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Youngkin senior adviser denies Reid’s extortion allegation
Matthew Moran, senior political adviser to Gov. Glenn Youngkin, issued a sworn affidavit on Wednesday denying accusations that he defamed or attempted to extort Republican lieutenant governor candidate John Reid over sexually explicit images on an online account allegedly linked to the candidate. The images prompted Youngkin on Friday to ask Reid to withdraw from the race. Reid says the Tumblr account is not his and that he did not repost the images. He says he is staying in the contest.
Richmond says it will overhaul troubled employee purchasing card program
Less than 24 hours after The Times-Dispatch reported on another investigation into potential financial abuse, Mayor Danny Avula announced a “reset” of the city’s employee purchasing card program. The program allows certain employees to buy items using city funds. Last year, a city watchdog found Richmond’s election registrar had misused thousands of dollars on furniture, bodyguards and meals.
Leader of Youngkin PAC denies extorting candidate
The leader of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s political action committee has responded to allegations by Republican lieutenant governor candidate John Reid that he orchestrated smear tactics involving illicit online photos to get Reid to drop his bid. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Matthew Moran produced a three-page affidavit outlining the claims that he said were discovered through a third-party vendor’s report highlighting potential vulnerabilities in a campaign. The report, which Moran said was commonplace in politics, found information from a Tumblr account “which would put John in a negative light and impact the viability of his candidacy.
How two Va. candidates’ scandals reflect changing attitudes
When sexually explicit videos of House candidate Susanna Gibson surfaced online in 2023, John Reid — then a conservative talk radio host — was unapologetically blunt. “Don’t get mad that I’m the only person in Virginia media who will tell the truth about this trash woman,” Reid wrote in a Facebook post, which included a still from one of the videos. “Say no to legislative hookers.” Now, nearly two years later, Reid — the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor and the first openly gay nominee on a statewide ticket in Virginia — is facing his own controversy.
Schapiro: Youngkin blows up the Republican Party he built
All of Glenn Youngkin’s horses and all of Glenn Youngkin’s men couldn’t put the Republican Party of Virginia back together again. First, Youngkin pulled off the improbable: He was narrowly elected governor in 2021, seemingly signaling in a blue-trending state the comeback of a moribund GOP. Youngkin’s victory was a testament to, among other things, a generous self-investment.
Kaine meets with Ukrainians in Roanoke Valley, shares insights from recent visit
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine met with Roanoke-area Ukrainians and their supporters last week to share what he'd learned on a visit to the war-torn country and other European nations last month. Kaine visited Finland in February, and Poland, Ukraine and Germany during the Senate's Easter recess. During his mid-April visit to Ukraine, he placed flowers at the Bucha Memorial, which remembers the more than 400 civilians and prisoners of war executed in 2022 by members of the 234th Air Assault Regiment, a Russian paratrooper unit based in Pskov, a city with which Roanoke paused a sister city arrangement in 2023.
Botetourt County Board of Supervisors candidate reprimanded by state bar association
Dirk Padgett, candidate for Botetourt County Board of Supervisors, received a public reprimand dated April 22 from the Virginia State Bar Association for violating rules that govern fees, safekeeping property and misconduct between a lawyer and a client. The state bar association took issue with Padgett’s recordkeeping regarding client fees, his use of the term “non-refundable” in a contract with a client, and an agreement he entered into with the client which, the association said, limited her right to pursue a complaint against Padgett with the state bar, among other issues.
Altria sees little impact from tariff increases
Rising import duties – even if paused – worry many U.S. manufacturers, but the firm with the biggest factory in Richmond, Altria Group, says it expects the impact on its cigarette-making business will be immaterial. Altria told investors Tuesday that while it is monitoring the impact of President Donald Trump‘s tariffs, it’s still expecting profits this year will rise.
Fredericksburg region’s United Way closing on June 30
After 85 years of raising millions of dollars for programs that helped people struggling in various aspects of life, the Rappahannock United Way will cease its operations on June 30. “This is not a decision we made lightly,” said Janel Donohue, president and CEO. “For more than eight decades, RUW has been honored to serve this community. We are proud of the impact we’ve made and grateful to all who have supported us along the way.”
Gibson: For the Virginia GOP, ‘sextortion’ is nothing new
In a democracy, elections should be decided by ideas — not by cruelty, humiliation or personal destruction. Unfortunately, that principle is under threat in Virginia. For the second state campaign cycle in a row, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the executive director of his Spirit of Virginia PAC, Matt Moran, have used personal attacks to try to destroy political candidates — not by debating policy, but by targeting their private lives.