VCC Magazine Spring 2020

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 Women Step Up It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. Charles Dickens— A Tale of Two Cities

Winter 2020

Spring 2020

Tourism Works for Virginia. In 2018, the Virginia Domestic Tourism industry generated $26 billion in traveler spending, supported 234,000 work opportunities, generated $6.1 billion in salaries and wages, and provided $1.8 billion in state and local taxes. vatc.org

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

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Spring 2020

4 Mornings are very different now

WATTS

5 General Assembly Opens a Door for Today’s Economy

5 Virginia Needs an all-mail-in ballot plan for the November Election

FARNSWORTH

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6 Two Cheers for Electoral Reform in Virginia

8 Use the SMELL test to sniff out ‘fake news’

9 New Legislators Speak Up

10 Two Democratic Constants in a Sea of Historic Change

RUSH

12 Reflections of a Veteran Lobbyist

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13 My Rookie Year

14 Girl Scout Legislative Day

15 Virginia War Memorial Opens New Center

SOUTH

16 2020 Session Guests on This Week in Richmond

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19 Pandemic Prompts Tents

20 House and Senate Administrative Assistants

page 10 ALDERSON

21 2020 Session, Pocahontas and Capitol

22 Association and

On The Web www.vccqm.org

Business Directory

About the cover… Our cover was designed by Skylar Brement, a rising sophomore at the University of Virginia. She is majoring in Political Science and Environmental Science.

22 The First Citizen Award

Legislative Staff Directory in summer issue

Volume 26 Number 2 • Editor-in-Chief –Bonnie Atwood • Assistant Editor – Cierra Parks • Student Editors –Hannah King • Publisher –David Bailey • Art Director –John Sours School Distribution –schools@capitolsquare.com • 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 2020, 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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Mornings are very different now By Bonnie Atwood

In some ways, I like that. I can do things in the order that I choose. But then…I find myself paralyzed. What order? I don’t really want to do anything at all. Nothing is interesting anymore. Even reading, the mainstay of my life. I read the first lines over and over. I can’t focus. That was the realization that prompted me to call my family doctor. The full-time worry and fear. The constant thoughts of the sick and dying, the caregivers, the departed being deprived of the family funeral. That did it. I called my doctor and we had a teleconference. This was a trip up the learning curve for me, but it worked. He helped me to put this nightmare into perspective. I was having flashbacks of the worst moments of recent history: the Cuban missile crisis, the assassinations, Three-Mile Island, Love Canal, Chernobyl, the Peruvians trapped underground. With his help, I was able to stop the spiraling of despair. It takes a while for this to sink in. The last public gathering that I attended was a meeting of volunteer firefighters that David Bailey and I lobby for. “Are you sure you want to go?” asked David. “Because if you feel hesitant, you don’t have to go.” “Of course, I want to go!” I said confidently. I enjoy these meetings. These men do important work, and the church women serve a wonderful homecooked meal. I use the hand sanitizer. What was the problem? Within 24 hours, the magnitude of this pandemic hit me. There would be nomoremeetings, nomore parties, nomore lunch out, nomore museum visits. And no more school! No more political committees! No more personal visits to legislators! No more church services! The emotions hit

Mornings are very different now. As the sun peeks through my bedroom curtains, my first thought is “We’re in a pandemic.” I ask myself if it is real. It is. Then I talk to my deceased mother about it. “Mom, you’re never going to believe this: we’re in a pandemic.” I imagine the shocked look on her face. It is assumed that her generation talked more about the depression than the epidemic, but that been proven not to be the case.

She was eight years old when the Spanish flu epidemic hit the United States. Our family lost a lot of members, especially from my father’s side. I am told that when the epidemic ended, they had a family portrait taken, to memorialize those who were left. The lingering feeling was that you just never know. Maybe that’s why it was a taboo subject in our family. Will it be that way for our great grandchildren? I tell her more about it—more as a reminder to myself—as a reality check. Yes. This is true. I won’t be going out. I go out once a week for food and I wear a mask. I don’t go downtown to the sunny office from where we watch theVirginia Capitol and talk about all the comings and goings over there. I don’t stand at the visitors’ entrance to stalk a legislator to whom I desperately need to talk. That is the essence of what lobbyists do. Or did. We don’t know how things will work now. I get up and read the Richmond Times-Dispatch . I remember when all kinds of subjects led the front page. Now it’s the virus. The virus. The virus. When Kobe Bryant was killed, there was a big story about him, with a small story about the virus. No more. The virus leads. I want to read about some hot bills at the General Assembly. I find them on my computer, but rarely in the newspaper. My computer is, in many ways, my new world. I stopped watching the President’s press conferences. The interactions with the press were too disturbing. I always watch the Governor’s press conference. The numbers scare me, but Gov. Northam’s voice is calming. I “plan” my day. Plan is in quotes because the main quality of the plan is that there is no plan. Oh, sure there are things to do. My job, especially. Coffee, planning family meals (spaghetti again, because that’s all we have), paying bills (or at least looking at them and worrying), remembering that Crunch gym, were I get in free as a senior citizen, is closed and my body is feeling weak. Routines. But the dictated structure is gone.

hard. Anxiety, depression, and, yes, an occasional laugh. We don’t know how or when this will end. I don’t know if I or my family will get sick. All I know, is that I look forward to the day when I wake in the morning and say, “Mom, the pandemic is over.” Bonnie Atwood is editor of Virginia Capitol Connections Quarterly Magazine .

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Sunday, 9:30 AM – VPM (Richmond, Charlottesville & Harrisonburg) Sunday, 10 AM – Blue Ridge PBS 15.1 (Roanoke & Lynchburg) Tuesday, 5 PM – WHRO-World (Norfolk) Wednesday, 8:30 PM – Southwest VA PTV 15.2 (Roanoke & Lynchburg)

Thursday, 5:30 PM – WHRO-World (Norfolk) Check the schedules of additional stations: ARC TV (Southwest)

Norfolk’s Network , TV-48 Suffolk Network , TV-190

V I E W I N G S C H E D U L E

Weekly show information is on Facebook— THIS WEEK IN RICHMOND Past shows may be seen on vpm.org/watch/this-week-in-richmond

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General Assembly Opens a Door for Today's Economy By Delegate Vivian Watts In 1928, cities were given full tax

Virginia needs an all-mail-in- ballot plan for the November Election By Stephen J. Farnsworth

authority while counties were held to only taxing real estate—the measure of wealth in colonial times. Almost a century later, the 2020 General Assembly finally has opened the door for county governments to operate in today’s economy. Arguably, the real estate tax is the most regressive tax. It does not reflect the ability to pay for most residents on a fixed income that inevitably drops further and further behind the increasing value of their home. High real estate taxes worsen housing affordability, whether passed on in rent or paid directly. The lower the income, the greater the proportion of it that has to be spent on housing: Few with incomes above $50,000 pay more than 30% on housing, while the majority of those under $30,000 pay over 50%. Each of the taxes that cities have long had the authority to enact—without a referendum and without rate limits – are significantly more progressive than the real estate tax. These taxes tap discretionary spending and include non-residents. Now, county Boards of Supervisors will have the same authority to decide on broadening their revenue base to these sources of revenue in keeping with their local economy. However, the tax rates counties can enact are capped by the legislation: 40 cents a pack on cigarettes, 6% on meals, 10% on admissions, and requiring 3% of any hotel/motel tax rate be spent on tourism. The importance of governments having a broad base of revenue has been underscored by the coronavirus economic fallout, by the 2008 housing financing collapse, and by Virginia’s slow recovery from the resulting recession because of cuts in federal spending rippling through 30% of Virginia’s workforce. When there is a fall-off in one revenue source, others stop the freefall and basic government services can be delivered. Decades ago, cities were the center of commerce and their taxing authority reflected that. County residents coming into town to shop or work increased the need for services—and it was politically convenient to get tax revenue from non-residents. Now, hubs of commerce are increasingly found outside cities.Whether it is Tysons Corner mixed-use in Fairfax County (which was the 12th-largest employment center in the nation in 2008), suburban shopping malls, or fast food stops off our interstates, all represent the potential for real estate tax relief. Today, Virginia’s largest counties dwarf most cities. Of the 10 most populous jurisdictions only 4 are cities, while among the smallest, only 5 are counties. With population density, comes increased need for services. Since cities receive direct payments from the state to maintain their streets that are higher than the state spends on county road maintenance, the funding challenges of density are centered on mental health, social services, law enforcement, and meeting diverse educational needs. Adequately funding education is the top challenge. While all localities are helped by the state to fund K-12, the amount of help is set by a formula based on a theoretical ability to pay that is significantly unrelated to a county’s actual ability to tax. Equalizing city and county tax authority will address the inequity in 40% of ability to pay being measured by adjusted gross income. Although neither cities nor counties can tax income, counties won’t be barred from using more progressive taxes related to discretionary income, taking the pressure off real estate taxes. Counties now are home to 70% of Virginia’s population. These residents carry an unfair load from over-reliance on the real estate tax. The State has added to that burden since 2008 by balancing

The deeply chaotic process of voting in Wisconsin on April 7 demonstrated how NOT to conduct an election in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, warnings that should resonate in Richmond. Pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong with the process of voting in the Badger State. Government officials failed to send out requested absentee ballot promptly (which meant that many ballots could not be submitted by voters in time to be counted), election workers worried they might contract the virus stayed home and forced widespread closures of voting centers, and partisan legal wrangling in the courts kept the election process itself tentative until the last minute. After all this election eve mayhem, voters who were willing to risk their own health to cast a ballot in person faced extremely long lines in many communities, with wait times sometimes exceeding two hours. These entirely predictable process misfires in the midst of this pandemic undermined the legitimacy of elections, the central public process of democracy. Virginia is notWisconsin, of course. Even so, the Commonwealth should use the time between now and the November elections to create a system to ensure that voters here do not have the unappealing options faced by voters there. Virginians need to be able to cast a ballot on or before November 3 in a format that is both safe and legitimate, regardless of whether we are still battling the Covid-19 crisis or six months from now. Without a vaccine, which health experts say may be a year or more away, one cannot be certain the virus will be defeated by this fall. To state the obvious, Virginia already had shown signs of greater electoral maturity than Wisconsin. As the crisis intensified, Virginia officials declared that voters should use Covid-19 as excuse to obtain and cast a mail-in ballot for May local elections. During Virginia’s 2020 legislative session, lawmakers made it easier to vote, including the establishment of no-excuses-required early/absentee voting starting later this year. More needs to be done. Without further planning and budgeting over the spring and summer, Virginia election officials will be overwhelmed by any last-minute decision to convert to a universal vote by mail system. The abandonment of in-person voting this year may be necessary if health conditions this fall foreclose the opening of traditional polling stations. Ideally, Americans would have a national vote-by-mail infrastructure in place by November, but so far Washington officials have been divided over whether to plan for such a possibility. While the federal government recently authorized $400 million for voting improvements, that amount is far short of the estimated $2 billion cost of creating a national vote-by-mail system between now and November. President Trump recently criticized mail-in ballots as being at risk for fraud, even though he uses the mail-in voting process himself. its budget through relying more on local taxes and revenues for funding government services. It is time to allow counties to meet their funding challenges with options in tune with the economy of the 21st century. DelegateWatts is a Democrat representing part of Fairfax County. See Virginia needs an all-mail-in-ballot plan , continued on page 6

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Virginia stands on the verge of important electoral reform. In November, Virginians will be asked to vote on the following ballot question for a Constitutional Amendment that will radically transform the redistricting process. Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to establish a redistricting commission, consisting of eight members of the General Assembly and eight citizens of the Commonwealth, that is responsible for drawing the congressional and state legislative districts that will be subsequently voted on, but not changed by, the General Assembly and enacted without the Governor's involvement? A vote of “yes” will transfer power from the hands of elected officials to a hybrid commission comprised of citizens as well as members of the General Assembly. There is no question that this is a tremendous step towards improving the quality of elections in the Commonwealth. The members of the General Assembly passed the commission bill by measures of 83-15 in the House and 40-0 in the Senate. The proposed amendment is testament to our elected officials’ sincere interest in putting an end to partisan gerrymandering and removing the conflict of interest that exists when legislators control the process by which their districts are drawn. Of course, any plans created by the redistricting commission will be subject to approval by those same legislators. Nonetheless, our elected officials will still be limited to approving or disapproving a proposed plan in its entirety—no amendments. So, this is, indeed, a fantastic cause for celebration and a reason absolutely to vote “yes” on the ballot in November. It is a tremendous step towards better elections and better democracy in Virginia. But, we need one more step… The commission will still be limited to creating single-member districts with winner take all elections. As a result, while the redistricting process will shed any appearance of gerrymandering, fact is, elections are not likely to improve without changing the nature of elections. Two Cheers for Electoral Reform in Virginia By Mark Rush foregone conclusions. Across that time period, turnout across all state legislative elections in Virginia averaged 47.61%. State Senate elections averaged 44.46% and the House of Delegates averaged an abysmal 37.89%. Despite the low turnout, these elections were blowouts. The average House district winner received 78.3% of the vote and the average Senate winner had 75.1%. In general, then, there has not been much reason for voters to go to the polls. General Assembly elections are uncontested

Given inconsistent and insufficient direction from Washington, Virginia lawmakers would be unwise to wait for a national mail-in- ballot plan, as desirable as that course of action may be. After all, the Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated that partisan political divisions in the national government remain intense even during a once-in-a- century global health crisis. In other words, only Virginia can decide whether the Commonwealth will have a safe and legitimate voting process regardless of public health conditions come November. Virginia should be preparing right now for the possibility of all-mail-in ballots come November. Stephen J. Farnsworth is professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, where he directs the Center for Leadership and Media Studies. He is co-author of “Late Night with Trump: Political Humor and the American Presidency,” recently published by Routledge. blowouts. No one voter’s vote would make a difference. What can be done? The Commonwealth could convert to multimember districts. In fact, the General Assembly map could be redrawn into 20 districts represented by two senators and five delegates. On Election Day, voters could simply rank the candidates in the order that they prefer. Such a plan would be a tremendous boon to democracy in Virginia. For starters, it would minimize the number of counties and cities that were divided by district lines. As well, it would remove the need for any House district to be divided between Senate districts or vice versa. Perhaps most important, it would give Virginia voters a chance to vote in a competitive election with numerous choices that would not be constrained by having to vote for just one winner. They would be choosing two senators or five delegates. Critics suggest that voters would find such a system confusing. Nonsense. In fact, Governor Northam just signed into law two bills that will now enable local electoral boards, the general registrar, and city council members to use ranked choice voting (HB 1103) and establishes ranked choice voting for county board of supervisors elections in counties operating under the county manager plan of government (HB 506). It’s the 21st century in Virginia. The Commonwealth has the chance to make a tremendous reform to its elections with a new redistricting process. Now is the time to finish that laudable work and used ranked choice voting and multimember districts for General Assembly elections. Two cheers for the redistricting commission! A third cheer for statewide electoral reform (when it comes…) Mark Rush, Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Professor of Politics and Law, and Director of International Education at Washington and Lee University, writes and teaches extensively on voting rights and elections around the world, constitutional issues, and religion. His current research addresses the intersection of law, science, and religion, academic integrity, and statistical analysis of baseball. V

Other Republicans support increased use of mail-in voting. Former GOP national chair Michael Steele, also a former lieutenant governor of Maryland, said in a recent Washington Times opinion column that the current crisis requires expanded use of vote-by-mail. Utah, one of the nation’s most Republican jurisdictions, and Hawaii, one of the most Democratic ones, are two of the five states that rely entirely on mail-in ballots. Oregon, the pioneer in mail-in ballot procedures, has conducted every presidential election since 2000 via mail-in ballots, registering consistently higher turnouts than the national average. Virginia should join them. Public opinion polls demonstrate that most voters prefer not to put at risk their health—and the health of their families—through in-person voting. Surveys show that roughly three-quarters of Americans (including more than half of the respondents who identify as Republicans), want to give all voters the option of no-excuse- required mail-in ballots during the November election. Virginia needs an all-mail-in-ballot plan from page 5 In short, Virginia needs to get rid of that winner-take all electoral system. Mountains of scholarly analysis and tremendous work by organizations such as Fairvote.org demonstrate that this method of elections is antiquated and serves only to decrease electoral competition and voter turnout. In preparing this piece, I undertook a quick analysis of General Assembly elections from 2001-2019. From 2001 through 2017, there were four elections to the 40-seat State Senate and 9 elections to the House of Delegates. Across the 160 senate contests, 66 races were uncontested. In the 900 House contests, 443 were uncontested. Put differently, 41% of Virginians had no reason to vote in Senate elections and 49% could have stayed home in elections to the House of Delegates. The results were

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VIRGINIA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION | @ VEA4Kids | veanea.org

2020 LEGISLATIVE AWARDS

For their commendable support of children and public schools during the 2020 session, the VEA honors these outstanding members of the General Assembly.

VEA LEGISLATORS Of THE YEAR

Del. Elizabeth Guzman (D-HD31)

Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-SD33)

VEA ROOKIE Of THE YEAR

Del. Martha Mugler (D-HD91)

VEA LEGISLATIVE CHAMPIONS

Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-HD2)

Sen. Ben Chafin (R-SD38)

Del. Terry Kilgore (R-HD1)

Sen. John Bell (D-SD13)

Sen. Barbara Favola (D-SD31)

Sen. Mamie Locke (D-SD2)

Del. Israel O’Quinn (R-HD5)

Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-SD9)

Del. Mike Mullin (D-HD93)

Sen. Todd Pillion (R-SD40)

KATHY BURCHER | GOVERNMENT RELATIONS | 804-651-4192 | kburcher@veanea.org

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Use the SMELL test to sniff out ‘fake news’ By Jeff South

On Fox News, former talk-show host Geraldo Rivera told viewers how to test themselves for COVID-19: “Hold your breath for 10 seconds. If you can hold your breath for 10 seconds, then you don’t have this disease,” he said. A story circulating on Facebook shows Gov. Ralph Northam at a press conference discussing the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the state’s schools. “All Virginia students will repeat current grade next year,” the article’s headline declares.

so you know what to believe and what to discount. Never share a social media posting based solely on a headline or photo; read the entire article. And don’t share postings unless you know they are true. To separate the informational wheat from the chaff, follow the advice offered by a friend of mine—John McManus, author of “Detecting Bull: How to Identify Biased, Fake and Junk Journalism in the Digital Age“ and “Don’t Be Fooled: A Citizen’s Guide to News and Information in the Digital Age.” John and I were reporters in the 1980s at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk/Virginia Beach. He went on to earn a Ph.D. at Stanford and win awards as a communication professor and media scholar. Among other helpful methods for scrutinizing information, John developed the SMELL test. John describes it as “a tool for vetting news and information in the digital age. The SMELL test won’t make you foolproof, but it can help you become a savvy information detective. Apply it to any content purporting to be factual from any source—face-to-face, to Facebook, to Fox, the New York Times and online ‘to infinity and beyond.’” In this mnemonic device: • S stands for Source. Who is providing the information? If you’re evaluating a news story, for instance, you might consider not only the publication but also the reporter and the people quoted in the article. What is their reputation for truthfulness? • M is for Motivation. Why is someone saying this? Perhaps the purpose is to sway your opinion—to get you to vote a certain way. Or maybe the message is part of a disinformation campaign by a foreign government seeking to sow discord among Americans. Or it could be satire: The phony posting about Virginia students having to repeat the school year was meant as an April Fool’s Day joke. • E represents Evidence. What evidence is provided for generalizations and assertions in a news article or social media posting? Does the message cite—or better yet, link to—supporting facts and authoritative data? • L is for Logic. Do the facts lead logically to the conclusions? Based on everything else you know, do the culminating points of the message make sense? Is the conclusion based on innuendo and anecdotes instead of facts and data? Be suspicious if the information sounds “too good to be true.” • L is for Left out. What’s missing that might change your interpretation of the information? A false report often has a kernel of fact, and that can trick you into believing that the entire report is accurate. In January, for instance, gun rights groups accused Northam of preparing to hire a cadre of state troopers to confiscate people’s firearms. The governor had indeed budgeted for more Virginia State Police positions—but to process gun permits and registrations. Online resources can help in applying the SMELL test. Google the keywords of a news report and see which publications are carrying the story. If the article appears only on fringe websites, it’s probably not legit. Moreover, use reputable fact-checking platforms like Snopes, PolitiFact and FactCheck.org. They have a track record for unbiased assessments of information. In these days of social distancing and sheltering in place, we rely more than ever on getting information online. Consequently, we must be more vigilant than ever in vetting that information. Contrary what you might read online, there’s no vaccine (yet) for COVID-19. But there are ways to protect ourselves against false and misleading information. Jeff South has been an associate professor of journalism in the Robertson School of Media and Culture at Virginia Commonwealth University since 1997. He previously worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for 20 years in Texas, Arizona and Virginia.

Amessage reverberating on Twitter says, “Hate to break this to all the stupid ‘journalists’ but COVID-19 stands for Chinese Originated Viral Infectious Disease; Number 19!!” All of those claims are demonstrably false: You can’t test for the virus by holding your breath; Virginia schools aren’t holding everyone back; and COVID-19 stands for the “CO(rona) VI(rus) D(isease)” that surfaced in 2019. But the outbreak of the new coronavirus has spawned an “infodemic” of misinformation and disinformation. Just as we all have a responsibility to help prevent the virus from spreading, it’s incumbent on all of us to help prevent false information from propagating. In today’s health scare, unfounded rumors aren’t just harmless pranks. They could mean the difference between life and death. One bogus tip ricocheting online, for example, advises people to “take a few sips of water every 15 minutes at least” to kill the virus. Some suggestions—like gargling with bleach—could kill you. Moreover, conspiracy theories unfairly blaming the disease on China have triggered a spate of assaults and other hate crimes against Asian Americans. What can we do about the gusher of “fake news” and spurious statements polluting the infosphere? Evaluate information carefully For a uniquely Richmond experience, stay at Richmond’s oldest and newest boutique hotel. From the tatooed entrance doors on our suites, to the art and furnishings from local artisans, to the finest RVA craft beers and Black Hand Coffee Company products, The Commonwealth is like none other. Our luxurious suites are equally comfortable for an overnight romantic getaway or a long- term assignment. Located in the heart of downtown, directly across from the Virginia State Capitol. Welcome Home Located steps from the General Assembly, Virginia State Capitol, and federal courts buildings, we’ve been the Richmond hom for legislators and lobbyists f r over a ce tury. With 59 guest suites and 3,000 square f et of flexible event space, we are large en ugh to host your meeting or reception, yet small enough to offer the personal attention you deserve.

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New Legislators Speak Up

Senator John Bell (D-13th) "I’m proud to have fulfilled several campaign promises in my first session as Senator. However, one of my most noteworthy accomplishments was as a lobbyist. As many people know, I'm a huge Costco fan, and I had the privilege of meeting with Costco’s VP. I told her I was disappointed that Costco no longer stocked my family’s favorite treat, the cinnamon rolls. Two weeks later, I was in my home

Virginia Capitol Connections Quarterly Magazine invited all freshmen legislators to submit a few remarks about their first General Assembly Session as members. Here’s what some of them told us: Delegate Amanda Batten (R-96th) “I’ve spent the past decade working with

Costco and the cinnamon rolls were back in stock. It was a hard- fought battle, but I’m proud of the service we did for SD-13 and the entire Commonwealth." Senator Jen Kiggans (R-7th) “As a first term ‘new’ senator, I did a lot of listening and a lot of learning during my first Session. I came to appreciate the weight of my one vote from my desk on the senate floor. In addition to visits from hundreds of people advocating for what they felt passionately about, we received hundreds of letters, cards, emails, and phone calls from constituents letting me know their opinion on issues important to them. My job was to listen and to cast my one vote to represent the majority of people who sent me to Richmond. It was and is one of the biggest honors of my life and one I take very seriously.” V

the General Assembly either as a legislative aide or with an advocacy organization. The year 2020, however, marked my first year as a member of the House of Delegates. I was frequently asked whether it felt ‘different’ to be a member of the House as opposed to my previous roles. The answer is a resounding “yes!” As an aide, one must research

thousands of bills regardless of their committee assignment or ultimate fate (pass/fail). As a legislator, I was able to narrow my focus to bills that came before me in subcommittee, committee, and on the House floor—all while garnering insights from my more experienced House colleagues. 2020 was—and is—an historic year in our Commonwealth, and I was truly honored to have served as a member of the House of Delegates during this time.”

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Two Democratic Constants in a Sea of Historic Change By Sarah Alderson Last November’s election brought

a different look and feel to Jefferson’s Capitol, and many strongly felt that it was long overdue. While the focus was on all the shifts that were being made, there were important constants that remained. This brand new majority also included one long- time familiar face in each chamber. In fact, these men are currently the longest serving members of Virginia’s General Assembly. Senator Dick Saslaw and Delegate

KennethPlumhave each been in the legislature for up to 44 years. That means they already knew what it was like to be a part of the majority, even though it had been awhile. They had long experienced being in the minority party. And they had both been steadfastly waiting and working for over 25 years to see their party regain unified control of the Commonwealth. In January, they finally got their chance. They were able to witness history and to help bring about many of the changes they had longed to see. They may be part of the “old guard,” but they had also helped pave the way for this new majority for decades. They had both been championing issues for years that would finally see the light of day—and be passed—this year. Dick Saslaw, who served in the House of Delegates from 1976 to 1980 and in the Senate since 1980, has been both Majority Leader and Minority Leader. He returned as Senate Majority Leader when the General Assembly convened in January. He’s the longest serving member of the General Assembly as a whole. And in February, he celebrated his 80th birthday on the Senate floor while several members wore buttons with an early photograph of him to celebrate. “The Democratic Trifecta last happened in 1993,” said Senator Saslaw. “Doug Wilder was the Governor. Hunter Andrews was the Majority Leader and Stanley Walker was President Pro Temp. Tom Moss was the Speaker, and Dick Cranwell was the Majority Leader.” Kenneth Plum, who first served in the House of Delegates in 1978, is the second longest serving member of the legislature and the longest serving member of the House of Delegates. Delegate Plum, a former state Democratic Chairman and Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, currently serves as the Caucus Chair Emeritus. When asked after the session how it went, Delegate Plum responded enthusiastically, “I would say that it was awesome! In years past, I would go into committees with bills that were popular with the electorate, and especially my constituents, but the bills would be sent to a subcommittee and never be seen again. I believe they were not being heard on their merits, but on the fact that I was a Democratic legislator. This year, I had some of the same bills not only receive a full hearing and a recorded vote, but also get passed.” Senator Saslaw expressed having similar frustration over the years citing “the inability to pass legislation that we knew would make the Commonwealth a better place to live.” But this year, he said he was very happy with the outcome. “Democrats were able to get a lot accomplished with their legislative agenda that had been stymied by Republican majorities for years.” Here are just a few examples of legislation these men have championed: both have long been proponents of ratifying the ERA; both sponsored bills to raise the minimum wage; and both have been committed to passing gun violence prevention and gun safety laws. Delegate Plum notes “I have been introducing bills to establish universal background checks for all firearm purchases for decades. And now it has become law.”

The day that the background check law and other similar measures passed in the Senate, the Majority Leader made a statement saying, “This is a monumental day. Virginia will be safer thanks to universal background checks, extreme risk protection orders, and restoring a one-handgun-a-month policy. I am proud to have worked side by side with our governor to get this done.” But that’s not all. “I also introduced the original hate crimes bill in Virginia in about 1985,” says Delegate Plum. “At that time it was very controversial because it included protections for sexual orientation. This year the bill passed not only to include sexual orientation, but also gender identity.” Both Senator Saslaw and Delegate Plum spoke about many other issues that they felt received more needed attention this session, including the environment, education, housing, health care, voting rights, reproductive rights, clean energy, transportation and more. In fact, the General Assembly passed

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over 1,200 new laws in two months, many of them in the final days of the expanded session. As Delegate Plum pointed out, “It was not just a record amount of bills, it was the significance of the bills.” Many of the bills that finally made their way to Northam’s desk this session had been reintroduced after the previous Republican leadership either killed them or failed to bring them to committee. “Almost all of the Democratic legislative goals were accomplished and sent to the Governor,” says Senator Saslaw. “My colleagues all contributed to the successful outcomes for the session.” Summing up both the past session, Delegate Plum said, “Virginia finally found itself thrust into the 21st century.” With all of the changes, those who have been serving the Commonwealth in Jefferson’s Capitol for the longest, held steadfast to their own similar values. And they were there to see many seeds they helped sow over the years finally come into bloom. Sarah Alderson began writing for VCCQM while working in the broadcast control rooms of the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates. She graduated from the University of Richmond with a double-major in English and Speech Communications. While in college, she began to write for radio and television. She has written for a wide-range of media outlets, including newspapers, magazines, radio, television, film, advertising and social media.

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Reflections of a Veteran Lobbyist By James S. Turpin Having been around the General Assembly since 1976, I have seen many things change. Most of them have been for the good. But suffice it to say, the institution itself is very different than it was when I first started at the General Assembly.

the region from NorthernVirginia through Richmond to Tidewater. As Virginia has changed, so has the tone of the General Assembly. The issues brought before the General Assembly are broader and more complex. The system itself is more transparent. Gone are the days when committee meetings would be held at someone’s desk or even in the men’s room. Today all committees and subcommittees can be viewed remotely. Legislators now have staff as well as partisan caucuses and campaign committees. With those changes, the politics surrounding the General Assembly have changed. It used to be that the costs of running for the General Assembly used to be fairly small. The contests were often largely for the Democratic nomination and revolved around the remains of the Byrd organizations and challenges from new progressives. Now campaigns pit the two major parties against each other to the point that in the last election, virtually all 140 seats had partisan contests with several exceeding $1 million being spent by both sides. This increased partisanship has itself changed the tone of the General Assembly. Prior to 2000 with the selection of the first Republican Speaker, whether a member was a Republican or a Democrat was not as much of an issue. Members’ collaboration was built more on personal relationships and other matters such as family and school ties. However, as contests became more competitive and extensive, the level of personal interaction has declined. In many ways, the Virginia General Assembly, like most state legislatures, is becoming more like Congress—more partisan and more confrontational. If you are advocating for an issue, this is one of the factors that must be taken into account. One thing that has not changed although it has intensified, is the relationship between the House of Delegates and the Senate. Going back to the early days of the General Assembly, there have been disagreements between the House and Senate based on process and individuals. This is just as true today. However, this element, again like the Federal system, is changing as more former House members are elected to the Senate. From it earliest days, there have been regional differences in the General Assembly. This was accelerated as the state became more urbanized. Again, as population trends have evolved and Virginia has become a more urban and suburban state, power has shifted from the rural to the developed parts of the state. This has presented new challenges to balance the needs of the whole state going forward. A distinction that has been around since Jamestown or at least Williamsburg, are differences between newer members eager for change and members who have been there for a while and are more committed to a philosophy of “this is the way we have always done it”. That is as true today as it has always been and remains a challenge to the process. With all of this as background, how has lobbying changed? First, there is the sheer number of lobbyists. Earlier in the life of the legislature the number of lobbyists was in the hundreds. Today, there are thousands. This has changed the character of lobbying. It is no longer a small group of familiar faces around the General Assembly. Advocates represent a large and diverse group of interests and petitioners. With increased regulations and reporting requirements, it is easier to track who is trying to influence legislation. This is compounded by the agendas and number of national organizations who are actively involved in the process. This has contributed to the nationalization and increased partisanship of issues not just in Virginia but at the state level nationally. At the same time, both the number and type of issues brought before the General Assembly have changed dramatically. In the past, issues that were lobbied were generally business or regionally related. While social issues were considered, they did not attract either the time or attention they now do. Today, social issues receive as much or more attention. With this comes increased See Reflections of a Veteran Lobbyist , continued on page 18

The nature and approach to lobbying have changed greatly. There used to be a small group of individuals who were regular “Assembly” lobbyists—all of whom knew each other and had been around for years. The General Assembly was very much a Southern institution not that different than when the Byrd organization ran the state. Both Chambers were overwhelmingly Democratic though geared to and focused on the more rural parts of the state. It is hard to believe that the Speaker of the House John Warren Cooke who served in the House of Delegates from 1942 to 1980 was the son of a Confederate veteran. Things began to change in 1969, then again in 1973, and 1977 with the election of Republican Governors. However, the General Assembly was still very much a closed and traditional institution run by the Democrats Starting with those elections and going into the 1980’s and beyond, the General Assembly continued to evolve. This included moving from multi-member to single member districts and the emergence as power centers of the urban crescent compromised of

Senator Emmett Hanger with James Turpin

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My Rookie Year By Preston A. Page There is no clear path to becoming a lobbyist, and my path was far from regular. I literally knocked on my firm's door and told them, "I want to be a lobbyist." With some persistence and drive, I finally was offered an internship with my firm Advantus Strategies where my job was to report and learn. Fast forward to July 2019, I was offered a full-time role at Advantus

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Strategies as a Government Relations Associate, and my dream was finally coming true. After grinding day and night to understand how to best serve my clients, I had my lobbyist credential in hand with one main goal in sight: survive session. The months leading up to the session were like a rollercoaster of change for the General Assembly. Democrats took the House and Senate with a Democratic Governor at the helm. As I watched the freshman class of legislators come in and get acclimated, I slightly felt connected because we all were embarking on a new journey. The governing community also has somewhat of a freshman class that includes aids, staff, and lobbyists. Navigating the legislative waters is always challenging, but with all of the fresh energy now in the space, even seasoned legislators, aides, and lobbyists felt the change. With the legislative process remaining the same and achieving goals paramount on everyone's list, the momentum behind it was new for us all. The General Assembly legislative session is a movie that's been going on for 400 years. You can insert yourself in the movie and work your way up the ranks. Seriously, session is a commitment; days start at 5 AM and don't end until 3 AM, maybe 1:30 AM if I didn't swing by Havanna 59 for a late-night cigar with Bud Oakey. I’m truly blessed to be apart of the Advantus Strategies family. When you have a team that genuinely cares about you and has a shared mission, the process becomes even more fruitful because of those you lean on in times of uncertainty. The session is full of moments of uncertainty and also pride. Working on legislation and ushering it through the journey to becoming a law is nothing less than eventful. You encounter hiccups and setbacks but are frequently rewarded with small wins and new connections. One piece of legislation I was honored to work on was SB199 and others that would modernize Charitable Gaming. Charitable Gaming is the only authorized legal gambling a non-profit or social organization can conduct. We see American Legions, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, and Elk’s lodges engaged in this form of Gaming to support their missions. With the influx of other gaming machines in the Commonwealth, the charities were taking a severe hit to their fundraising numbers, and the current restrictions on Charitable Gaming haven’t been touched in years. It was amazing being able to help the charities modernize the code and provide flexibility for these organizations to continue to raise money to support their mission and communities. The joy on our clients faces after going through the roller coaster of session, and knowing your legislation is going to the Governor to get signed makes the grind worth it. I love government, and being a public servant will always be who I am as a person. Being a lobbyist is not all the media makes out for us to be evil. We all have a role in this process, and to think about it, if you’re fighting for any change, then you’re a lobbyist. Those who want to know more about what lobbyists really do, talk to one. We all have different expertise and niches, but one thing rings true among all of us. We love the game. For any young person looking for a possible career path, don’t count out Government Relations. I’m excited about what the future holds and I’m looking forward to the continued evolution of the General Assembly and The Commonwealth of Virginia. Preston A. Page grew up in Newport News. He is a graduate of Old Dominion University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. Page is a Government Relations Associate at Advantus Strategies, LLC, and serves public and private sector clients with legislative and business services. V

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Girl Scout Legislative Day

Virginia Girl Scout councils celebrated leadership and advocacy in Richmond on February 17. After visiting legislators in the morning at their open house hosted by Senator John Cosgrove, and being introduced in the galleries of the House and Senate, the group met with Dr. Janice Underwood, Virginia Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Virginia First Lady Pam Northam. During this special reception, Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast CEO Tracy Keller presented the Girl Scout Explore Virginia Women’s Suffrage patch to Dr. Underwood. The patch gives girls an opportunity to learn and celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the Virginia women who supported the cause. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Girl Scouts have made this patch and other programs accessible virtually and are connecting girls to distinguished Virginia women legislators, influential policymakers and those that work in public service. Their motto, "Girl Scout Strong," is being promoted through a new campaign, #VAis GirlScoutStrong.  For more information, contact sunnys@gsccc.org.

Girl Scouts visiting the Capitol toured the Votes for Women exhibit located in the Capitol Rotunda, taking time to read about important women suffragettes such as Lila Meade Valentine who was the first president of the Equal Suffrage League. Girl Scouts are partnering with the League of Women Voters on several events during this Centennial year, including a Vote Fest event. V

Delegate Marcia Price, a Girl Scout alum, took time to share her experiences with Girl Scout Mackeena Clark from Hampton  and introduced Girl Scout guests from the House floor. 

GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller gives a presentation to Dr. Janice Underwood and Virginia First Lady, making them aware of Virginia Girl Scout Women’s Suffrage patch.

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