by Dick Hall-Sizemore
House Republicans backed off late yesterday afternoon from their threat to let over 1,000 appointments by former Governor Northam lapse. They did, however, single out and deny eleven appointments to a few regulatory boards that have recently been the subject of controversy:
- Board of Education — denied three appointments, but confirmed one, Ann Holton, former judge and Secretary of Education and wife of Sen. Tim Kaine.
- State Air Pollution Control Board — two appointments.
- State Water Control Board — two appointments, including Tim Hayes, a long-time environmental lawyer. They did confirm one Northam appointment, however. She is from St. Paul, which is Terry Kilgore country.
- Safety and Health Codes Board of the Department of Labor — two appointments. This is the body that adopted the controversial COVID workplace standards. However, the appointment of four members was confirmed.
- Virginia Marine Resources Commission — two members. This is the body that regulates fishing in the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean off Virginia’s coast. There has got to be an inside story on the refusal to confirm these appointments.
Probably much to the disappointment of some BR regulars, the General Assembly confirmed all 52 Northam appointments to the boards of visitors of various institutions of higher education. These included four for the University of Virginia, four for the College of William & Mary, and five for the Virginia Military Institute, schools that have drawn fire on this blog. (Most were reappointments of current members.)
Finally, Jim Sherlock is likely to be distressed at the confirmation of all six Northam appointments to the Board of Health, four of which were reappointments of current members.
This episode is an illustration of the power of a Virginia governor to influence policy through his appointments, even after he has left office.
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