginia for the 2023 cycle
Virginia NAACP Backs Mamie Locke for Senate Majority Leader
Some are asking why there is a vote for Senate Majority Leader on Nov. 15 because the past tradition has been that the party Caucus Chair has become Majority Leader of the party in power. In 2024, Democrats will have a 21-19 majority in the Virginia Senate. State Senator Mamie Locke is the current Caucus Chair.
Several observers mindful of history and precedent are pointing out that the position of Senate Caucus Chair has historically been the position Senators hold before becoming Majority Leader in the Virginia Senate. The most senior member of the Senate has historically held the role of Leader in a Senate that has followed tradition for decades. This platform has been informed that Senators Hunter B. Andrews and previous Majority Leader Dick Saslaw were Caucus Chairs before becoming Majority Leaders. In their press statement in support of Locke, the Virginia NAACP mentions seniority as one of the reasons Locke should serve as Majority Leader.
Did a Failure to Win Big Labor Lead to Defeat for Ds?
There also may be a policy reason driving support for Locke. The Senator, along with the majority of her Democratic colleagues (and unlike her competitors) in the Virginia Senate, was endorsed by the AFL-CIO. Big labor plays a large on-the-ground role in Virginia elections with regard to door-knocking and canvas kickoffs.
As pointed out by Josh Stanfield of Activate Virginia on Nov 9, State Senator Monty Mason and Democratic candidate Joel Griffin did not receive the endorsement of the AFL-CIO this election cycle.
Griffin lost to Republican Tara Durant by 1,390 votes. Senator Mason lost to Republican J.D. Diggs by 950 votes. Interestingly, Senator Locke and Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas campaigned for colleague Creigh Deeds, who did not receive AFL-CIO’s endorsement and nearly lost to progressive UVA Professor and Delegate Sally Hudson in the June primary.
A look at then 2023 endorsement list from the AFL-CIO: 🌞
From the Virginia NAACP: Virginia NAACP Encourages the Election of an African American Majority Leader in the Senate of Virginia
(Photos and graphics below were not part of the Virginia NAACP release, graphics were added by BVN).
Virginia NAACP is encouraged by the impending historical event of having an African American Speaker of the House, Speaker-Designee Don Scott, while simultaneously having an African American majority leader in the Senate.
Senator Mamie Locke, who, based on her seniority and her demonstrated leadership in the Senate as the Senate Caucus leader, her appointments as chair of the Rules, Virginia Housing Commission, and Freedom on Information Advisory Council, is the apparent choice for Senate Majority Leader. The path to equity and equality in the Commonwealth has been a steady but oftentimes slow and inconsistent journey. The attainment of political, economic, social, and educational rights for all people, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, or gender, has a clearer path when political leadership reflects the entirety of the Commonwealth’s residents.
Rev. Cozy Bailey, President, stated: “In the post Reconstruction era, Virginia has in the past elected an African American governor and two African American lieutenant governors. On the eve of this next great historical event, we are given hope for an even greater future.”
Kim Pope Adams Loses By Only 74 Votes to Del. Taylor
House District 82 | Petersburg, VA. In yet another example of how the phrase “every vote matters” is real, Democratic Kim Pope Adams is losing to Republican Del. Kim Taylor by only 74 votes after the last count.
After winning a close and competitive primary, Adams’ campaign switched from campaign manager Brandon Randleman to someone else, and lost. Additionally, Democrat Lilly Franklin remains behind Chris Obenshain by only 183 votes. She conceded the race only hours ago.
RELATED: Election results put Southwest and Southside Virginia in their weakest position in legislature ever (Cardinal News, Nov. 13, 2023)
The Franklin race and the Roanoke Senate race between Democrat Trish White Boyd and Republican David Sutterlein may point to a need for a more vibrant strategy by Democrats in rural Virginia.
There are always several razor close races each election cycle. Once again the importance of voting is seen in incredible close elections around Virginia.
Daily Wire Says Quiet Part Real Loud on Levar Stoney
“Prior to being mayor, [Levar] Stoney served as former Governor Terry McAuliffe’s controversial top operative and protégé. Over the last four years, he’s been suspected as the source behind the debunked sexual assault allegations against a former chief political rival, former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax,” wrote Corinne Murdock in The Daily Wire on Nov. 9, 2023.
RELATED: Richmond Mayor With Controversial Past To Run For Virginia Governor: Report
In a Nov. 9, 2023 piece, Richmond Mayor With Controversial Past To Run For Virginia Governor: Report, by the conservative platform owned by Ben Shapiro, The Daily Wire refers to the 2019 allegations against Virginia’s second elected African American statewide official in history, Virginia’s 41st Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax. Fairfax’s accusers, Vanessa Tyson of California and Meredith Watson of Baltimore, Md., disappeared on April 3, 2019, the day after their only media interview on their allegations after the 2019 scandal broke, with CBS’ Gayle King.
The two accusers have not been heard from regarding their MeToo related allegations since April 3, 2019 — the day then-Lt. Governor Fairfax held a press conference announcing he would be contacting prosecutors Satana DeBerry in Durham, NC, and Rachel Rollins in Boston to investigate the sudden claims against him. The two Black female District Attorneys never entered the story to investigate or file charges after Fairfax’s attorney, Barry Pollack, contacted the offices of DeBerry and Rollins numerous times from 2019 and into 2020. The 2019 MeToo allegations were sent to media by two attorneys, Nancy Erika Smith (Watson) of New Jersey and Debra Katz (Tyson) of Washington, D.C., in Feb. 2019 as calls for then-Gov. Ralph Northam’s resignation exploded after racist images in Northam’s 1986 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook were reported by the Republican blog Big League Politics.
RELATED: The FBI is Investigating a Potential Political Motivation Linked to the Justin Fairfax Allegations (The Intercept, July 2022)
Last year, as reported by AP, The Washington Post and The Intercept, the FBI asked at least five individuals questions regarding “political motivations” related to the 2019 allegations directed at Virginia’s second Black Lieutenant Governor. Neither media or law enforcement investigated the allegations against Fairfax before the criminal claims were widely publicized nationally. Neither Watson or Tyson were interviewed by AP, The Washington Post, CNN, ABC, NBC or The New York Times on their criminal allegations related to Fairfax (or in the case of a second allegation by Watson on Corey Maggette) after the Feb. 2019 scandals that changed the course of Virginia’s political history broke. The difference in media reporting between MeToo allegations leveled at Joe Biden in April 2020 and Fairfax in 2019 was night and day.
Fairfax is currently a trial attorney with several clients. In Dec. 2022, Fairfax successfully negotiated a $3 million settlement, along with attorney Thomas B. Martin, with the city of Virginia Beach after a wrongful death lawsuit was filed in 2021 by the estate of Pharrell Williams’ cousin Donovon Lynch. Lynch, 25, was shot to death by a Virginia Beach Police Officer on March 26, 2021. On that same evening, Deshayla Harris, 29, was also shot to death. No one has been arrested, charged or held responsible in the murder or Harris. Fairfax and Martin have served as counsel for the Harris family.
TODAY: In Recognition of Veterans Day, AG Miyares To Host Free Veterans Legal Services Clinic in Virginia Beach
From the AG’s Office: Attorney General Jason Miyares will host a free Veterans Legal Services Clinic tomorrow in Hampton Roads, in honor of Veterans Day. Throughout the year, the Office of Attorney General periodically hosts these clinics to help veterans or their spouses with estate planning services, such as simple Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Advance Medical Directives.
"In honor of our veterans and in recognition of Veterans Day, I'm pleased to host another Veterans Legal Services Clinic," said Attorney General Miyares. "Our service members and veterans have devoted their lives to defending the freedoms we enjoy every day. It is a debt that cannot be repaid. Veteran services like this are the very least we can do."
Details for Tuesday, November 14:
What: Office of Attorney General Veterans Legal Services Clinics
When: Tuesday, November 14, 9:00am - 5:00pm
Where: Jones and Cabacoy Veterans Care Center, 2641 Nimmo Pkwy, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Pre-registration: Call 804-371-2815 or visit www.oag.state.va.us
The Office of the Attorney General is hosting this event in partnership with the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, the Virginia State Bar, and the Office of U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans. A representative for Congresswoman Kiggans will be onsite to assist with federal veteran constituent services. To help the Office of Attorney General accommodate all veterans, pre-registration is requested.
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