VCC Magazine Spring 2018

V I R G I N I A

Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E

INSIDE Mantle — page 4 Virginia’s Governor — page 7 House Speaker — page 8

Spring 2018

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C O N T E N T S VIRGINIA CAPITOL CONNECTIONS QUARTERLY MAGAZINE

Mantle page 4

Spring 2018

4 Mantle: Virginia Indian Tribute Dedication Introductory Remarks Governor’s Remarks Artistic Perspective

7 Virginia’s Governor: Life as a “laid back achiever”

8 For House Speaker, it’s a whole new ball game

9 Building a 21st Century Workforce

11 The Devastating 2017 Hurricane Season –  Never Too Early to Be Prepared

12 Ballot Standards

13 Gerrymandering and Population Changes in Virginia

Northam page 7

COX page 8

14 Reflections at the Passing of the Symbol of Desegregation of American Public Schools

Profiles

15 Legislative assistants

16 Small Steps towards Electoral Reform in Virginia

17 The Military Medics and Corpsmen Program: New Program–New Pathways

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18 The Photography of Wanda Judd

21 Virginia Legislative Staff

HEALY

MORAN

29 “Uni means one and so much more…”

page 9

Cabinet Voices

30 Preparing Students for the Road Ahead

31 Girl Scouts Inspired by Virginia Leaders

32 In Memoriam

Harry Blevins Bob Purkey

Virginia Legislative

On The Web www.vccqm.org

34 Association and Business Directory

Staff page 21

Cover Photo: Taken by Frances Bailey Broaddus-Crutchfield from the Bell Tower.

Volume 24 Number 2 • Student Editor –Salinna Lor • Assistant Editors –Hayley Allison, Kristen Bailey-Hardy • Publisher –David Bailey • Art Director –John Sours • School Distribution – Kristen Bailey-Hardy • Advertising – Ads@CapitolSquare.com • Printer –Wordsprint • Virginia Capitol Connections Quarterly Magazine (ISSN 1076-4577) is published by: Virginia Capitol Connections • 1108 East Main Street • Suite 1200 • Richmond, Virginia 23219 • (804) 643-5554 • Copyright 2017, Virginia Capitol Connections, Inc. All rights reserved. The views expressed in the articles of Virginia Capitol Connections Quarterly Magazine , a non-partisan publication, are not necessarily those of the editors or publisher.

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Mantle: Virginia Indian Tribute Dedication

Introductory remarks

By G. Paul Nardo

It is so apt that we gather here in Capitol Square—in many ways the very heart of our Commonwealth’s diverse, vibrant and engaging civic life—to show our respect, gratitude and abiding admiration for native peoples who have lived in this land we know as Virginia for thousands of years. The Virginia Indian Commemorative Commission as well as the Virginia Capitol Foundation have cultivated—and inspired—support for this historic tribute from across the Commonwealth. As the first monument to honor the important heritage and history of the Virginia Tribal Communities, Mantle’s impact is far greater than its footprint alone, beautiful as it is, here on Capitol Square. Indeed, we

look forward to engaging students, visitors and communities with interesting educational programming connected to this tribute. We are confident Mantle will function as both a testament and a teaching tool—a vibrant resource which celebrates and examines the cultures of Virginia Indians. G. Paul Nardo is House Clerk and Master of Ceremonies.

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Thank you for being here today to help celebrate the life, achievements and legacy ofAmerican Indians in the Commonwealth. I would like to recognize the Chiefs and other officials from Virginia’s 11 state-recognized Indian tribes who are with us today. I’d also like to recognize members of the Virginia Indian Commemoration Commission for their leadership and the Virginia Capitol Foundation for helping to raise the private funds to make this monument possible. Delegate Chris Peace deserves a special thank you. It was Delegate Peace who led the charge in 2009 to establish a commission to recommend an appropriate monument to Virginia’s Indian tribes on Capitol Square. Governor Tim Kaine signed an executive order establishing the commission pursuant to Delegate Peace’s resolution, and the commission has worked toward the goal ever since…. Governor Northam’s Remarks

This site was dedicated in April of 2013. Last summer, we broke ground on the monument, and today we are here to celebrate the completion of the first monument on Capitol Square in a decade, when the Civil Rights Memorial was completed. The other monuments you find scattered around Capitol Square pay tribute to the enduring people and principles of our democracy and the grand history of Virginia born of English settlers along the shores of Jamestown. But the history of this land goes back thousands of years before those settlers stepped ashore, and for the first time we will recognize the courage and resilience of Virginia’s Indians on the same sacred ground where we honor Thomas Jefferson and others who have made this Commonwealth what it is today. As we know too well inVirginia, our history isn’t always pleasant. This Commonwealth wasn’t always kind to its indigenous people, just as it wasn’t always kind to those of other races and creeds.

Continued on next page

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Dedicating Mantle

Artistic Perspective By Alan Michelson Four hundred years ago, when this land was called Tsenacommacah, ancestors of the present Virginia tribes hunted for whitetail deer, hunted them with bows they shaped from local trees, maybe hickory or mulberry, trees they more or less cultivated for their nuts and fruit, using tools they made from stone, with points they chipped from quartz. They dressed and skinned the deer, sewed together the hides with sinew using awls made from bone, and embroidered them with tens of thousands of small white snail shells. They embroidered them in patterns, 34 disks sewn in spiral configurations and three figures, a person flanked by two animals. It was a large object, nearly eight feet by five and a half, and may have been one of Powhatan’s gifts to King James in 1608, which, we are told, also included a pair of his old moccasins. Some historians believe the 34 disks represent the nations of the Powhatan Confederacy, so in that sense the object was a map or a landscape. Virginia’s indigenous people survived the loss of their land and their rights. Of the more than 30 tribes in Chief Powhatan’s confederacy, only eight still exist. They survived the devastating Virginia Racial Integrity Act of the 1920s, which virtually erased their identities from official records for four decades by requiring birth and marriage certificates to be recorded as white or nonwhite in an attempt to prevent interracial relationships. Those actions made it difficult for many of the tribes to gain federal recognition, which formally recognizes their place in American history and makes federal funding available for housing, education and medical care, among other benefits. Virginia granted legislative recognition to the 11 tribes here today. It took nearly 20 years of fighting for six of those tribes to gain federal recognition, which happened earlier this year, bringing to seven the number of federally recognized Virginia tribes. Continued from previous page

See Artistic Perspective , continued on page 6 This object, like many powerful objects made by Indian people, ended up in a museum, the first university museum in the world, the Ashmolean at Oxford, catalogued as follows in 1656: Powhatan, King of Virginia’s habit all embroidered with shells, or Roanoke. Indigenous people’s knowledge is place-based. The tribal ancestors who crafted Powhatan’s Mantle had a very different knowledge set and worldview from the people who sailed here from England, who called it Virginia in memory of their childless queen, heir to an imperious king and a mother who was beheaded. Those Indian ancestors couldn’t have imagined the implications of those first ships, the guns and epidemics, the land hunger and dispossession, the burned villages and cornfields, the reduction and suffering of their peoples over many generations. They couldn’t have imagined such catastrophic losses nor their ongoing legacies. We celebrate that long overdue acknowledgment. My hope is that progress and the completion of this monument will begin our journey toward healing the wounds caused to those whose hospitality kept those English settlers alive in 1607. It’s important to note that we’re not simply recognizing the legacy of the native Virginians of our past. This monument signifies the contributions Virginia’s Indian tribes make every day through agriculture, teaching, military and civic service, the arts and other areas. We also celebrate the accomplishments of future generations who trace their ancestors to Virginia’s native tribes. Similarly, this monument will educate and inspire current and future generations of visitors to Capitol Square. As Mrs. Frances Broaddus-Crutchfield said in her beautiful poem: “Much work is left to be done. Mantle is a start.” Portion of Governor's remarks.

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Artistic Perspective from page 5

But I’d like to think that had they been able to see into the future, that they would have been in favor of a permanent tribute on the grounds of the Capitol honoring them and their descendants, a monument based on an object they created, on those small spirals that may have represented them then and the large one that represents them now. The spiral, symbolic to many cultures, is also one of nature’s fundamental forms, present not only in shells like the Nautilus but also in the growth pattern of plants and trees. By mapping the spiral onto the site, I wanted my design to embody not only the landscape past and present but the sacred harmonies underpinning and uniting all life here on Turtle Island. In contemplating a title for it, the word “mantle” seemed to fit, as besides meaning a cloak, it has other proper connotations. In geology, “mantle” is a layer of the earth, the mostly solid one between core and crust; in mollusks, the layer that forms, maintains and repairs the shell; and in leadership, mantle is an important role or responsibility that passes from one person to another. I’d like to think that the ancestors may have understood Mantle’s shape and scale, its orientation to the land and solid presence on this hill, its welcoming seating and path of local river stone and native plants, the miniature falls at its center, inscribed with the names of the rivers they paddled and tribes they knew. And I hope that they, and their descendants, including tribal members gathered here today, might excuse a northern Mohawk for whatever failings it may have, for whatever of import I may have unintentionally missed.  Rather than a statue or a static monument to be venerated, I designed Mantle to be an experience, one with which you would

engage not only visually but physically—that would, by virtue of your own movement, transport you from the grid into the American Indian circle. In our cultures, circles are everywhere, in the sun, the moon, in our spiral sense of time—from which you can look backward towards the past and forward to the future—and in our seasonal cycles and the ceremonies that attend them, in our designs, in the drum, and in our dance, our motion. . . . Angelo Baca, a talented young Navajo-Hopi filmmaker I recently heard speak at Columbia, in concluding his talk, said to the non- Indians in the audience: Do better than your ancestors did. I’m of the mind that the worst that happened in our shared history wasn’t inevitable and that things can change and improve. Mantle is a reality, as is federal recognition of six more Virginia Indian tribes, and so I close on a note of gratitude and celebration—of new beginnings. Following a competition that attracted artists from across the country, Alan Michelson’s design, Mantle , was chosen to represent the Virginia Indian Tribes, past and present. Michelson, a Mohawk member of Six nations of the Grand River, is a New York-based, Mohawk installation artist whose award-winning work addresses North American geography, history, and identity in multilayered, multimedia installations. Michelson studied at Columbia University and earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Michelson is an artist, lecturer, and writer, and his work is featured in exhibitions around the world, and in permanent collections in Canada and the United States.

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Blessing by Chief Emeritus Ken Adams, Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe.

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Virginia's Governor: Life as a “laid back achiever” By Bonnie Atwood “Hey, I have a pair of shoes just

like that,” said The Honorable Ralph S. Northam, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This reporter looked down at her black Skechers from Shoe Carnival. She had to admit they’re comfortable. But what impressed her most was the Governor’s approachability. That’s not the conversation that one expects to start with when interviewing the top man in state government. Sitting in his spacious office in the

Patrick Henry Building, we caught up on the Washington Nationals, the Flying Squirrels, our families, my migraines, mutual friends, our rescue dogs, and other “minor league” subjects. He was so relaxed, it was hard to believe that he had been scurrying between proclamations, radio and TV interviews, hosting V.I.P.’s, making formal announcements and remarks, and visiting sites of importance in Virginia. When does he sleep? When we tossed out the phrase “laid back overachiever,” he said that was not too far off the mark. That description was probably set during his growing up years. He started out on a small farm on the Eastern Shore, his rural roots were far away from the proverbial “rat race.” But his family was very well educated and accomplished. His father went to school at University of Virginia, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and then became a lawyer and a judge. His mother was a “city girl” from Washington, D.C., whose father was a surgeon there. Northam’s years as a student at Onancock Public Schools gave him time to think: law or heath care? Health care won the day. Northam said he would have liked to be a jet pilot, but he could not pass the vision test. But it all turned out beautifully. From both sides of his family, he had received the message that it is noble to go into public service; that helping others is the highest calling. He attended Virginia Military Academy and majored in medicine. Then on to Eastern Virginia Medical School, where he chose a three-year program over a four- year program. He chose child neurology as his specialty. His early work was done at two esteemed hospitals: Walter Reed and Johns Hopkins. He said he did not do surgery, but his job sounds just as stressful: he was an operating room monitor. Northam’s wife, Pam, is similarly dedicated to helping children. By training she is a pediatric occupational therapist. Her “cause,” as First Ladies tend to follow, is early childhood education, said Northam. She wants to see that every child in Virginia has a crack at early education. And she is “passionate about the environment.” Mrs. Northam also plans to join Dorothy McAuliffe in her crusade for better nutrition. The Northam children, Wes, 29, and Aubrey, 27, have done well, too. Wes is a neurosurgeon; Aubrey is a web designer. Perhaps the most touching chapter of the Governor’s biography is his work with EDMARC Hospice for Children. “It gives you perspective,” he said. When you think you’ve had a rough day, you remember the children with terminal illnesses. He cared for as many as 70 at a time. But even with the sadness, he said, “it can be rewarding.” Northam said his greatest challenge as Governor is to address the opioid epidemic. He plans to visit schools to talk about it. His greatest surprise, or disappointment as Governor? No longer being able to hop in his car and dash over to Home Depot for tools and parts. He said that giving up his privacy and flexibility has been “an adjustment.”

99 When his term as Governor ends, he says he will go back to health care, tending patients or perhaps teaching. As a doctor, he said, you diagnose, you figure out a treatment, and you implement it. But as Governor, there are complications. You figure out a solution, and then you have to deal with 140 legislators and their constituents. We’ve already established that this high-energy governor runs without sleep. Two of his hobbies are water sports and antique cars. He loves to steer his kayak, fish, and sail. Cars are his other spare time passion. He restored a 1953 Oldsmobile in high school. Then he restored two Corvettes. This reporter asked, “Why do I know they were red?” Bonnie Atwood, a freelance writer with Tall Poppies Freelance Writing LLC, is the winner of 30 national and state writing awards, and represents legislative clients with David Bailey Asso- ciates. She can be reached at BonAtwood@verizon.net . All rights reserved by Bonnie Atwood. V

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believes in the tenets of the party. While he cares deeply about health and safety and other concerns, he said, he leans toward work ethic, less government, and believing that people can make sound decisions for themselves. Another major influence in his life has been his faith. He is active at The Heights Baptist Church. He admires Speaker Howell’s tradition of Wednesday Bible Study, an early morning, bipartisan meeting open to the Capitol Square community. He said that there are other Bible study groups, as well.

For House Speaker, it's a whole new ball game By Bonnie Atwood For the Honorable M. Kirkland (“Kirk”) Cox, Virginia General Assembly Session 2018 was a whole new ball game. Cox has just finished his first year in the prestigious and powerful role as “Speaker of the House.” To reach the level of “Mr. Speaker,” a legislator has to have spent years earning the respect of his colleagues. The title is not based on seniority, although Cox has risen to second in seniority in the House. Topped in seniority only by Delegate Ken Plum, Cox has been a state legislator since 1990. He represents Colonial Heights and part of Chesterfield County. The speaker must be elected by the body, and generally is of the majority party, which in this case is Republican. Cox, like other speakers before him, demonstrated his ability in House Leadership. He seems to have taken to the challenging new role gracefully. “I think I was well prepared,” said Cox, praising former Speaker, Bill Howell, for his assistance. Cox said some of the keys to success are that he has forged a good relationship with the Democratic Governor Ralph Northam, and that he is not averse to compromise when necessary. The role of Speaker is one that carries much more than the formality of conducting House sessions. The Speaker, said Cox, can drive policy out. This past year he took the leading role in several issues: teacher shortages, military spouses, and dual enrollment, for example. The speaker is still considered a legislator, so he pushes bills that he thinks benefit the Commonwealth. A Speaker can also launch initiatives, such as Cox’s “Select Committee on School Safety,” which he formed in March. It is tasked with reviewing state and local policies on school safety and making recommendations for consideration by the General Assembly during the 2019 Session. Cox grew up in the district he now represents, in a family committed to teaching. His mother was a high school teacher, giving instruction in business, typing and shorthand. His father was an accountant. His older brother is now superintendent of Colonial Heights Public Schools, and he himself was a government and history teacher for 30 years, in the Petersburg and Chesterfield area. Cox, 60, retired in 2012. Cox graduated college at James Madison. His wife Julie was in Phi Beta Kappa and earned her degree fromWilliam and Mary. They met while in college when they were both waiting tables at the Swift Creek Mill dinner theater. Julie now works as a crisis counselor. The Speaker’s interest in electoral politics is not hard to trace. In high school, he ran for vice president and treasurer for his Student Government Association. Meanwhile, his other passion was for sports. “I always loved sports,” he said. While teaching, he coached basketball and baseball. An early dream was to play with the Yankees as a shortstop. In 1984, Cox played shortstop on a team that won the U.S. Specialty Sports Association Championship. Now, he and his wife keep up with the sports interests of their four sons: Layne works in lifeguard service, Carter is at JMU, Blake attends Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, and Cameron is enrolled at University of Virginia. Cox’s interest in politics inspired him to go for “a firsthand experience on how government works.” And “firsthand,” it was. After working on some campaigns, he became the governor’s driver in 1985. The driver, he explained, is one of the closest assistants to the governor. That experience served him well. He “fell in love with state politics,” and he learned the three basics of elections: policy, strategy, and polling. It was about that time that he and Julie got married and their wedding was packed with political V.I.P.’s. Committing to the Republican Party was a natural choice for Cox. He said that he considers his view to be conservative, and he

The world is changing fast. Cox acknowledges that the career of teaching is more “complex” than it used to be. As for advice for young people who would choose a political career, or otherwise, he has one word: “Participate.” Cox still sees our government as “a shining city on a hill” and “a great experiment.” The subjects he taught—government and history—he said he sees as the most important subjects that students can learn. The Speaker believes the experiment can work—if people participate. V

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Building a 21st Century Workforce By Megan Healy A lot has changed since our nation’s

founding, but Virginia’s economic vitality has been a constant. Through countless cycles and disruptions, our Commonwealth has continued to prosper because of sustained, strategic investments in our greatest asset: our people. Never before has our collective commitment to workforce development been as important as it is today. The Federal Department of Labor estimates that 65% of current students will one day work in jobs that

hen it comes to events no one throws a party like David Napier.

have yet to be created. Even existing fields will require a level of technical proficiency and creative thinking unimaginable a mere generation ago. As Governor Northam is fond of saying, the jobs of tomorrow aren’t blue-collar or white collar—they’re new collar. As a workforce development system, we need to be attuned to the evolving nature of work. Across the Commonwealth, companies rely on our programs to provide the steady stream of skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. For the sake of both employers and employees, public and private partners need to work together more closely to create an effective talent pipeline. Increased business engagement will ensure that state-sponsored training aligns to real career opportunities in local communities. By bringing employers to the table when curriculums are being developed, we can build a demand-driven workforce development system that works for everyVirginian and the economy as a whole. The business community can also support the workforce development system by offering opportunities for work-based learning. Whether delivered through internships, apprenticeships, or on-the-job training, structured workplace experiences impart essential soft skills and allow for meaningful career exploration. As we develop closer relationships with the Commonwealth’s employers, we must also cultivate productive partnerships among publicly funded programs. Our residents’ needs are too great—and our resources too limited—for Virginia’s workforce development programs to operate in isolation. Nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions need to work together to ensure that our customers receive the full spectrumof services they need to be successful. In support of that goal,Virginia has unveiled a new, unified brand for our workforce development system. The shared Virginia Career Works logo will send a clear signal to our customers that the workforce system exists for one reason: to help them on their path to gainful employment. Part of that is showing people that a path exists. The Commonwealth must establish clear connections from students’ classroom experiences to good jobs with family-sustaining wages. In the modern economy, it’s no longer enough for our graduates to simply be scholars; they need to be scholars with the skills to pay their bills. The Northam administration’s focus on in-demand skills isn’t just about philosophical preference; it’s about economic fact. As a licensed pediatric neurosurgeon, the governor is adamant that data should drive decision making. His cabinet includes another medical doctor, a PhD-holding organic chemist, a trained marine scientist, and a former state forester. Even my own career began as a biology professor at Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, so when we talk about the importance of evidence-based governance, we really mean it. That’s why my team is studying which interventions—or combination of interventions—really help our customers. George Washington called our government the great experiment; it’s high time we started measuring the results. See Building a 21st Century Workforce , continued on page 11

Known throughout Central Virginia for his wonderful food and hospitality, David is delighted to have opened his catering facility in the heart of Shockoe Bottom. No event is too small or large. Delicious Box Lunches delivered. O ne of Richmond’s most elegant dining rooms is now exclusively available for your private parties and special events. Our award winning chefs produce an array of dishes from steaks and seafood to vegetarian and international masterpieces that will satisfy the most discriminating palate. The Old City Bar is the perfect place to celebrate.

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E ach year, Virginia hospitals provide more than $1 Billion in uncompensated care to help the needy and to satisfy unfunded mandates from Washington, all while health care funding is being cut. And each day, Virginia hospitals support our economy and the health needs of countless patients. Hospitals provide thousands of good jobs and great care in our communities, no matter the time, day, or circumstance, treating all people in need. Great Care is Good for Virginia

U ncompensated care ends up costing everyone, including providers such as hospitals and doctors, insurance companies, businesses, taxpayers, and the general public. It is a growing challenge for our health care delivery system. But there is a solution: drawing down federal funds to help the uninsured get coverage. It is a solution supported by most Virginia voters — 83 percent . Support exists among Republicans and Democrats, from Fairfax to Bristol and places in between.

Visit www.ISupportVirginiaHospitals.com to learn more and get involved.

The Devastating 2017 Hurricane Season Reminds Virginians that It’s Never Too Early to Be Prepared By Brian Moran and Jeff Stern

Secretary Megan Healy serves on Governor Northam’s Cabinet as his Chief Workforce Development Advisor. As the Commonwealth’s highest ranking workforce officer, she oversees a range of regional, state, and federal programs that connect Virginians to the skills, training, and opportunities they need to thrive in the 21st century economy . Hurricane season reminds all Virginia’s private citizens, government leaders and businesses of the dire importance to Get an Emergency Kit, Make a Plan, and Stay Informed about emerging storm threats. Brian Moran, Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and Jeff Stern, VDEM State Coordinator. V of these deadly weather systems. We encourage citizens across the Commonwealth to recognize that storm impacts can reach from Southwest Virginia to the National Capitol Region, and from the Shenandoah Valley to the Eastern Shore. All Virginians must prepare for possible hurricane damage and threats. VDEM has published a newVirginia Hurricane Guide and corresponding digital information available at www.vaemergency.gov and in locations throughout Coastal Virginia. Tropical weather systems and hurricanes are a true threat to the safety and property of all Virginians. And these storms are very unpredictable. Experts agree 2018 will continue the busy hurricane pattern we have had in recent years, and Virginia has a history of experiencing hurricane damage. The list of recent hurricane impacts in Virginia is long. • 2016’s Hurricane Matthew defied hurricane models and left a trail of power outages, inland and coastal flooding and disrupted lives, particularly in Virginia Beach where residents are still cleaning up the damage. • Flooding associated with Hurricane Camille killed more than 100 Virginians in one night in 1969. • 2002’s Hurricane Isabel—one of the costliest disasters inVirginia’s history—was a tropical storm when it entered Virginia causing damage to 75 percent of the state. • In August 2011, Hurricane Irene left millions of dollars in property damage in Central and Coastal Virginia and caused the second- highest level of power outages in Virginia history, affecting about 2.5 million people. • In September 2011, flash flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee displaced hundreds of residents from destroyed and heavily damaged homes and caused widespread damage to public property. How You Can Prepare It’s important to know what you might need to do before, during and after a storm to protect yourself and your loved ones, your business and your community. Know your risk for inland or coastal flooding, and take steps to mitigate that risk. Obtain flood insurance, which takes 30 days to become effective. Less than 15 percent of the homes damaged by Matthew were covered by flood insurance. FEMA does not provide funding to repair homes that flooded but didn’t have insurance. Visit www.floodsmart.gov . Know your hurricane evacuation zone for both your home and your workplace by visiting www.KnowYourZoneVA.org . Have a plan that includes decisions on whether, how and where to evacuate, or how to safely shelter in place.

Virtually universal power outages. Nearly 80 percent of housing stock destroyed. Businesses and tourism attractions leveled. Hospitals and government facilities inoperable. And millions looking to government leaders for immediate lifesaving aid. While this is the nightmare scenario of many emergency managers and elected officials, in 2017 this was the reality for leaders in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Florida and Texas when multiple hurricanes pounded their region.

Once complete, our research will yield actionable insight not just into programs, but into the people who participate in them. By identifying patterns in the data, we can more effectively tailor services to meet the needs of individuals, communities, and the economy as a whole. Better information will objectively prove what we all know—that workforce development programs change lives when communities work together. If we can do that, we can equip everyVirginian with the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century. Later in May, Virginia will also kick off public outreach plans to encourage businesses and citizens to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season. In the Eastern Shore, Hampton Roads, Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck, 23 localities and partnering state agencies including the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Virginia Department of Transportation and State Police will conduct a public outreach campaign called KnowYour Zone. Launched last year along with Virginia’s new tiered evacuation plan in these localities, KnowYour Zone is an advertising and public information effort to get citizens to look up their street address at www.KnowYourZoneVA.org to find out if they are located in one of four evacuation zones—A, B, C, or D. Once citizens Know Your Zone, emergency managers can communicate directly with those citizens most at risk of impacts from storm damage including flooding, storm surge and wind impacts caused by particular storm trajectories, intensity and speeds. To learn more about these hurricane zones, visit www.KnowYourZoneVA.org . Prepare Yourself Government alone cannot protect Virginians from the impacts Building a 21st Century Workforce from page 9 While Virginia has not experienced a direct hit from a major hurricane in generations, it is not a question of if, but when, the Commonwealth will face devastation akin to these very real nightmare scenarios. For that reason, Virginia has already begun preparations for the 2018 hurricane season which runs from June 1-November 30. Practice Makes Perfect Virginia will join federal agencies including FEMA, the National Guard, US military, localities and many public- and private-sector partners in the 2018 National Level Exercise May 7-11. This massive coordinated exercise will test the ability of local, state and federal agencies to work together to respond to a major category 4 hurricane that levels a direct hit on Hampton Roads and carves a path of devastation up the Chesapeake Bay into Maryland, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania and beyond. Know Where You Are So You Know Where to Go

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Ballot Standards By Chris Piper In September 2017, the Department of Elections began a project to redesign and update the Ballot Standards (last updated in 2014) for ballots used in all elections taking place in the Commonwealth. On March 23, 2018 the State of Board Elections adopted these revised ballot standards for all official ballots beginning with the November 2018 general election. The Ballot Standards are meant to give general registrars the tools and knowledge they need to make the best ballot for their locality’s voters. The purpose of redesigning these standards was to increase usability for voters and to promote uniformity in the design of ballots. This type of uniformity can ensure that major elements of a ballot will be the same in all localities which can increase familiarity for the voter.

The revised standards are a culmination of a collaborative process undertaken by the Department of Elections, local election officials, and vendors. The Center for Civic Design, a nationally recognized expert in the area of ballot design, facilitated this collaborative process and provided guidance, content from research and best practices, and redesign of the standards document for improved usability. Revisions to the Ballot Standards focused on three areas: increased clarity, guidance on best practice designs, and addressing new election law requirements. Local election officials and vendors requested explicit guidance and recommendations regarding the overall format and design of ballots. For issues of clarity, new language and visual examples were provided. For example, visual

examples show suggested ballot layout style, placement and wording for voting instructions, and placement of the legally required locality seal. A highlight of the revised standards is the clarification of when items are required by the law, the State Board, or when items are suggested best practices (shown at left). The purpose of designating by color allows for general registrars to easily differentiate requirements and other items which can be undertaken at their discretion.

Best practices came from research commissioned by the federal Election Assistance Commission and carried out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology about how voters interact with ballots. Best practices include: at least 12-point font for all writing not already specified in law, content for voter instructions, and construction of ballot headers (shown below).

The Department hopes the revised Ballot Standards will mitigate voter mistakes in the voting booth. Every vote matters and voters must be given the information to ensure their vote can easily be counted. Christopher E. "Chris" Piper, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Elections. V

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Gerrymandering and Population Changes in Virginia By Stephen J. Farnsworth and Stephen Hanna

Virginia is now two-thirds of the way to its next round of redistricting and recent changes in the Commonwealth’s population and voting patterns will make it very difficult for Republicans to draw lines that will allow them to retain their legislative majorities after the 2020 Census. Thanks to aggressive and highly effective line drawing by Republican map experts after the 2010 Census, the current House of Delegate district borders gave the GOP 66-34 seat advantage as recently as last fall. Antipathy with Trump and a revived Democratic Party cut the Republican margin to 51-49 after last November’s elections. Even worse news for the GOP comes

gains, with Northern Virginia far outstripping the rest of the state. The taller the jurisdiction, the greater the population gain. Areas in dark blue mark larger increases in Democratic vote share when comparing the 2013 and 2017 gubernatorial elections, while light blue symbolizes smaller gains for the party. Areas where Republicans gained a greater percentage of the vote in 2017 than in 2013 are colored dark red for larger gains and light red for smaller gains, but the flatness of these red counties demonstrate little population growth—and in some cases a net loss of residents since 2010. Put simply, flat areas will lose seats and tall areas will gain seats in the next round of redistricting. The dark red counties of southwest Virginia, where Republicans have registered the strongest gains in recent elections, are likely to lose the most. Other populous areas also seem likely to gain influence in 2021. If current population trends continue, greater Richmond, including the city and neighboring Chesterfield and Henrico counties, will end up with an additional House seat in 2021 (or at least most of an additional seat). Northam also won all three of these jurisdictions last year. Hampton Roads is in line for at least half of a new House district in the next census, with relatively large population gains inVirginia Beach and Chesapeake. Northam won both of these cities last year. One more reason that the lines drawn in 2021 will not look like those 2011: Democrats now control the governor’s mansion. Even if the current narrow Republican majorities in both chambers survive the 2019 elections and get to draw the next set of legislative maps, Gov. Ralph Northam can veto any Republican plan that is not acceptable to Democrats. So what are Republicans to do? The answer is simple: adjust to a changing Commonwealth by changing one’s message. The party will soon suffer being in the legislative minority if it cannot do better in the suburbs. In today’s Virginia—and even more so in tomorrow’s Commonwealth—economic, traffic and education concerns are likely to fare far better than bashing immigrants, focusing on abortion and emphasizing the protection of Confederate statues. The willingness of many Republicans to consider a Medicaid expansion plan this spring suggests some of the party recognize the party needs to shift its policy emphasis. Stephen J. Farnsworth is professor of political science at the University of MaryWashington, where he directs the Center for Leadership and Media Studies. Stephen Hanna is professor of geography at UMW.

Farnsworth

via the US Census population estimates for Virginia, which shows large gains in and around major cities and little population growth in rural areas. Between 2010 and 2016, the federal government estimates net population gains of more than 51,000 people in Fairfax County, more than 50,000 in Loudoun County and more than 40,000 in Prince William County. These are no longer “swing” counties: Gov. Ralph Northam (D) carried all three last November by double-digit margins. With the net population gains in Arlington County and Alexandria City, which are even more supportive of the Democratic Party than those three counties, this increasingly Democratic part of the state has already seen enough population growth to lead to two additional House of Delegate seats when the lines are next drawn in 2021. These population gains will generate another Senate seat in Northern Virginia delegation as well after the next Census. Right now, the GOP holds a 21-19 margin in the upper chamber, with the next elections in 2019. Of course, if the last four years of this decade present population changes comparable to 2010-2016, NOVA may end up with three new delegates in 2021—as well as gaining the lion’s share of a second additional Senate district. The map below illustrates this changing Virginia. The height of each county or independent city represents the size of the population hanna

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Virginia Population Change and Voting Trends Virginia Population Change and Voting Trends

Faifax County (+51,161) Prince William County (+41,628) Faifax County (+51,161) Prince William County (+41,628)

Population Change 2010-2016 Population Change 2010-2016

Loudoun County (+50,124) Loudoun County (+50,124)

Change in Support for Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates 2013 - 2017 Change in Support for Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates 2013 - 2017

+50,000 people +50, 00 people

5% to 7.35% increase 0% to 4.99% increase 0% to 4.99% decrease 5% to 9.99% decrease 10% to 12.88% decrease 5% to 7.35% increase 0% to 4.99% increase 0% to 4.99% decrease 5% to 9.99% decrease 10% to 12.88% decrease

Chester eld County (+15,603) Chester eld County (+15,603)

+25,000 people +25,000 people

0 people 0 people

Virginia Beach (+11,739) Virginia Beach (+11,739)

Henry County (-1,942) Henry County (-1,942)

Roanoke City (+2,297) Roanoke City (+2,297)

Tazwell County (-1,711) Tazwell County (-1,711)

Wise County (-1,378) Wise County (-1,378)

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Reflections at the Passing of the Symbol of Desegregation of American Public Schools By Phil Wishon

Are you caring for a loved one ? Do you know someone who needs a lift ?

Some six decades ago—sixty-four years ago (May 17, 1954), to be exact—the United StatesSupremeCourt ruled in Brownv. Boardof Education that racially segregated schools were “inherently unequal” and that desegregation should proceed “with all deliberate speed.” One out of a collection of lawsuits around which arguments by the NAACP before the U.S. Supreme Court were based involved a suit filed in 1951 by Oliver Brown of Topeka, Kansas against the city school board on behalf of his eight-year-old daughter Linda Brown. Mr. Brown fought school board sanctions that compelled his daughter to negotiate Topeka’s busy railroad yards to catch the bus for a Black

of our communities educational practice is characterized by the inequitable

impact that it has had and that it continues to have on millions of poor, underprivileged, and disaffected youngAmericans. Poorly-budgeted, understaffed schools serving a high percentage of minority children from low-income families continue to struggle with inadequate supplies and overcrowded, substandard facilities, in their attempts to offer effective, high quality educational experiences. Nearly two decades into the twenty-first century, and sixty-four years after Brown , the most significant

school twenty-one blocks away. He wanted Linda to have the right to attend the White school only five blocks from their home. Reading themomentous opinion for a unanimous court, Chief Justice Earl Warren remarked that in the field of public education the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place, and that segregation in public schools deprived children of “the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Most Americans who followed the news of the

domestic drama of our time—the struggle for social justice and civil rights for minorities, for women, for English language learners, and for those from diverse cultural backgrounds — continues to play out, giving us more reason to pause rather than to celebrate. Perhaps the most important message of Brown is that who we are and what we value most deeply are at least as important as what we know . Throughout the history of higher education in the Commonwealth, educator

“Bonnie treats those memories as sacred treasures and offers them up to the reader as jewels of insight.” Gail Kent My Journey Through Eldercare is an inspirational memoir. Available on Amazon after Mother’s Day. This book is the essential gift for you or someone who needs a fresh look at family caregiving.

Linda Brown – Topeka, Kansas

1954 court decision—and the social instability that followed—recall primarily a singularly dramatic remedy that the court imposed on public school segregation practices: school busing, and the unrest that forced busing provoked in communities nationwide. In cities throughout America—Cleveland, Little Rock, Denver, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Richmond, Boston—outrage over efforts to force integration of public schools shook American socio-political sensibilities to their core. Reverberations from the anger and upheaval that was broadly expressed in the wake of efforts undertaken to integrate public schools are widely felt to this day, and they continue to find disorienting expression within many communities throughout America. Sadly, inequities in educational experience and opportunity, discrimination in the work place, and marginalization of the poor remain with us. Education in America today is not yet the bastion of social justice and human enlightenment for all students that many hoped for and dreamed it would be. In many

preparation programs, faculties, candidates, and alums have affirmed the belief that it is our obligation—our privilege even—to imagine societies the world over that are less oppressive and less unjust and to take whatever action we can to make them more humane. Faculty members in educator preparation programs in Virginia take pride in imparting to our candidates the belief that schools must prepare children and youth for a civic life in which they will have to live and work with fellow citizens of very different views to develop policies and institutions that can advance shared goals of peace, prosperity, and democratic deliberation. Themoral challengewhichguides thework of Virginia’s educator preparation programs has been and shall ever be to envision schooling as a compassionate concept by infusing conscience into the curriculum—promoting social justice and advancing education as a civil and public-spirited endeavor. Education for conscience—including denunciation of all dehumanizing aspects of human discourse—is

Bonnie Atwood is a writer with numerous state and national awards and a lobbyist who lives in Richmond, Va.

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Legislative assistants By Salinna Lor Legislative assistants, by definition are “legislative staffers who work for a legislator by monitoring pending legislation, conduction research, drafting legislation, giving advice and counsel, and making recommendations.” At the Virginia General Assembly, legislative assistants are your go-to point of contact for any issues you wish to present to your legislator. The process of becoming a legislative assistant varies with each legislator. Leanne

Legislative Assistant Emily Bruzzo, Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg (District 72)

a humanitarian imperative for all who care about our children and about the future of society. Ours is a cause that speaks across time and cultures, binding us to our ancestral colleagues who stepped forward in their moment in history and filled the breach that threatened the welfare of America’s youth. This is a cause that graces professional education and that confers dignity upon the exertions of members of the education “It’s the best advice I received, and the best advice I can give: If you know who you want to be an aide for, then you better do everything in your power to help their campaign. It’ll make you a better aide in the long run, and when you sit down to interview, like I did, you can look your potential boss in the eyes and say sincerely: “Look at my level of commitment. You can expect that and tenfold if you hire me as your aide. I know what you stand for; I talked about it for hours over the phones and at the doors,” Bruzzo said. “The best Continued from previous page Mlincsek, a legislative assistant for Delegate Will Morefield, found herself in her position after participating in Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)’s Capitol Semester Program, where students are placed with a legislator to intern with during session. Leanne’s time interning with Delegate Dave Albo in 2017 under his legislative aide got her really involved in the General Assembly process. After she graduated fromVCU, she was offered a legislative assistant position with Delegate Will Morefield. “My experience has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve gotten to know some fun and interesting people, and they’ve helped and taught me a lot. Working with Marty (Chief of Staff for Delegate Morefield) has been a lot of fun, and getting to know Delegate Morefield and all of the folks from southwest Virginia has been a pleasure,” Mlincsek said. Delegate Morefield’s chief-of-staff, Marty Hall, and Mlincsek’s direct supervisor, has worked in public service all of his life. He started out as a deputy, worked with different commonwealth attorney’s, worked in the U.S. Senate, and decided he wanted to continue his work by becoming a part of Delegate Morefield’s staff. “The best part about this job is working with people. It’s fun. It’s something different everyday. I like the legislative part. I’ve worked on a few campaigns, but I like the legislative part the most because I like helping people. And I want to prepare for my retirement,” Hall said. Emily Bruzzo, legislative assistant for Delegate Schuyler VanValkenburg, has also had a positive experience working in the General Assembly. “It’s an interesting thing, working toward becoming a legislative aide. Nine times out of ten, most LAs know their electeds in some capacity before they interview. In fact, sometimes after the campaign, it’s not even a question about who will be the aide, and there’s no formal interview at all,” Bruzzo said. Again, becoming a legislative assistant is a different process for almost everyone.

Chief of Staff Marty Hall, Delegate Will Morefield (District 3)

Session Aide Leanne Mlincsek, Delegate Will Morefield (District 3)

part of becoming an LA is the people. You get to meet all sorts of people. Whether it’s the folks who work in the Clerk’s office—my goodness, they are heroes, by the way—or constituents or other aides or lobbyists, this has been an exceedingly welcoming world where people have been nothing but generous and kind.” Salinna Lor is a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University studying public relations in the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture. She is the student editor of this magazine.

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In Service to Our Country Virginia Officials and their Military Service

View Online: vccqm.org

profession. One would hope also that it is a cause that would have uplifted and instilled pride in the heart of the symbol of the landmark Supreme Court desegregation case, Linda Brown, who passed away just a few weeks ago, on March 25, 2018. Virginia Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, the Association of Teacher Educators-Virginia and Dean, College of Education, James Madison University.

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