Tag: Dick Hall-Sizemore
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Musical Chairs
by Dick Hall-Sizemore One of the most potent powers of the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates is the assigning of members to committees and designating the chair of each committee. He has sole prerogative over this important function. Speaker-designate Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) has broken a little with tradition (in addition to the other…
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Follow-up on Sen. Hashmi
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Kerry Doughtery has evinced a certain amount of outrage on this blog about state Sen. Ghazala Hashni (D-Chesterfield) not living in the district in which she ran and won re-election. (See here and here.) The recent redistricting had placed Sen. Hashmi’s long-time residence just outside the district which she represented. In order…
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Around the Commonwealth: Local Unions and Housing Help
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Some interesting recent actions by local governments: Local employee unions–Many on this blog predicted that local government bodies, especially those in “progressive” urban areas would not be able to resist attempts by local employee unions to enter into collective bargaining. The City of Norfolk has demonstrated that it can and will resist.…
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Another Local Newspaper Shuts Down
by Dick Hall-Sizemore A local newspaper closing down is not really news these days. However, the circumstances surrounding the News & Record in South Boston in Southside Virginia and its shutting down are unusual. In addition, the news is personal to me. For as long as I can remember, the South Boston/Halifax County area has…
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“Parental Rights” Movement Fading?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore When Glenn Youngkin was elected Governor in 2021, largely on a platform of “parental rights” in schools, a national movement seemed to have been born. In Virginia, and elsewhere, school board meetings were packed with fervent citizens shouting at the board members and at each other about banning books in school libraries…
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Just Wondering
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Four Republican Congressmen from Virginia, Wittman (1st District), Good (5th District), Cline (6th District), and Griffith (9th Distict), recently voted against the continuing resolution, introduced by the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives, to fund the government. In effect, they would have shut down the government. I wonder how they will…
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Rumblings Among House Republicans
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Del. Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), the current Minority Leader in the House of Delegates, seems to be on a smooth glide path to making history by being elected Speaker when the General Assembly convenes in January. The fate of the current Speaker, Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah), is less certain. One might logically expect a…
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Additional Electoral Jolts
by Dick Hall-Sizemore It has long been evident that Henrico County has been changing, both demographically and politically. The results of this week’s elections were the culmination of that long-term trend. The county has a history of continuity in its Board of Supervisors membership with members serving for many years. This year, two long-serving board…
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A Day in the Election Trenches
by Dick Hall-Sizemore I just finished my first stint as an election official. I was surprised by some aspects but, upon retrospect, I should not have been surprised. Voters came in steadily throughout the day, with some backups occurring. The biggest push was between 5:15 and 6:15, when the line was much longer. But it…
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That’s One Way to Cut Down on Health Care Costs
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Just as the Democrats and Republicans get rid of their embarrassments in the Virginia Senate (Joe Morrissey and Amanda Chase, respectively), it appears the Republicans will be electing another one for the House. Following up on a report by The Daily Progress in Charlottesville, Dwayne Yancey reports today in Cardinal News that…
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Musings on Virginia Politics
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Southwest Virginia elections—The folks in the Mt. Rogers region take their politics seriously. Along all those mountain roads are numerous assemblages of campaign signs like the one shown above, although this is small in comparison to some. (You gotta love a candidate nicknamed “Stingy”!) Because the General Assembly seats are, for the…
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A Long Time Ago in a World Far Far Away
by Dick Hall-Sizemore This past weekend I went back in Virginia’s history. Waaaay back. Over a billion years back. The occasion was the 2023 Virginia Geological Field Conference. This is an annual event staged by a group of leading geologists in the state. Attending were faculty members from several institutions, including one community college; geologists…
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List of Wrongly Purged Voter Registrations Gets Larger
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Remember my earlier report on the Youngkin administration cancelling the registrations of voters eligible to vote? These were felons whose voting rights had been restored who had committed a parole violation, which shows up as a felony in the State Police’s official crime database. In mid-October, the state Department of Elections reported…
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Navy Helicopter Pilot Stands Up to MAGA Bullies
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Although I probably disagree with most of her policy stands, if I lived in her district, I would vote for Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-02) solely on the basis of her resistance to elevating Jim Jordan to Speaker of the House of Representatives. She not only voted against Jordan twice, but she supported…
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Making Mischief With Election Law Changes
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Here is a recent tweak in election law that did not get a lot of public attention. Effective January 1, 2024, it will be almost impossible for a political party to use a convention to nominate a candidate for a Congressional district seat. On its face the law still allows a political…