By Owen FitzGerald
Capital News Service

RICHMOND — “Redemption.”

That word was used repeatedly as five black leaders from across Virginia gathered Monday urging state legislators to rescind statements calling for Gov. Ralph Northam’s resignation following his blackface photo scandal.

On the steps of the Capitol, former Richmond City Council Member Henry “Chuck” Richardson read a prepared statement, saying that racial issues in the U.S. still permeate virtually every aspect of American life.

“There are no more complex, abiding and haunting questions in America than those surrounding race,” Richardson said. “And through it all is the constant that though we have come far, we still have far to go.”

“We are drawn here under the Christian doctrine that it is human to err but divine to forgive. We have evaluated the governor’s past performance as we have known him and choose to forgive,” Richardson said.

Richardson added that the group of leaders believes almost every person in the Southern United States in the latter half of the 20th century has been influenced by, has participated in or has been associated with blackface in a similar nature to the governor.

“Rather than pursue measures that accomplish nothing,” Richardson said, “we choose to use this opportunity to advance the cause of African-Americans rather than wallow in the punitive measures of revenge.”

Northam, a Democrat, has been under fire since the discovery on Feb. 1 of a racist photo on his page of his 1984 medical school yearbook. The picture showed two men — one in blackface and the other in a Ku Klux Klan hood.

Initially, Northam said he was in the photo and apologized. Later, he said that he was not in the picture but that he did wear blackface for a Michael Jackson dance contest in 1984.

The controversy prompted many state and national Democratic leaders as well as advocacy groups to call on Northam to resign. Northam has said he does not plan to do so.

John Boyd, founding president of the National Black Farmers Association, also was at Monday’s press conference in support of Northam. Boyd said he met with the governor following the disclosure of the yearbook photo. Boyd said he prayed with the governor and used the meeting to address the issues of white privilege and blackface.

Boyd said Northam asked for forgiveness.

“He has a good heart,” Boyd said. “I looked in the governor’s eyes, and I believe that he was sincerely sorry for what has happened.

“I believe today that we need to give the governor a second chance. I believe that he is the right person to guide Virginia and bring us through this troubling time in history.”

Boyd added that during the federal government shutdown, he met with Northam to discuss the effects of closure on Virginia’s black farmers. Boyd said that even following the release of Northam’s yearbook photo, his constituents still trust the governor to advance the cause of farmers in the state.

Leaders at the press conference refused to directly address questions regarding a statement by Attorney General Mark Herring that he wore blackface to imitate a rapper for a college party in 1980.

Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax also is under pressure after two women came forward last week to say that he sexually assaulted them. Several Democratic leaders and groups have called on Fairfax to resign.

At Monday’s news conference, the leaders said that they support due process and that Fairfax should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, released a statement Monday in support of Fairfax’s right to due process.

“The women involved in Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax’s allegations must be heard in the jurisdiction where the incidents occurred,” Chase’s statement said. “Due Process must be followed to ensure both parties the right of innocence until proven guilty.”

By Caitlin Morris
Capital News Service

RICHMOND — Virginia bar patrons might soon see a slew of new advertisements from their favorite hangouts — ads that include prices for happy hour specials.

Legislation moving through this year’s General Assembly would allow restaurants and bars to include drink prices in their happy hour advertisements.

Currently, restaurants and bars can advertise in a number of ways that they have a happy hour — such as posters, social media and websites — but they can’t advertise the drink prices outside their buildings. The ads can convey only the time of the special and the type of drink or brand being offered. The current law applies even to a recorded answering machine message.

The House of Delegates this week joined the Senate in passing legislation to loosen the rules. The House voted 94-2 in favor of SB 1726, which was approved unanimously by the Senate in January. The bill now goes to the governor to be signed into law.

The legislation would now permit happy hour ads to include the prices of drink specials and other creative marketing techniques “provided that such techniques do not tend to induce overconsumption or consumption by minors.”

In 2018, restaurant owner and chef Geoff Tracy sued the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, saying the current law violated the First Amendment. Tracy contended that the restrictions on happy hour advertisements infringed on his right to free speech, making them unconstitutional — and hurting his business in Northern Virginia.

Tracy also owns restaurants in Maryland and Washington, D.C., where he faces no such restrictions.

“Virginia has some antiquated ideas about what people should be allowed to do socially,” said Darin Pilger, the general manager of Bandito’s Burrito Lounge in Richmond.

Bar patrons might be surprised by the number of laws restricting drink specials. For example, two-for-one drink specials are illegal and happy hour is forbidden from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Promotions for discounts are limited to being called “happy hour” or “drink specials”  — there’s no room for “margarita Mondays” under current law. Businesses that don’t comply could face suspended or revoked liquor licenses.

“You put up with all the laws, and you honor them, but you’re always just shaking your head,” Pilger said.

By Saffeya Ahmed
Capital News Service

RICHMOND — Local governments that rely on commonwealth’s attorneys for legal advice can breathe a sigh of relief: State legislators have discarded a provision that would have prevented commonwealth’s attorneys from serving as county, city or town government attorneys.

The Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved two bills that require training for local elected officials. Both bills originally included clauses that would restrict the commonwealth’s attorney position, but the clauses were removed before the Senate passed the legislation.

SB 1430 and SB 1431, sponsored by Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, would require conflict of interest training and freedom of information training every two years, respectively.

Virginia enforces a law called the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act, which prohibits conflicts and requires economic interests be disclosed for public officers and employees. Conflicts of interest can result when a person:

Accepts money, gifts, or services outside of their compensation that influences their official duties

Has a relative or spouse with a financial interest in a situation

Uses confidential information for economic benefits

Under SB 1430, conflicts and ethics training would be required for all government officials, at least once every two years.

SB 1431 would implement a similar training for government officials regarding the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, which mandates Virginia citizens and members of the press have access to all public records of employees, officials and organizations.

By Arianna Coghill
Capital News Service

RICHMOND — Democratic leaders called on Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax to resign after a second woman stepped forward Friday and accused him of sexual assault.

Meredith Watson said Fairfax raped her when they were both students at Duke University in 2000, according to a news release posted by her lawyers. “Mr. Fairfax’s attack was premeditated and aggressive,” the release said.

Watson’s accusation follows a public statement by Dr. Vanessa Tyson two days earlier, alleging Fairfax assaulted her in 2004.

Fairfax, a Democrat, has denied both accounts. He called Watson’s accusation “demonstrably false” and said he “never forced himself on anyone ever.”

“I demand a full investigation into these unsubstantiated and false allegations. Such an investigation will confirm my account because I am telling the truth. I will clear my good name and I have nothing to hide,” Fairfax said.

On Friday night, House and Senate Democrats issued a statement saying, “Due to the serious nature of these allegations, we believe Lieutenant Governor Fairfax can no longer fulfill his duties to the Commonwealth. He needs to address this as a private citizen. The time has come for him to step down.”

At the beginning of the week, state leaders took a “wait and see” approach toward Tyson’s allegations against Fairfax. In the wake of a new accusation, state and national leaders issued an avalanche of statements calling for Fairfax to resign — and even threatening impeachment.

Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, stated that on Monday, he would introduce “articles of impeachment for Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax if he has not resigned before then.”

The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus called for Fairfax to resign.

“We remain steadfast in our conviction that every allegation of sexual assault or misconduct be treated with the utmost seriousness. While we believe that anyone accused of such a grievous and harmful act must receive the due process prescribed by the Constitution, we can’t see it in the best interest of the Commonwealth of Virginia for the Lieutenant Governor to remain in his role,” the group said.

A joint statement issued by U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger, Don Beyer, Elaine Luria, Jennifer Wexton and Gerry Connolly – all Virginia Democrats – said they believed both women and questioned Fairfax’s ability to govern.

“The lieutenant governor of Virginia presides over the Virginia Senate and must be prepared to fill the role of governor. It is unacceptable that either of these weighty responsibilities be entrusted to someone who has engaged in the behavior described by Dr. Tyson and Meredith Watson, particularly in light of Gov. Northam’s situation, which we continue to believe requires his resignation.”

The Virginia Pro-Choice Coalition, consisting of groups that support women’s right and abortion rights, echoed that sentiment.

“We believe Dr. Tyson, and we believe Ms. Watson. This new allegation suggests a pattern of behavior that is as disturbing and disqualifying. It’s time for the Lt. Governor to resign. He cannot in good conscience continue to hold public office,” the coalition said in a statement.

Former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who called for Northam’s resignation, was also quick to demand Fairfax’s resignation once the second accuser came forward, calling the allegations “serious and credible.”

“It is clear to me that he can no longer effectively serve the people of Virginia as Lieutenant Governor,” McAuliffe wrote. “I call for his immediate resignation.”

Republicans in the General Assembly also called on Fairfax to quit.

“For the second time this week, Lieutenant Governor Fairfax has been accused of actions that, if true, constitute major felonies in the Commonwealth of Virginia. We are shocked and dismayed by these credible and serious allegations,” said a statement issued by the top GOP leaders in the House and Senate.

“These accusations necessitate comprehensive, thorough, and immediate investigations by law enforcement authorities in Massachusetts and North Carolina.”

Momentum was building before Watson’s account

Women’s rights groups and Virginia Democratic leaders signaled support for Tyson once she made a public statement.

“We trust women. We believe survivors. We believe Dr. Vanessa Tyson,” the Virginia Pro-Choice Coalition stated in a press release Thursday. “The harrowing experience she describes is both cruel and disgusting, and the story she shared must be met with support.”

Tyson, a political science professor at Scripps College in Claremont, California, described the alleged assault in a detailed written statement released through her lawyers. Tyson said Fairfax had forced her to perform oral sex in 2004 while they were in his hotel room at the Democratic National Convention. Tyson and Fairfax were working at the convention. Fairfax, 39, now a married father of two, was not married at the time.

“What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault,” Tyson said. “Mr. Fairfax put his hand behind my neck and forcefully pushed my head towards his crotch.”

She said she did not want to have oral sex and gave no consent.

Tyson has years of experience working with sexual assault survivors. She regularly volunteered at a rape crisis center and detailed her own molestation as a child in a 2007 video. She stated that her experience with Fairfax was “especially degrading” considering her volunteer work.

Fairfax vehemently denied Tyson’s allegations, stating that their encounter was consensual and the allegations were a smear campaign against him to prevent him from becoming governor.

Virginia’s Democratic leadership has been entangled in a series of interlocking scandals since the discovery last week of a racist picture on Gov. Ralph Northam’s page in his 1984 medical college yearbook. The photo showed two men, one in a Ku Klux Klan costume standing beside another in blackface.

Northam apologized for the photo and then denied he was in it but acknowledged that he had worn blackface for a Michael Jackson dance contest in 1984. He continues to face widespread calls for his resignation.

When the news broke, there was talk that Fairfax would be sworn in as governor if Northam resigned. But by early Monday, the same conservative website that first released Northam’s yearbook photo also published news of the alleged sexual assault by Fairfax.

“Does anybody think it’s any coincidence that on the eve of potentially my being elevated that that’s when this smear comes out?” Fairfax asked a group of reporters on Monday.

On Wednesday, Fairfax issued a statement saying, “Reading Dr. Tyson’s account is painful. I have never done anything like what she suggests.”

“Any review of the circumstances would support my account, because it is the truth. I take this situation very seriously and continue to believe Dr. Tyson should be treated with respect. But, I cannot agree to a description of events that simply is not true,” Fairfax said.

Tyson, calling herself a “proud Democrat,” said her accusation wasn’t politically motivated. She said she waited to disclose her story due to feelings of “deep humiliation and shame.”

While controversies dogged Northam and Fairfax, a fellow Democrat — Attorney General Mark Herring — acknowledged Wednesday that he had worn blackface to a college party in 1980 and apologized, saying “that, as a young man, I had a callous and inexcusable lack of awareness and insensitivity to the pain my behavior could inflict on others.”

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — Mike May is once again running for the job of Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney.

This is the second time May has sought the job. He last ran for the seat in 2015, and much of his platform today remains the same.

“The issues that motivated me to run for this important position in 2015 are the same issues that motivate me to run today,” said May in a press release. “We have to keep our community safe and protect our neighborhoods. We need to modernize the office and make it more transparent, and we must actively engage the community to enhance public safety and crime prevention.”

May says, if elected, he will implement criminal discovery reform, make the hiring process more transparent, establish a pay classification system to ensure a more sustainable budget, and foster hold more public events to connect with constituents.

The announcement comes as the Paul Ebert, who has held the office since 1968 and prosecuted major cases like the Washington, D.C.-area sniper in 2003 and Lorena Bobbit trail 10 years earlier, said he wouldn’t seek re-election.

Ebert beat May by nearly six percentage points in 2015 with 52 percent of the vote. Since his defeat, he and his wife, Amelia, took over the law firm Formerly known as Albo & Oblon, LLP. Today, the firm is known as May Law, LLP.

May had served for nine years as the Occoquan District Supervisor on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors before his run. He chose not to seek re-election to the Board when he mounted his bid for the top prosecutor job.

Ruth Anderson now sits in that seat.

May is endorsed by multiple Republicans. He’ll face political newcomer Amy Ashworth, who for the past 11 years has worked inside the Prince William County Prosecutors Office in the Special Victims Unit.

The Prince William County Commonwealths Attorney oversees a team of 24 prosecutors in the county’s courthouse in Manassas. They prosecute cases in Prince William County, and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.

WOODBRIDGE — When Corey Stewart was running for governor in 2017, he was accused time and again of being a racist.

The Republican during the campaign defended calls to leave standing Confederate statues in public squares to at a time when many were calling on local governments to take them down and mothball them in storage units or relocate them to National Parks.

Stewart also spent a lot of time in the southwest portion of the state defending the confederate flag. There too, he was dubbed racist.

“The Confederate Flag is alone is not a racist symbol. It’s a historical symbol,” Stewart maintained in an interview with Potomac Local on Feb. 5.

Stewart called his defense of the Confederate Flag and the Gov. Ralph Northam blackface scandal “two different things.” Northam is under fire for admitting to appearing in a photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook featuring a man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan robe, only to retract the apology the following day.

“I have never stood in blackface, or in a KKK outfit, or anything close to that,” said Stewart.

Stewart lost a Republican Primary Election to Ed Gillespie in 2017. Northam went on to beat Gillispie handily, winning the state by nine points. Today, Stewart joined the ranks of nearly every other Virginia politician — Democrat and Republican — who has urged Northam to step down.

“I feel vindicated,” continued Stewart. “Here are the Democrats who claimed I was racist, who claimed that Ed Gillespie was a racist and ran an ad of a guy trying to run down minority children with a truck… and now we find out it was the racists who were making the accusations.”

Stewart, who’s been the Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman for the past 15 years, announced January 8 that he wouldn’t seek re-election to the job. Whatever happens in the governor’s mansion, Stewart still plans to take time off from politics.

“My intention is not to retire from politics forever,” said Stewart. “I’m not coming back into politics in Virginia until my chances in winning in Virginia are actually greater, and that is, no doubt, something that is happening…”

Northam in 2017 won the vote-rich Northern Virginia counties of Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, and Henrico, and the city of Virginia Beach.

During that same election — the first since President Trump had won the White House — Democrats also swept out long-serving Prince William County Republicans from the halls of the General Assembly with an entirely new slate of representatives — all Democrats.

Despite all the calls to step down, Northam shows no signs of leaving the Executive Mansion. Whether he goes or stays, Stewart says this scandal will have caused “immense” damage to Democrats ability to raise money for fall elections and has put their ability to keep their seats in jeopardy.

“They lost their moral high ground. How are they going to go to minority communities, especially in Northern Virginia, and say “we’re the party of inclusiveness and diversity,” said Stewart.

All of the seats in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates are up for grabs this year. Locally, all seats on the Prince William Board of Supervisors are up for grabs, too.

The Northam blackface scandal came two days after the governor came under fire for going on WTOP Radio to describe in detail the process of late-term abortion critics equated to infanticide. President Trump during his State of the Union address brought national attention to Northam’s comments.

“And then, we had the case of the governor of Virginia where he stated he would execute a baby after birth. To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb,” said Trump.

WOODBRIDGE – (Press Release) Former Chairman of the Virginia State Board of Social Services, D.J. Jordan, 41, announced his intent to run for the 31st District of the Virginia state House of Delegates in this year’s elections. The district includes parts of Prince William and Fauquier Counties.

“I am excited to announce my campaign for the 31st District of the Virginia House of Delegates,” said Jordan.

“If elected, I will advocate for policies that build a culture of human dignity, expand economic and educational opportunities for families, and help small businesses innovate and create high-paying jobs. This campaign is not about me, but rather about the people of this community and the role of state government in our everyday lives. All Virginians deserve a state government that supports our basic freedoms and equal opportunity to succeed.”

Jordan will seek the Republican nomination for the general election on November 5, 2019, when all 100 state House of Delegate seats and all 40 state Senate seats are on the ballot. The House of Delegates currently has a 51-49 Republican majority; all 100 members are elected for two-year terms.

He is running as a Republican, in large part, because of his admiration and respect for Lincoln’s Party and the foundational tenets embodied in its beliefs.

Jordan was born and raised in the Tidewater, Virginia area, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Liberty University, and played on the football team as a student-athlete. He also earned a Masters in Public Management from The Johns Hopkins University.

Jordan worked in the U.S. Congress for ten years in several offices, including the House Committee on Small Business. Prior to coming to Capitol Hill in 2008, he worked in broadcast journalism at CNN and also Fox News. Jordan now works for a public relations firm in Alexandria.

“Throughout this campaign, I will lay out a set of ideas that create more opportunity for families in this district, and I encourage people to engage us at VoteDJ.com,” he said.

Jordan and his wife, Glorya, have four children, and have fostered and adopted from foster care. They live in Woodbridge, and are members of Move Church in Lake Ridge.

Democrat Elizabeth Guzman currently holds the 31st District seat.

By Rosemarie O’Connor
Capital News Service

RICHMOND — Tension filled the room Wednesday as a House subcommittee voted to kill a bill that would have let localities decide whether to remove or modify Confederate monuments in their jurisdictions.

Del. David J. Toscano, D-Charlottesville, introduced House Bill 2377, which sought to change the current law that makes it illegal to disturb or interfere with war monuments. His bill would have given cities and counties authority to remove Confederate or Union monuments. This is the second year Toscano has sponsored such legislation.

“We give localities the ability to control the cutting of weeds. But we haven’t yet given them the control over monuments that might have detrimental effects on the atmosphere and the feeling of the community,” Toscano said. “If you weren’t in Charlottesville in August of 2017, it would be hard to understand all of this.”

He said people across Virginia want the ability to decide what to do with the monuments in their towns.

Toscano said the monuments were erected during the “lost cause” movement, which viewed the Confederacy as heroic and the Civil War as a conflict not over slavery but over “states’ rights.”

He addressed a subcommittee of the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns. The subcommittee’s chair, Del. Charles D. Poindexter, R-Franklin, gave those on each side of the debate five minutes to state their case. With a packed audience filling the small committee room, each person had little more than one minute to speak.

Supporters of Toscano’s legislation held up blue signs with messages such as “Lose The Lost Cause” and “Local Authority for War Memorials” printed in black ink.

Lisa Draine had tears in her eyes as she spoke of her daughter, Sophie, who was severely injured when a white supremacist, James Alex Fields Jr., drove his car into a crowd of people demonstrating against racism in Charlottesville.

Fields, who was sentenced to life in prison last month for killing Heather Heyer, was part of the “Unite the Right” rally protesting the city’s plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a local park.

“I couldn’t imagine that a statue had brought this to our town,” Draine said. “My daughter could have been your daughter.”

A member of the Charlottesville City Council, Kathy Galvin, spoke in favor of the bill, citing the need for local legislators to have authority over the monuments.

Matthew Christensen, an activist from Charlottesville, said it was an issue of “basic human decency” and the right of local governments. “They own the land, they own the statue, they should be able to decide what to do with it,” he said.

Ed Willis, an opponent of Toscano’s bill, said it violates provisions in the Virginia Constitution prohibiting discrimination. “It’s painfully clear discrimination based on Confederate national origin is the basis of this bill,” he said.

Like other opponents, Willis said his ancestors served in the Civil War. Some spoke of their families’ long heritage in Virginia and opposed what they felt was the attempt to sanitize or alter their history.

Frank Earnest said he blamed the “improper actions” of the Charlottesville city government for the mayhem that took place in August 2017.

“Just like the other socialist takeovers,” Earnest said, “it’ll be Confederate statues today, but don’t think they won’t be back next year to expand it to another war, another time in history.”

The subcommittee voted 2-6 against the bill. Dels. John Bell and David Reid, both Democrats from Loudoun County, voted to approve the bill. Opposing that motion were Democratic Del. Steve Heretick of Portsmouth and five Republicans: Dels. Poindexter, Terry Austin of Botetourt County, Jeffrey Campbell of Smyth County, John McGuire of Henrico County, and Robert Thomas of Stafford County.

Supporters of the bill met with Toscano in his office after the meeting. He said he knew the bill’s defeat was a “foregone conclusion.” HB 2377 was heard last in the meeting, giving little time for debate or discussion.

People who want to remove the monuments asked Toscano, “How do we make this happen?”

Toscano picked up a glass candy dish from his desk and placed a chocolate coin wrapped in blue foil in each person’s hand. This represented his desire for a Democratic majority in the House of Delegates, where Republicans hold 51 of the 100 seats.

Toscano said he fought for years to get from 34 Democratic delegates to the 49 now serving. He urged the group to vote for those who share their concerns this November.

“It’s all about the General Assembly,” he said.

By Kaytlin Nickens
Capital News Service

RICHMOND — Women’s rights advocates started a daily protest Tuesday at the Capitol, urging Republican legislators to change their minds and ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

Inside the Capitol, members of the group VA Ratify ERA began their protest by standing “silent sentinel.” The organizers said they will do this daily starting at 10:45 a.m.

A leader of VA Ratify ERA, Kati Hornung, said all is not lost despite resolutions to ratify the ERA having been killed.

The women’s rights advocacy group adopted Friday the plan to hold a daily protest, after the House Privileges and Elections Committee followed  the subcommittee recommendation to kill resolutions to ratify the ERA. The proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution would guarantee equal rights regardless of sex.

Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy,  D-Prince William, said Virginia must continue efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, even if that means getting new legislators in office.

“If we can’t change their minds, we will change their seats,” Carroll Foy said.

Del. David E. Yancey, R-Newport News, supported the ERA in a floor meeting Monday.

“Like my mother, there are so many women in my district who all want a level playing field,”  Yancey said. “It’s time we stand up and fight for all women struggling to raise a family and make ends meet.”

If Virginia becomes the 38th state to ratify, the ERA would hit the requirement of having three-quarters of states onboard, for the amendment to become part of the U.S. Constitution.

Dana Hawkins, an advocate for the ERA, said that this is a cornerstone of many things.

“The message that’s sent to woman in this country that they are not worthy of the Constitution equality is awful,” Hawkins said. “Treating women fairly can solve so many of the issues we have in this country.”

Hawkins, like many others —  mostly women — came to the Capitol Tuesday, protesting and holding signs on the stairway of the Capitol gallery. Many ERA advocacy groups stood alongside VA Ratify ERA in the protest.

Hawkins said she thinks it’s important that women equality is written into the Constitution and reflected in laws.

“This is an ongoing effort, so today is just another day in the fight,” Hawkins said. “I think everybody knows how important we feel about constitutional equality for women.”