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Catherine Read

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by Catherine Read

Railroaded – Dale Brumfield

Railroaded - Dale Brumfield author (Sept. 2020) This book is an excellent work of research, scholarship and storytelling. Dale Brumfield, a native Virginian, historian, author and cultural archaeologist continues to write about the untold history of this Commonwealth that we never learned in school.

Railroaded is a window into the history and culture of the Commonwealth of Virginia through a very specific lens of capital punishment. To understand how so many young black men were put to death, we must first acknowledge that Virginia is ground zero of the slave trading of captured Africans that began in 1619. Those sales of Black Africans to White landowners established human beings as property, not people, and slavery as an important economic engine of Southern prosperity.

While this book is dedicated to telling the stories of the first 100 people put to death in the newly introduced electric chair from 1908 to 1920, the subtext of these stories is one of white rage, resentment and institutional racism in Virginia that is present to this very day.

There are so many layers to this book. The first that struck me was that the names of the victims and the names of the accused look so very similar. They are the same old Virginia family names that used to fill pages of local phonebooks. I recognize these family names because I have lived in Virginia all of my life and these are the names of my schoolmates, neighbors and leading citizens of the communities where I have lived from Southwest Virginia to Northern Virginia.

That is a reminder that many Black Virginians bear the surnames of the people who owned their ancestors. They do not have a family history of their own with an ancestry separate from those who enslaved them. Their identity was stolen when they were abducted from their own communities on another continent and sold as property to White people who chose what they would be called and whose mark was left on their children, and their children’s children for all of their days.

Reducing Black people to less than human is the foundation upon which this country’s culture and our system of justice and punishment has been built. Virginia’s legislature and our law enforcement created a two-tiered system that was both codified and legitimized in the law.

For many years a Black person was not allowed by law to testify against a White criminal defendant, so crimes such as the rape of a Black woman by a White man were rarely prosecuted, and never resulted in a death sentence since the victim could not testify against her attacker.

As a carryover effect, there was not one White-on-Black capital crime punished by execution – and unbelievably, Virginia did not execute a White for killing a Black person until 1997, when Thomas Beavers was executed for the murder of Marguerite Lowery.

Another startling layer to this book is the long and detailed history of violence against women. Rape and assault, along with husbands killing wives, and men stalking and killing the objects of their obsession. Women have not fared well here in the Commonwealth. It took until 2020 for legislation to pass in our current legislature that allows the Courts, through due process, to issue Risk Orders removing guns from the hands of people who are a risk to themselves or others. It’s hard to imagine how many women could have been spared murder while fleeing domestic violence if only we had the political will to protect them.

This book is an important part of Virginia’s history. I think it’s difficult for many people to understand how unarmed Black people can be killed with impunity and no one held accountable. It has ever been thus. It is hardwired into our culture and carried forward generation after generation. The history of law enforcement, the judicial process, mass incarceration and capital punishment present the blueprint to how we got here in 2020. More books like Railroaded need to be researched, written and widely read so that the next generation perhaps makes the intentional choice not to carry these terrible precedents forward.

Listen to my interview with author Dale Brumfield here: https://youtu.be/z0c36–BJWA

Filed Under: Making Change Radio, Virginia Tagged With: Capital Punishment, criminal justice, Dale Brumfield, Death Penalty, Execution, racism, VDAP, Virginia

by Rachel Simon

Delegate Kathleen Murphy on Your Need to Know

(August 28, 2019) Catherine Read interviews Delegate Kathleen Murphy (D-34) about her reelection campaign for the Virginia House of Delegates. Murphy was elected to the House in a special election in 2015, succeeding Barbara Comstock. The 34th District encompasses McLean, Great Falls, parts of Vienna and stretches into northern Loudoun County.

All 140 seats in the Virginia General Assembly are up for grabs this year.  This includes the Board of Supervisors, School Board, Commonwealth’s Attorney, Sheriff and the Soil and Water Conservation Board. As Murphy hits the doors to talk to voters, one of the top concerns that she continues to hear about in her district are concerns about traffic. Congested roadways has a major impact on quality of life, and voters want to know that she is engaged in looking at creative ways to solve these problems.

Delegate Murphy sits on several committees in Richmond, including Transportation, General Laws, and Cities, Counties and Towns. She is always looking out for her constituents, and works hard to ensure that their needs are best represented in Richmond.

Growing up as a military brat, Murphy understands the importance of taking care of our veterans. She is a member of the Military and Veterans Caucus, and specifically chairs the women’s working group for the Board of Veteran Services. Virginia has one of the largest veteran populations, and Murphy works day in and day out to serve the approximately 104,000 female veterans in the Commonwealth. Many times these women are overlooked, and do not know how to access services. Her working group is designed to change that paradigm.

Gun violence prevention is another issue that Murphy has championed during her time in elected office. Her brother was brutally murdered during a botched robbery attempt, so she is intimately aware of the pain and suffering of those who are affected by gun violence. Last year she chaired the Safe Virginia Initiative, to look at how laws could change to reduce the instances of gun violence.

Unfortunately, with the GOP in control of the legislative agenda, she does not believe there is much of a chance that anything will change. After over 20 years in control, there has only been a loosening of gun laws. Even though the majority of Virginians support universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole, and red flag laws, there has been no movement on the issue.

After the horrific mass shooting in Virginia Beach, when the Governor called a special session to address gun violence legislation, the GOP dismissed the session after a mere 90 minutes. Murphy points out that we will never have any meaningful change until there is a change with who is in control of the statehouse.

Filed Under: TV Shows, Virginia, Your Need to Know Tagged With: Delegate Kathleen Murphy, Gun Violence Prevention, Safe Virginia Initiative, Virginia, Virginia Board of Veteran Services, Virginia Elections, Virginia General Assembly, virginia special session on gun violence, Women's Working Group of the Board of Veteran Services

by Catherine Read

Dopesick – Beth Macy

Dopesick Beth Macoy (March 2019) Beth Macy again brings her keen skills in research and journalism to tell another story about Virginia. A long time journalist with The Roanoke Times, she brings to life the stories of Virginia few people have heard before – as she did with her two previous books Factory Man and Truevine.

In Dopesick she pulls back the curtain on the genesis of the opioid epidemic that continues to ravage Virginia and the rest of the nation. No longer confined to rural Appalachia where it all began, it has now spread to the white suburban and affluent communities throughout the Commonwealth.

Those who were earliest to sound the alarm about the addictive threats of Purdue Pharmaceutical’s new drug Oxycontin were ignored. Despite the fact that John Brownlee, US Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, successfully prosecuted Perdue Pharmaceutical for “criminal misbranding” in 2006, that did not sound alarm bells for public health officials or law enforcement. The first successful case against the pharmaceutical company (owned by the billionaire Sackler family) resulted in an award of $634.5 million dollars but failed to signal what was happening in the larger context.

Beth Macy details how the drug epidemic followed I-81 north through the Shenandoah Valley. Drugs were being brought into small towns along the route and down into Roanoke from Baltimore on a daily basis by a network of distributors and users.

She also covers the detrimental effect of the fight for Medicaid Expansion in Virginia and how four years of Republicans putting up road blocks starved a growing number of addicts of the resources they needed for recovery and rehabilitation. She calls out the role Democratic Senator Phil Puckett’s resignation in 2014 played in handing the Republicans in the legislature the majority they needed to block Medicaid Expansion. Puckett represented five rural counties in southwest Virginia where the opioid epidemic was raging unabated.

There is a tremendous stigma around this epidemic because it has struck hard at suburban middle class and affluent white families, as well as poor and rural white families. Drug addiction has turned the corner from simply being deemed criminal activity to being addressed as a disease. It has been a disease all along, but now that respectable people are falling prey to addiction and death from drugs, there is a greater urgency in finding ways to prevent and rehabilitate.

The most compelling parts of this book are the stories of the individuals that Beth Macy got to know in the years she spent researching this book. So many lives wasted so tragically.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. If your life hasn’t been touched in some way by the opioid epidemic raging through Virginia, it is likely just a matter of time before it is. We all need to get involved in advocating for better resources and programs to meet this crisis that exists in every community in Virginia.

Filed Under: Good Books, Virginia Tagged With: Beth Macy, Dopesick, John Brownlee, Medicaid Expansion, Opiods, opioid epidemic, Perdue Pharmaceutical, Phil Puckett, RAM Clinic, Roanoke, Virginia

by Catherine Read

Literacy Council of Northern Virginia – Inside Scoop

(March 5, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Roopal Mehta Saran, Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Northern Virgnia (LCVN), about the numerous programs and services being offered in the Northern Virginia area. They are joined by Amy Tristan, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator, in the last segment where they discuss the numerous ways individuals, organizations and companies can engage with LCNV.

The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia is 55 years old, and Roopal Saran has been at the helm of the organization for the last six months. There are over 36 million American adults that don’t have literacy, writing or math skills above a 3rd grade level. Some those adult learners are native English speakers and some are native speakers of many other languages. The Northern Virginia area is multiculturally very rich with over 100 languages being spoken in classrooms and homes around our region. Adults learning English as a second language may or may not have literacy skills in their native language. LCNV’s Beginning-level English classes teach the foundational skills adult English Language Learners (ELLs) need to learn to speak, understand, read and write English.

Classes are taught in multiple locations – in places such as the James Lee Community Center where LCNV has offices, in schools such as Crestwood Elementary, and spaces provided by collaborating non-profits such as Connections for Hope in Herndon, VA. The idea is to take the classes to meet the people where they are and where it’s easy to get there using public transportation. There will be new classes starting out in the Centreville area in early 2018.

LCNV Roopal Saran Literacy Councilis also collaborating with local companies in workforce development training through increased literacy that is both industry and company specific. Destination Workforce® training for B.F. Saul Hospitality Group’s Doubletree by Hilton at Tyson’s Corner focused on their housekeeping and banquet employees. The program provided instruction on language and cultural tools to provide better staff interactions with customers through the B.F. Saul “Know Your Hotel” framework. LCNV has also partnered with Goodwin House in Bailey’s Crossroads and with other local business to craft specific literacy programs that are job specific. The Destination Workforce® program is also working with the City of Alexandria to help newly arrived refugees with basic English literacy in preparations to more quickly prepare for entry level job opportunities.

Amy Tristan LCNVAmy Tristan spoke about the hundreds of literacy volunteers that make their programs possible. Many have been with LCNV for over a decade and they are always looking for new volunteers who are interested in taking the training to be classroom instructors, to offer small group tutoring and also conversation classes. There are programs to meet that time and location preferences of a variety of volunteers and they welcome companies who encourage their employees to engage in community volunteerism. LCNV also welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with other organizations and non-profits who serve clients with basic literacy needs.

The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia was named Parade Magazine’s 2017 Outstanding Charity in Virginia: “Last year, 1,551 students from more than 90 countries (including the U.S.) participated in LCNV Programs.”

Like all non-profits, LCNV relies on individual donations and corporate partnerships. More information can be found at the LCNV website: www.lcnv.org or by calling them at 703-237-0866. They can also be found on Facebook and on Twitter @LCNV

Filed Under: Inside Scoop, TV Shows, Virginia, Women Tagged With: Amy Tristan, Catherine Read, Connections for Hope, Destination Workforce, Hilton McLean, LCNV, Literacy, Literacy Council Northern Virginia, northern virginia, Roopal Mehta Saran, Virginia

by Catherine Read

Mustard Seed – Laila Ibrahim

(March 2018) We don’t get to pick how big our good gets to be, but each of us picks if we gonna do some good right where we are.”– Mattie Freedman

One of my favorite passages from this remarkable book.

Mustard Seed is a sequel to Ibrahim’s Yellow Crocus, and as historical fiction goes, it’s outstanding. The narrative of both books unfolds in Virginia. And the author captures so vividly the lives of slaves both before the Civil War and the injustices done to them afterward.

While attending a session at the SXSW Education conference today on Black Education in America, the very wise Dr. Howard Fuller of Marquette University made this observation: “There is a difference between being liberated and being free.” It sent a shiver up my spine for how it perfectly captured the story of Mustard Seed.

In the 1850s, Mattie escapes Fair Oaks Plantation with her daughter Jordon to join her husband Emanuel and their son Samuel who earlier escaped to the free state of Ohio. Returning to Virginia in 1868 to extricate her newly “freed” cousin Sarah from the plantation, Mattie and her family experience some of the most egregious oppressions of Reconstruction. Slavery did not end with the Emancipation Proclamation. Slavery transformed into mass incarceration. As evident in Virginia today as it is in many other parts of the United States.

There were moments in this book that made me want to scream out loud. It truly touched a raw nerve after a floor speech by Del. Nick Freitas (R-Culpeper) on Friday, March 2nd, that threw the House of Delegates into chaos. In his remarks are the historic echoes of enraged white men – as if it was transferred genetically from one generation in Virginia to the next.

Today, I watched on YouTube as three African American Delegates stood on the floor of that same House chamber and addressed Delegate Freitas’s remarks. Delegates Luke Torian, Delores Quinn and Lamont Bagby pushed back. As they should. Because the story of what happened in Richmond in the past few days is not so different from the story this book tells. Racism, oppression and injustice is woven in the fabric of Virginia’s culture.

“We realize that we live in a ugly political moment. So while we were offended, we were not surprised,” Bagby said. “It should embarrass every member of this body that we have allowed such rhetoric to enter these chambers. Bringing up a very painful past to make a political point is disgusting and poisonous.”

Our history does not have to define our future. However, ignorance of our history most assuredly allows past wrongs to go unacknowledged and ignorance to be perpetuated by future generations. Historical fiction has a place in education when it is based on thorough research and grounded in factual and verifiable accounts. You feel what the characters are going through, not just absorbing a recounting of events.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who can read and everyone who considers themselves a Virginian.

Filed Under: Good Books, Political, Virginia, Women Tagged With: Dr. Howard Fuller, Freitas, historical fiction, Laila Ibrahim, mustard seed, racism, Reconstruction, Richmond, Slavery, Virginia

by Catherine Read

Community Healthcare in Virginia – Dr. Basim Khan of Neighborhood Health

(Feb 19, 2018) Catherine Read talks with Dr. Basim Khan, Executive Director of Neighborhood Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in Northern Virginia. Neighborhood Health was started in an apartment complex by nurses from the Alexandria Health Department back in 1997, becoming an FQHC in 2004. In their first year as a clinic, they saw 1,500 patients and in their 20th year they saw 18,000 patients through their 12 clinics located in Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax County.

Neighborhood Health provides an integrated medical home to community residents regardless of their ability to pay. Their goal is high quality healthcare that is affordable and accessible to everyone in the community. Their clinics provide Family Practice/Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Women’s Health, Behavioral Health Counseling and include health screenings, cancer screenings, on-site lab services, immunizations, mental health screenings, dental services and a pharmacy program. They provide language interpreters (sometimes via phone), offer sliding scales to patients who may have high deductibles for their health insurance plan, and provide medications to patients less expensively than through retail pharmacies. Community health centers provide primary healthcare to over 300,000 people in Virginia and to 27 million patients in the U.S. Providing high quality primary care delivers better health outcomes for patients and helps to drive down overall costs.

Dr. Kahn talks about how Neighborhood Health strives to serve as a patient advocate in a really “complicated health system.” In talking about issues of equity and social determinants of health, he points out that our healthcare and social services spending in this country is comparable to other developed nations, but we spend far more on healthcare and far less on social safety net services. Social determinants of health include factors such as education levels, income, the zip codes we live in, the type of housing and employment we have, and our access to adequate healthy food. Working to provide better equity in healthcare outcomes includes Neighborhood Health’s strong partnerships with other local agencies, non-profits and service providers. They work closely with local Community Services Boards to help patients get mental health services and case management when needed. They work with Departments of Health and Human Services that also provide employment assistance, and help with issues of aging and disability. This is the “community” in community health services that treat the whole patient through providing social services that impact health outcomes.

Neighborhood Health continues to expand their services, meeting patients where they are in the community. They currently work with Alexandria City Schools to provide dental care to low income students in 8 elementary school through a mobile bus that provides the services right on school grounds. That includes routine cleanings, x-rays, and fillings as needed. Catherine Read pointed out that this is an example of the type of partnership that is at the core of the Community School model – a model of education we don’t currently have in Virginia. Providing needed services to students through the school impacts educational and health outcomes for many students who lack access to things as basic as food, clothing, dental and healthcare, school supplies and tutoring.

Dr. Khan addresses public health issues such as the opioid crisis and how the trend of medicalizing so many issues has resulted in the over prescribing of pain medications. The epidemic of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cancer are tied to social determinants, yet we seem to lack the political will to prioritize key things that need to be addressed, such as affordable housing, which impact health.

Inside Scoop Basim KhanIn the last segment, Medicaid Expansion in Virginia is addressed and what the impact would be on the patients Neighborhood Health serves. The most immediate impact would be the ability to refer patients to local specialists instead of having the University of Virginia as the only option. There are substantive discussions taking place during the 2018 Legislative Session in Richmond that have both parties negotiating terms that now include a “work requirement” proffered by the Trump Administration as an option states can elect to mandate. At the time of broadcast, Medicaid Expansion was still very much up in the air with the future outcome very uncertain.

For more information about Neighborhood Health visit www.NeighborhoodHealthVA.org, follow them on Twitter @NeighborhoodHth or on Facebook,  or call their main number for assistance at 703-535-5568.

Filed Under: Inside Scoop, Political, TV Shows, Virginia Tagged With: Alexandria, Basim Khan, Healthcare, Medicaid Expansion, Mental Health, Neighborhood Health, opioid epidemic, Primary Health Care, Social Determinants of Health, Virginia

by Rachel Simon

Virginia Education Funding Coalition – Your Need to Know

(Feb. 7, 2018)

Catherine Read met with Joanne Walton and Tony Bennett Shivers, co-founders of the Virginia Education Funding Coalition (VEFC),  a unified non-partisan voice advocating for fully funding public education in Virginia. The mission of the VEFC is to ensure that the commonwealth of Virginia adequately invests in its public education system, so that all students have access to a high quality education with well-paid and well-trained teachers.

Currently, Virginia is ranked 38th in the nation in per pupil state funding and ranked 29th overall for average salary for K-12 teachers. The state is also facing a deficit of 1000 teachers. As baby boomers retire, Virginia will continue to face a shortage of teachers, and as a commonwealth we will be facing a crisis situation. The best indicator of student success is having effective teachers in the classroom. VEFC advocates for stronger recruiting, support and training of our teacher workforce, and strives to bring people together across the commonwealth to advocate for stronger support for public education.

Tony Shivers Joanne WaltonWalton notes that VEFC aims to build a coalition of teachers, parents, businesses and community leaders who are understand the critical relationship between well-educated children, strong local communities and the future workforce. The goal of VEFC is to create a platform for everyone to come together to advocate before the Virginia General Assembly to improve the LCI (Local Composite Index) so that all Virginia counties and school districts receive adequate funding based on their enrollment needs. Additionally, VEFC supports passage of legislation giving Virginia counties and school districts the authority to diversify and raise revenue on a local basis.

Shivers cites a study by the Georgetown University Center for Education Workforce that indicates there will be 55 million job openings by 2020, 34 million of those will be new jobs and 31 million will be posts vacated by retiring baby boomers.   He believes it is imperative for Virginia to adequately invest in educating our children today for the workforce of the future. It is estimated that 65% of the jobs by 2020 will require post secondary training. He shared that learning in the 21st century needs to be individualized and personal, where we can teach children to think critically and problem solve so they can be prepared to step into jobs that do not even exist today.  In order to do this, we need to adequately fund our schools and invest in our children and teachers.

Shivers and Walton invite all who are passionate about improving education in Virginia to join their coalition. They currently have an online petition  asking Governor Ralph Northam and the Virginia General Assembly to increase funding for public education, which has not been increased in 10 years. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter (@VAEdFunding) and by using the hashtag #FundVaSchools.

Filed Under: Blogging, Education, TV Shows, Virginia, Your Need to Know Tagged With: fully fund Virginia schools, Governor Ralph Northam, Joanne Walton, K-12 Education, LCI, Public Education, Tony Bennett Shivers, Virginia, Virginia Education Funding Coalition, Virginia General Assembly

by Rachel Simon

Dr. Lora Vece – Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, HB 793

(Feb. 5, 2018)

Catherine Read interviews Dr. Lora Vece, Nurse Practitioner and member of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners (VCNP) to talk about the House Bill 793 which would allow Nurse Practitioners to be on the path to having full practice authority in the state of Virginia. Today, a Nurse Practitioner (NP) is required to have a Collaborative Practice agreement with a designated physician, meaning that an NP cannot practice independently even though they are trained and nationally board certified to do so. While 22 states and the District of Columbia allow Nurse Practitioners to have full practice authority, Virginia is one of only 12 states in the nation that require physician oversight.   This burdensome requirement can adversely impact access to care, especially in rural and underserved communities, while also driving up the cost of health care.

Lora Vece Nurse PractitionerIn America today there is a shortage of primary care doctors , as many physicians choose to focus on areas of specialty. Dr. Vece indicates that Nurse Practitioners are uniquely qualified to fill the gap in primary care. Quality studies show that patient care management is as good, if not better, under Nurse Practitioners. NP’s take a holistic approach to medicine, looking at wellness, screenings, diet and exercise, family history, chronic disease management and acute medical problems to name just a few. Patients who work with Nurse Practitioners indicate higher satisfaction with their NP than with their physician, as they believe that their NP is a good listener and that they pay closer attention to their individual needs. Over 100 studies have proven that NP’s provide safe, high quality healthcare.

Under current Virginia law, an NP must secure a business contract with a physician in order to practice, and each physician can collaborate with no more than 6 Nurse Practitioners at a time. According to Dr. Vece this is a costly and burdensome requirement that can have adverse affects on access to care. For example, if a NP works with a doctor, and that doctor goes out of practice or gets ill and cannot practice medicine, then the NP can lose access to seeing their patients. This is a significant problem in underserved rural communities where NP’s outnumber doctors. Dr. Vece shared that additional challenges include NP’s who cannot find a physician who will enter into a collaborative relationship, a physician may charge a fee so excessive that the NP cannot maintain a sustainable business model, or the physician’s malpractice insurance carrier may prevent collaboration with an outside provider.  For these reasons, and many more, Dr. Vece and the VCNP are advocating to do away with this burdonsome requirement.

The proposed legislation is designed to put NP’s on the path to full practice authority in Virginia. It requires that NP’s have a practice agreement with a collaborating physician or Nurse Practitioner for a specified number of hours (1040) during the transition to practice period. After the NP has met this requirement, the practice agreement would be removed. The removal of the Practice Agreement would break down barriers, and allow for better access to care for patients. VCNP is hopeful the legislature will see this as a good faith compromise and an incremental step forward. Dr. Vece shared that VCNP would welcome support from any Virginia voter who thinks this legislation is a good idea.   If you support Nurse Practitioners and would like to expand access to more affordable care across the commonwealth, contact your legislator directly to voice your opinion.   Every Senator and Delegate keeps track of constituent requests, will take feedback into account when voting on legislation.

Filed Under: Inside Scoop, Political, TV Shows, Virginia Tagged With: Collaborative Practice Agreements, Dr. Lora Vece, HB 793, Nurse Practitioners, Primary Care, Virginia, Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners

by Catherine Read

Ben Tribbett: Democratic Wins in the House of Delegates – Inside Scoop

(Jan 15, 2018) Catherine Read talks with political analyst Benjamin Tribbett about the 2017 House of Delegates races here in Virginia. There were a number of contested races with close recounts in several districts, with the control of the House coming down to race in which a tie was declared and the winner’s name drawn from a bowl.There were a number of contested races with close recounts in several districts, with the control of the House coming down to race in which a tie was declared and the winner’s name drawn from a bowl. The 15 additional Democratic Delegates in the House means the Republicans control the vote in both chambers by a majority of one.

The 15 new Democratic Delegates (11 of them women) came from districts across the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Virginia House is seating the most women ever this year: 28, compared to 17 last year. Roughly half of the Democratic caucus is female.

In Southwest Virginia, newcomer Chris Hurst (HD 12) prevailed over three term incumbent Joseph Yost.  [Voters in this region turned out more voters for Gillespie in ’17 than Cuccinelli in ’13]

In Hampton Roads, Kelly Fowler (HD 21) and Cheryl Turpin (HD 85) also won against incumbents. Shelly Simonds (HD 95) ended up in a tie with incumbent David Yancey, whose name was drawn from a bowl to retain his seat.

In Richmond, Dawn Adams (HD 68), Schuyler VanValkenburg (HD 72) and Debra Rodman (HD 73) prevailed in their races.

VA House of Delegates 2018In Northern Virginia, the biggest news was that Prince William County’s House seats flipped in a wave of blue that ousted a number of incumbents:

Danica Roem (HD 13) unseated longtime incumbent Bob Marshall in one of the most watched races in the nation. Danica is the first transgender woman elected to a state legislature prevailing over a notoriously homophobic candidate in what can only be described as a beautiful example of karma.

Lee Carter (HD 50) unseated incumbent Jackson Miller.

Hala Ayala (HD 51) won against incumbent Rich Anderson.

Elizabeth Guzman (HD 31) prevailed against 8 term incumbent Scott Lingamfelter.  Guzmán and Ayala made history in Virginia as the first Hispanic women elected to the state’s House of Delegates.

Jennifer Carroll Foy (HD 2) a VMI graduate and new mom of twins won an open seat vacated by Delegate Mark Dudenhefer.

In Fairfax County, Kathy Tran (HD 42), Virginia’s first Vietnamese-American Delegate who welcomed her fourth child Elise just before the primary, won an open seat formerly held by Dave Albo. Karrie Delaney (HD 67) unseated incumbent four term incumbent Jim LeMunyon.

In Loudoun County, David Reid (HD 32) took the seat held by Tag Greason and Wendy Gooditis (HD 10) unseated incumbent Randy Minchew.

Ben Tribbett Inside ScoopBen discusses how the huge voter turnout impacted this election and why so many GOP incumbents could not survive the wave. The idea that this election could flip control of the House to the Democratic Party was not something for which the party leadership had prepared. There are also steep learning curves for the new Delegates heading into their first legislative session. The fact that the Speaker of the House, Kirk Cox, makes assignments for committees in both chambers means that every committee will CONTINUE to have a majority of Republican members. While there was a negotiation for “proportional representation” on the committees, the very early days of session have dramatized how little difference that makes when committees vote along “party lines.”

Ben also explores how power sharing might have been negotiated differently prior to knowing the outcome of the Simonds-Yancey name drawing. There was a long term power sharing arrangement in the Senate from 1997 to 2003. The window of opportunity has now closed to make that type of negotiation. He goes on talk about the creation of “Districts of Influence” and the percentages of deviations when re-drawing district lines after each U.S. Census. The GOP tends to split more voting blocks and the result in Virginia is 224 split precincts, with some of them split three ways. There is a possibility that pending court cases could find that district lines in Virginia need to be redrawn prior to 2021 which could result in special elections in the affected districts.

The 2019 elections will be a challenge for the Democrats in holding on to some of these newly won seats. Ben talks about how this is an off-off-off year election with no “top of ticket” candidate like Governor or President. Every seat in the House (100) and in the Senate (40) will be in play. In addition, County Board of Supervisor seats and School Board seats will also be on the ballot. Because of how these districts are overlaid, the ballot might have an incumbent Republican Senator, a first term Democratic Delegate and a Board of Supervisor candidate of either party. How the voters will make their voting decisions giving weight to incumbency and party remains to be seen. There is a strong possibility that some of the gains in the House may not be sustainable in 2019, while it is also possible Democrats will pick up the two Senate seats they need to take majority in the Senate.

Benjamin Tribbett is a longtime well known political analyst and political consultant and you can follow him on Twitter @NotLarrySabato

Filed Under: Inside Scoop, Political, TV Shows, Virginia, Women Tagged With: 2017 Elections, 2018 Legislative Session, Ben Tribbett, Danica Roem, Democratic Party of Virginia, House of Delegates, Inside Scoop, Virginia

by Rachel Simon

2018 Virginia Legislative Preview – Your Need to Know

(Jan. 10, 2018)  Catherine Read talks with Delegate Marcus Simon (D -53) to get a preview of the 2018 Virginia Legislative Session, which begins on January 10 and will run through March 10. Simon is a Democrat representing Falls Church and surrounding Fairfax County. First elected in 2013, he has served on the Militia, Police and Public Safety and Science and Technology committees throughout his tenure as delegate. 2017 saw a blue wave wash over the commonwealth, as 15 new Democratic seats were picked up bringing the House to a 49-51 split. Simon is excited about the energy and enthusiasm that the freshman delegates will bring to Richmond, as the change in the makeup of the General Assembly has the opportunity to open up a world of possibilities that did not exist in previous years when the Republicans held a 2/3 majority in the House.

This freshman class of delegates will face a steep learning curve, and the caucus will be faced with the challenge of having a third of its members being brand new to the body. In order to get in front of this, Delegate Simon shared that the new delegates were first brought down to Richmond in November to get an early orientation and “boot camp” introduction to the legislative process, learning everything from parliamentary procedure to how to file a bill in the system. Each new delegate was paired with a mentor to help them navigate the system, and be available for questions on a variety of issues. His advice to the new delegates: focus on a few core issues that they would like to advance in order to help craft realistic public policy. If they are able to concentrate on deliverable issues, then they will have concrete steps to stand on when they go back home to their districts.

Delegate Marcus SimonActivists in Virginia were ready to get to work after the devastating loss in November of 2016 that gave Donald Trump and Republicans complete control of the Federal government. Grassroots organizers came together in unprecedented numbers to help turn the tide in the commonwealth. Spawning groups like Network Nova , Indivisible, and Postscards4VA , Simon hopes that the energy and enthusiasm that went into canvassing, phone banking and postcard writing during the elections can now be turned into advocacy to help advance issues that are near and dear to their hearts. He indicates that it is important for the people who helped create this blue wave to get involved in the legislative process, and hold the people who they elected accountable. With Virginia having a part time legislature, the window of opportunity to get things done is short, and targeted advocacy on specific state issues can have a great impact.

The first step in being able to hold elected officials accountable is to understand how a bill becomes a law in Virginia. Once they know which legislator will be carrying a specific bill, they can then learn which committee will be hearing the bill. All of the bills and legislator information can be tracked on the Virginia General Assembly website. Specifically, the Legislative Information System will show progress of bills as they move through the legislative process. Committees are really where most of the heavy lifting occurs. Witnesses are invited to come testify, and committees debate the merits of the bill. As an activist, it is important to know which legislators sit on which committees, and it is important to communicate opinions on specific pieces of legislation. Every communication with a legislator will get tracked and recorded, then reflected on when it is time to vote. The more constituents a legislator hears from, the more seriously they will take a bill. Activists can also make appointments to individually meet with the legislators, participate in “Lobby Days”, when specific groups descend on Richmond to demonstrate and meet with legislators, and share information on social media platforms.

Finally, when asked about Medicaid expansion Simon felt very positive. As a signature issue of outgoing Governor Terry McAuliffe, as well as a campaign promise of incoming Governor Dr. Ralph Northam, Simon believes that there will be a real opportunity to deliver healthcare to hundreds of thousands of Virginians. With hard work and compromise between the two parties, Del. Simon thinks that they will come to a “yes” in order to take advantage of the 6 million dollars a day that the commonwealth is giving up by not accepting the federal Medicaid expansion program.

Filed Under: Blogging, Political, TV Shows, Virginia, Your Need to Know Tagged With: Delegate Marcus B Simon, Indivisible, Marcus Simon, Medicaid Expansion, Network NoVA, Postcard4VA, Virginia, Virginia General Assembly

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Catherine S. Read
I believe in the power of community and the ability of one person to make a difference.

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