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Independent candidate files at last minute for 49th District race
As expected, just a small portion of registered voters showed up at the polls in Danville and Pittsylvania County on June 17 to nominate a candidate in the 49th District House of Delegates primaries. Also, an independent candidate filed a petition that day in Pittsylvania County to compete against Republican Madison Whittle and Democrat Gary Miller for the House seat being vacated by Republican Danny Marshall, who is stepping down at the end of his term in January. ... Pittsville resident Barbara Hancock plans to vie for the seat as an independent candidate in the contest. She has not yet been certified by the Virginia Board of Elections as of Friday ...
Virginia Democrats kick off ‘Worst of Winsome’ tour in Charlottesville
Charlottesville was the first stop Friday on a new tour criss-crossing Virginia ahead of November’s gubernatorial election spreading the message: Winsome Earle-Sears is “so far right, she’s wrong for Virginia.” A small crowd of local Democratic voters and elected officials gathered outside Charlottesville City Hall Friday to blast Earle-Sears, the sitting lieutenant governor and the Republican nominee for governor. The Democratic Party of Virginia, which has organized the tour, has been explicit that it is not connected to the official campaign of Earle-Sears’ Democratic opponent, former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th.
Yancey: 25 more places on the western side of the state that Spanberger, Earle-Sears should visit for policy lessons
By the time you read this, Democrat Abigail Spanberger will be rolling somewhere between Martinsville, Wytheville, Blacksburg and Roanoke on her eight-day bus tour. Alas, that’s as far west as her bus tour goes, so that makes this a good time to remind her, and readers, about the list of 25 places in Southwest Virginia that candidates should see because they all might help inform future policy choices. She won’t get to any of them on this campaign swing. This is also a good time to remind everyone that you can drive three hours west of Wytheville and still not be in the state’s westernmost corner. On the other hand, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears doesn’t put out a campaign schedule — or many policy statements, either, for that matter.
Spanberger, Earle-Sears top ticket, but Trump will top the talk
Formally, the candidates in this year’s statewide election campaign will debate the advantages of a political trifecta (governor, House and Senate) versus divided government, casting outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin either as a roadblock to Virginians’ desires or a brake on legislative extremism. But the central character in this year’s drama over whether Abigail Spanberger or Winsome Earle-Sears will be the state’s next chief executive will likely be neither, political scientists agree.
Kaine, Warner criticize U.S. strikes on Iran; Youngkin backs Trump’s actions
Virginia’s U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner criticized the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites without congressional authorization, while Gov. Glenn Youngkin supported President Donald Trump’s actions. Democrats in Virginia’s congressional delegation faulted the president for acting without congressional backing or consultation, while Republicans supported the U.S. effort to neutralize Iran’s nuclear threat.
Virginia Bar Association cancels gubernatorial debate after candidates don’t RSVP
The Virginia Bar Association has canceled its scheduled July 19 gubernatorial debate after neither candidate accepted an invitation before the organization’s June 9 deadline. The VBA said April 28 that it invited the two nominees, Democrat former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, to debate during the association’s summer meeting at the Omni Homestead Resort in Bath County. The VBA hosted debates for the statewide races for governor and U.S. senator from 1985 to 2020.
Fauquier Planning Commission recommends denial of Gigaland data center project in Remington
The Fauquier County Planning Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday night to recommend denial of a proposal for a data center campus near Remington. The vote followed a three-hour public hearing that drew significant community interest. The application, known as Gigaland, seeks approval for a 2.2-million-square-foot data center complex spanning 202 acres south of Lucky Hill Road, just outside Remington town limits. The project would include seven two-story buildings up to 80 feet in height — comprising a 65-foot structure with a 15-foot parapet — alongside public water infrastructure such as a water treatment facility, an aboveground water storage tank, two wells and four electrical substations.
Richmond election officials appear not to have enforced finance disclosure mandates
Nearly half of the 16 candidates for Richmond School Board last year missed at least one deadline for campaign finance disclosures, according to a review of reports filed with the state Department of Elections. But it does not appear that the city's Office of Elections took any corrective action. The office issued no citations for late reports, which under state law calls for candidates to be assessed a civil penalty of $100. Shaking up the city’s lackadaisical approach to campaign finance is yet another issue for the city’s three-member Electoral Board to address following the tumultuous three-year tenure of city voting registrar Keith Balmer, who resigned in December. Board chair Starlet Stevens declined to discuss documentation gathered by The Richmonder showing various examples of lax oversight.
Virginia Democrats’ race to replace Rep. Connolly is a weeks-long sprint
Most Virginia voters could be forgiven for thinking they were done with political mailers and ads — at least for a while — following last week’s statewide primary elections. In the suburbs outside D.C., though, some campaigns are just getting started. Both Democrats and Republicans will be holding party-run nominating contests Saturday to select nominees to fill the term of Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died of esophageal cancer in May. With just a few weeks to launch campaigns, raise money and produce TV ads, the race would be a mad dash in any political climate.
What to Do With the Top of Afton Mountain?
Augusta County wants a highway entrance that combines commercial development with a fitting welcome to the Valley; conservationists want to protect wildlife, the water supply, and open space; developers want a crack at a unique and desirable piece of property. Then there are nearby landowners, businesses, commuters, birdwatchers and hikers who all have their own interests in the possibilities ahead for the famously blighted 25 acres of mountain property uphill from Interstate 64 and Route 250. What the owners call the “lower mountain” is one of several scattered parcels in Albemarle and Augusta County that have had an uncertain future since the death of their owner, Phil Dulaney, in 2023.