Virginia Mega Thread: The Youngkin Administration

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So it looks like we've got our own Kyrsten Sinema in the Virginia state Senate in the person of Joseph Morrissey of Richmond:

Virginia governor’s embattled nominee appears to get a second chance

Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s embattled nominee for natural resources secretary emerged from an hour-long grilling by a state Senate committee Tuesday with at least one Democrat open to bucking his party to rescue the seemingly doomed Cabinet pick.

“I am very much open to approving his nomination,” Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey (D-Richmond) said of Andrew Wheeler, who served as Environmental Protection Agency chief under President Donald Trump. “Let’s just say that he’s got a fighting chance.”

Wheeler would only need support from one Democrat in the narrowly divided Senate to win confirmation as secretary of natural and historic resources.

Virginia’s General Assembly rarely rejects a governor’s Cabinet nominees, but Democrats and environmentalists expressed outrage this month when Youngkin (R) named Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist who led a rollback of Obama-era environmental regulations under Trump.

Morrissey’s potential support for Wheeler caught some Democrats by surprise, including Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax).

“I haven’t talked with Joe, but when we had polled the whole caucus, all of them said they were opposed,” he said Tuesday evening.

Chap Petersen seems more like the sort of guy who'd do this.

Maybe (they both have similar voting records on the environment), but perhaps he is the type who prefers to let others take the media spotlight.  

But Joe Morrissey's a massive HP to begin with (he resigned from the HoD under somewhat infamous circumstances), and he's also previously been an Independent. More importantly I don't think the Sinema comparison is correct since Sinema is from a swing state - Morrissey's seat is in one of the bluest cities in VA and he didn't even face a Republican opponent when he was last up, in 2019.

My opinion of him will only further lower if he lets this terrible person join the cabinet.

The reason I picked Senator Kyrsten Sinema as an analogy for him is because we could have gotten a more reliably liberal Democrat in his seat, a point that has been made repeatedly about hers.  

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Virginia adopts plan to end school mask mandates March 1

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Virginia attorney general moves to withdraw from ERA lawsuit

Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares moved Friday to withdraw the state from a lawsuit that seeks to force the federal government to recognize Virginia's 2020 vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and add the text to the Constitution.

In a court filing, Miyares asked that the commonwealth be dismissed as a party to the lawsuit, which was initiated by his Democratic predecessor and is currently on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Miyares, who took office Jan. 15, has reconsidered Virginia's position and is of the view that a district court previously correctly dismissed the suit, the filing said.

Former Attorney General Mark Herring and two other Democratic attorneys general initially brought the lawsuit in January 2020, days after Virginia’s legislature voted to make the Commonwealth the critical 38th state to ratify the amendment. The vote came after years of efforts by advocates who argued the amendment would guarantee women equal rights under the law. Miyares, then a member of the House of Delegates, voted against ratification.

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The Virginia Democratic Party has held off the left-wing of their party with ease:

Swecker easily wins reelection as Virginia Democratic Party chairwoman

Virginia Democratic Party Chairwoman Susan Swecker trounced a handful of challengers Saturday to stay at the helm of a party that she’s led through ups and downs for the past seven years.

The party’s State Central Committee elected Swecker to a four-year term at a virtual convention, where she won 213 out of 268 votes cast, or nearly 80 percent.

Placing a distant second with 31 votes was Josh Stanfield, executive director of the liberal group Activate Virginia. Stanfield was campaign manager last year for Del. Lee J. Carter (D-Manassas), a self-proclaimed socialist who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. In third place with 24 votes was Jim McBride, a member of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee.

Two other candidates dropped out of the race before Saturday.

Hopefully that decision will be vindicated with Democrats not only holding the Senate but also reclaiming the House in 2023, and the Governor's mansion in 2025. 

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I can live with this choice, and would advise Democrats in both chambers to let her nomination sail through.  Amazingly enough despite having served on Sen. Amanda Chase's staff, Susan Beals is a sane Republican who doesn't buy into Trump's election lies (echoed by her onetime boss), and therefore isn't MAGA, which is a point in her favor especially for her new position as Virginia's next election commissioner:

Youngkin appoints Susan Beals as Virginia’s new elections commissioner

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VA Gov. Youngkin signs 100 bills into law, including giving parents more say in schools

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Governor Glenn Youngkin clearly has national ambitions:

Youngkin eyeing national politics, while Va. business remains delayed

Assuming Trump runs once again for the 2024 GOP nomination (which is his if he wants it, let's be honest here), perhaps Youngkin could be his running-mate.

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Looks like no more Confederate statues (under state jurisdiction) in Virginia are going to be taken down until the end of this administration:

Youngkin appoints Confederate statue defender to historic resources board

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Governor Youngkin's abortion ban proposal has opposing Virginia Democrats fired up
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin unveiled the abortion measures in his budget proposal for the upcoming year on Thursday.

Whether it passes or not is immaterial, since Republicans in the General Assembly will not benefit either way.  I can only assume he thinks Republicans have no chance in the 2023 legislative elections anyway, so why not come out with what is basically a gesture that could only benefit him in the GOP presidential primaries?

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Governor Youngkin is probably not going to listen, though:

Most Virginians don’t want Youngkin in 2024 presidential race, poll shows

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Do you also live in Arlington County?

I am about to drop off my ballot tomorrow morning before work.  I only just filled it out:
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40th State Senate District: Sen. Barbara Favola (D)

Commonwealth Attorney: Josh Katcher

Sheriff: Jose Quiroz

Arlington County Board -given it is a top-three ranked choice ballot:

1. Maureen Coffee
2. JD Spain
3. Tony Weaver

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Do you also live in Arlington County?

I am about to drop off my ballot tomorrow morning before work.  I only just filled it out:
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40th State Senate District: Sen. Barbara Favola (D)

Commonwealth Attorney: Josh Katcher

Sheriff: Jose Quiroz

Arlington County Board -given it is a top-three ranked choice ballot:

1. Maureen Coffee
2. JD Spain
3. Tony Weaver

I live in Washington and reverse commute out to the suburbs. I've been extremely resistant to leaving DC, but will likely do so in the coming years to to buy a house.

My I ask why you're voting for Katcher? Seems strange to go for the liberal county board members and Josh, who will end the reforms established by Parisa.

He will not end those reforms, but I think we have gone as far as I want them to for now.  As to why I picked him over her -whatever the problematic state of other police departments across the country, I have a very high opinion of our own law enforcement officers, so when the local union endorsed Katcher over Parisa, that carried a certain weight with me when I was deciding between the two candidates.  It comes down to trust, essentially. 

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VPAP link, since it looks like this is gonna be our discussion site and not the main Va thread.

And for us locals, here is the official Virginia elections website where you can find results from more local races:

https://enr.elections.virginia.gov/results/public/ARLINGTONCOUNTY/elections/2023DEMPRI

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He is certainly a 2028 GOP contender once his term ends, though he could run in 2026 against Sen. Mark Warner:

Youngkin approval rating at record high amid 2024 speculation

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R) approval rating reached a record high amid speculation about his political ambitions, according to a poll released Monday.

Fifty-seven percent of Virginia voters said they approved of Youngkin’s job performance, according to a Morning Consult survey. The poll also showed Youngkin’s disapproval rating at 32 percent. The latest polling shows a steady improvement for the Virginia governor, who had a 56 percent approval rating and a 32 percent disapproval rating in April.

In December, Youngkin held a 55 percent approval rating and a 32 percent disapproval rating, while last April, he had a 53 percent approval rating and a 35 percent disapproval rating. In January 2022, Youngkin started out his first term as governor with a 51 percent approval rating and a 35 percent disapproval rating.

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For anyone curious about the election results in key races in either chamber of the Virginia General Assembly:

2023 Results: Key Virginia elections

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Now it is official:

Virginia Democrats win full control of the state legislature, AP reports

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I see Gov. Glenn Youngkin is picking up where former Gov. Jim Gilmore left off.  Good timing too:

Youngkin exploring repeal of 'hated' car tax

More than 20 years after then-Gov. Jim Gilmore failed to fully repeal the so-called "car tax," another Republican governor is preparing to take a swing at the local government levy on personal vehicles that Virginians love to hate.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin confirmed on Tuesday that he is considering proposals to do away with the local tax on personal property - which he called "the most hated tax in Virginia" - by finding new sources of revenue for local governments to replace it.

“It is despised to such a universal degree that there is nothing I hear more complaints about as I travel across the commonwealth of Virginia than the car tax,” Youngkin said in an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

“Eliminating the car tax is a complicated and challenging endeavor,” the governor said. “I believe there is a path to eliminate it, but it requires full cooperation from Republicans and Democrats, executive branch and legislators, local leaders and state leaders in order to take the big step of permanently eliminating this most hated tax."

And for those without a subscription to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

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By a unanimous bipartisan vote, the House of Delegates has just elected an African American as Speaker, the first in the state's history:

Don Scott becomes first Black speaker in Virginia Legislature's 400-year history