Commentary on Virginia and U.S. Politics & Culture
We should have seen it coming. Yet few of us did. The pollsters, pundits, media moguls, and establishment of both parties are all asking themselves “how could this happen – and what happens next?”
We are hearing that this is a “change” election. I submit that it is something quite different; it was nothing short of a massive and unadulterated “reaction election.” It was a reaction to a country and world that sometimes appear to be spinning out of control. [Read more…]
As unbelievable as it may seem, Tuesday is Election Day and it is time to make a plan, not only to vote, but to get your friends and neighbors to do so as well. This election will be close and every vote will count, but remember that voting is easy, and it is the only way to send a clear message about the direction of this country.
If, for any reason, you are either out of town or fall into any of the 19 criteria that allows you absentee voting, you can vote personally at your registrar’s office on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (City) and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (County). Make a plan!
On Tuesday, November 8, the polls open at 6:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m. Talk to your neighbors and those who may not have rides to the polls to coordinate when you will go and who you will take. Then call people that you know from other states and encourage them to vote as well.
Not only do we have a candidate who we must reject because of his lack of understanding on foreign policy, his temperament, his heartless approach to immigration, and his appeal to the worst qualities in the American electorate, but we have a candidate we must support because she is more qualified than anyone who has run for the highest office in the land, and who has policies and approaches that will boost the middle class, help students with their massive debt, make the rich pay their fair share of taxes, and who has a steady hand to guide the ship of state. That person is Hillary Clinton, and I fully support her.
There are several other major decisions on the ballot. I hope Jane Dittmar will be an easy vote for you. I have known Jane for 25 years and she has the qualities and judgment that will dramatically improve the House of Representatives when she is elected.
Although I do not have a chance to vote on the bond referendum in Albemarle County, I would urge you to support it. It will be a great assistance to our schools.
I urge you to vote “NO” on the Constitutional Amendment involving “Right to Work.” There is no threat to Right to Work in Virginia and no reason to put a statute that has operated for almost 60 years in the Constitution. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” There is no threat and, therefore, no good reason to amend.
Finally, if you see any irregularities at the polls, you can call 844-4VA-VOTE (844-482-8683) to report it. I suggest that we all remain calm and enjoy what will hopefully be a great day for Virginians and this country.
We are now three weeks into session and “cross-over,” the term used to describe the date by which all bills must be passed by the originating chamber so they then can “cross-over” to the other chamber for consideration, is approaching. The hours are long and many of the debates are heated because we have to meet deadlines for bills to proceed. The highlights of this week include:
The gun safety legislation compromise continues to be debated. Much of the criticism has come from gun safety groups who believe the Governor didn’t get enough in exchange for modifying the Attorney General’s stance on concealed weapons reciprocity agreements. Under the proposed compromise, our reciprocity agreements would remain in effect, thereby undoing Attorney General Herring’s recent position. For advocates of gun rights, a deal on reciprocity was very important, as many people who have a concealed weapons permit issued in Virginia want to retain the ability to carry concealed in adjacent states. Reversing the Attorney General’s position, then, was their number one legislative goal.
In exchange, gun safety advocates received two improvements in the law. First, a person subject to a protective order issued by a judge will no longer be able to possess, own, or transport a firearm in the Commonwealth; they will have to surrender those weapons immediately upon issuance of the order, and will face serious consequences for any failure to do so. Second, we will now have “voluntary” background checks available for private sellers at gun shows; they can ask the State Police to conduct a background check of anyone who seeks to purchase a firearm. Proponents of the measure believe that this will establish a “best practices” standard for background checks and potentially could be used to impose liability on a seller who does not adequately check the background of a person who then commits a serious crime and inflicts serious injuries on a citizen. Bills enacting the deal have not yet been completed, but will likely be considered next week. I appreciate the comments on this that I have received to date.
House Republicans have again killed all redistricting reform. There were at least five different redistricting bills that would have improved our process, which is overly political and simply protects incumbents, but they were all killed with little debate in subcommittee. I will continue to advocate for redistricting reform because I believe it is critical for the long-term viability of our democracy.
Both bodies have now passed a measure that will put the so called “right-to-work” statute on the fall ballot for possible inclusion in the Virginia Constitution. You can see the debate on this issue on YouTube. Those of us who voted against this argued that the “right-to-work” statute has been in Virginia law since 1947 and has never been seriously questioned. Since there is no pressing need, there is no reason to amend Virginia’s Constitution. Voters, of course, will have the final say on this issue in November, and I hope that citizens will vote against the constitutional amendment.
A wide variety of bills relating to how and when the Commonwealth can place tolls on certain roads was considered and passed by the Transportation Committee in the House. In our area, we do not usually think about this issue, but it has tremendous statewide implications. As many know, I-66 in Northern Virginia is among the most congested highways in the country, and its capacity could be dramatically improved with additional lanes. At present, the Commonwealth does not have sufficient monies to build these additional lanes, with the result that private capital would need to be used to build new lanes, and tolls would need to be imposed to recover the cost. If tolling was prohibited, the possibility existed that road and transit money that would otherwise flow to areas like Charlottesville and Albemarle could be diverted to Northern Virginia to pay for those transportation improvements. That would be a tragedy for our area and is one reason why I voted for the tolling bills. Under the bills, there could be no tolls imposed in places in and around Charlottesville without General Assembly approval.
My bill to prohibit discrimination against persons because of sexual orientation and gender identity (HB913) was tabled in a House subcommittee, as well as my bill to prohibit legislators from raising campaign money during special sessions of the General Assembly (HB914). My bill to permit the Jefferson Area Board for Aging (JABA) access to Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credits (HB742) has now passed the House and is moving to the Senate. I have several bills on education that are before committee early next week as well as my “vehicle-to-grid” bill (HB1137), a measure that would allow owners of electric vehicles to sell the energy stored in their batteries back to the grid when their vehicles are not operating.
For those of you interested in seeing recent floor speeches, you can view them all on my David Toscano YouTube channel. There are floor speeches on education, Virginia’s economy, and the successes of the Obama administration.
If you want to find out some more about our session, I recently taped a broadcast that will be presented on our local access cable later this month, or you can watch it on my YouTube channel here.
Help me bring more common sense to the General Assembly by helping elect candidates that share our views in other districts across the Commonwealth. Make a contribution to my leadership PAC, Virginia First, where funds go directly to support candidates across the state. - David
