Politics

Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn Statement on Virginia General Assembly Passage of Biennial Budget

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Virginia House Passes Bike, Pedestrian and Driver Bills Aimed at Safety

New Assembly makeup allows for more safety legislation.

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Celebrating Women’s History Month 2020 in Fairfax County

Fairfax County Commission for Women honors “Valiant Women of the Vote.”

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Generational Divide

Senior conservative Democratic senators from Fairfax undermine labor agenda.

When Democrats won both chambers of the General Assembly in November, hopes were high that the new majorities in the House and Senate would move forward with a progressive agenda that had been rejected when Republicans were in power. Labor groups were particularly excited about the prospect of passing a $15 minimum wage, collective bargaining for public employees and a requirement that all employers offer five paid sick days. But the General Assembly session ended this week without fully accomplishing these goals.

“Invest in Fairfax,” Says Grassroots Coalition

Reaction to County Executive’s FY21 Advertised Budget

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Virginia Lawmakers Reflect on Historic General Assembly Session

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Warming Up for Super Tuesday in Springfield

Bernie Sanders rallies with thousands at The St. James.

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Biden Wins Virginia

Virginia Presidential Primary 2020 Results

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House Versus Senate

Conservative upper chamber undermines progressive House of Delegates.

Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly like to see themselves as adversaries. The real enemy, they like to say, is down the hall.

Surovell Defends Vote Against Virginia Assault Weapon Ban

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Mapmaking Politics

Legislative Black Caucus leads effort to undermine redistricting amendment.

Virginia has a horrible history with racial gerrymandering. It started with the ratification of the Constitution, an effort led by Virginians who wanted to count slaves as three-fifths of a person so representation in the south wouldn’t suffer because so many of its inhabitants were non-voting enslaved people. It continued all the way to 2011, when the Republican leaders engaged in a scheme of packing black voters into House districts to dilute their influence elsewhere, a plan the United States Supreme Court later determined was unconstitutional. Now members of the Legislative Black Caucus are worried a proposed amendment might enshrine racial gerrymandering into the Virginia Constitution.

The Connection