Updated 3:40 p.m. — Abigail Spanberger will be a no-show at the scheduled debate with her opponent, Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega.
Both women are running for the 7th Congressional Seat representing a portion of Prince William, as well as Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Fredericksburg.
The two were to appear on stage at Gar-Field Senior High School in Woodbridge on Friday, October 21 at 7 p.m. C-SPAN was set to record the event for later broadcast, while conservative talk show host Larry O’Connor, from WMAL-FM in Washington, D.C. and PBS NewsHour’s Lisa Desjardins were asked to moderate.
The event to was to be the only debate between the two candidates in this election, and held in what is considered to be the most friendliest area in the 7th District for Democrats — Prince William County. Spanberger (D) used an email to constituents to say she will not attend the event, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Spanberger did not respond to a request for comment for this story — a recurring pattern throughout this election cycle.
Vega (R) refused a prior invitation to debate at the University of Mary Washington last month, stating the university was a “college campus of [Spanberger’s] base.”
“Abigail is scared to answer why she supports this extreme anti-parent agenda. Abigail Spanberger owes Virginia’s parents an answer. Does she support throwing parents in jail for not conforming to woke culture?” Vega penned a statement on Sunday, October 16.
The Prince William Committee of 100 and League of Women Voters, the organizers of the event, released this statement in the wake of the failed event:
On Sunday, October 16, the League of Women Voters Prince William and Fauquier Area (LWV-PWFA) and the Prince William Committee of 100 (PWC100.org) were notified that our efforts to accommodate the requests of both candidates for the HD7 congressional seat had not been successful.
Our team’s work to find agreement between the campaigns of Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger and Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega ended in an impasse over security concerns and disagreements over proposed moderators. We were in talks with a respected and experienced moderator and had asked the Prince William County Police Department to dedicate officers for the event.
The League and the Committee of 100 volunteers worked tirelessly to accommodate requests on everything from the format and media coverage to security; however, we were unable to reach an acceptable compromise within the timeframe set by Congresswoman’s campaign. It is unfortunate for the citizens of Prince William County and the entire 7th Congressional District that we were not able to host a successful event like we did in the 10th Congressional earlier this month.
Spanberger is the incident in the race and her dropout comes after WJLA-TV reports Prince William County Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D), who has campaigned with Spanberger in recent days, planned to reintroduce failed legislation from the 2020 General Assembly session that would allow parents to be face child abuse charges and be jailed for not affirming their child’s sexual identity.
On the video, Guzman said the measure would allow Democrats to fight back against new Virginia Department of Education recommendations that give back power to parents when deciding what pronouns their child may be called at school and whether or not their child should receive counseling for their sexual identity.
Guzman said the law would allow parents to be investigated if parents don’t affirm their child’s status, and then a charge from child protective services.
“We know a CPS charge could harm your employment, harm your education because nowadays many people do a CPS database search before offering employment,” Guzman told WJLA-TV.
Guzman said the law would educate parents on the importance of LGBTQ rights. House Minority Leader Don Scott Jr., (D), told the Times-Dispatch that Guzman’s proposal would be “dead on arrival” in the next General Assembly session if it is introduced.
Scott said Guzman introduced the same legislation — House Bill 580 — in 2020 when Democrats controlled both chambers of the assembly and let it die in a House subcommittee without a vote.
“We already have laws on the books to protect children from abuse and neglect, for whatever reason,” said the new minority leader, who unseated former House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, as the caucus leader earlier this year. “We don’t need a new bill or a new reason.”
Over the weekend, House of Delegates Speaker Todd Gilbert vowed to bring Guzman’s bill to a vote when legislators meet again in January. “File it,” Gilbert posted to Twitter.
Since the WJLA-TV report garnered national media attention, Guzman has backed off her desire to reintroduce the legislation. She also said WJLA-TV misled viewers.
The Arlington-based TV station released the complete raw video of the interview.
