Strickland Appeared before the Virginia Board of Elections
“Buy the ticket, take the ride” is that old proverbial saying coined by Hunter S Thompson. I prefer the saying “take the ride, pay for the ticket. Now is almost the time for Matt Strickland to pay for the ticket after taking a ride in Virginia politics and an attempt to run for Virginia State Senate.
If I said that Matt Strickland is a controversial figure, then I would be misleading my readers. Strickland might just be the type of guy that only knows conflict.
Similar with MAGA types at the Trump rally earlier this month, Strickland desires the aesthetics of politics more than the substance. Particularly that he always feels like he needs to be in a place of strength while everyone opposing him is in a place of weakness.
Beginning 2020, Strickland made headlines for refusing to follow COVID restrictions for his grill cheese restaurant in Fredericksburg. He would go on to be a supporter of Glenn Youngkin during his campaign for Governor and even hosting the Governor at his restaurant in 2022 for a campaign event for Yesli Vega.
By November 2022, Strickland got off that ride and discovered that he had to pay for the ticket. Strickland lost his license to sell alcohol and was hit with fines and fees of over $10,000. By December, Strickland continued to serve alcohol and had his entire inventory of alcohol seized.
Strickland is a person who requires him to feel like he is always in a position of strength. Rather than accept the consequences of his own actions, he got an assist from Governor Glenn Youngkin. A few weeks later, Youngkin signed an executive order to have businesses reimbursed for paying unjust fines and fees for not following COVID-19 restrictions.
Strickland felt like he was coming away in a position of strength. Why shouldn’t he? He got the Governor to intervene. However, a press release from the ABC said they the two came to an agreement that they had to throw out more alcohol than the fine that was imposed on him. His alcohol license would be restored later that month, but it would be a longer span of time than if he had just stopped selling alcohol for 15 days. Strickland was in a worse position then when he began but still went to social media to claim victory.
Matt Strickland decided to go on another ride in 2023 when he ran for the Virginia State Senate. Strickland’s opponent was Delegate Tara Durant who was backed by Youngkin. With over 56% of the vote, Tara Durant won the primary.
Strickland could not easily accept his defeat and decided to have a write-in campaign in the general election. Strickland decided that he was not going to claim that he was running the campaign. In September, Strickland posted on Twitter that “This write-in campaign was formed by The People, not me.” Then in October, Strickland posted “I told the folks running this write-in campaign not to be discouraged if we don’t win.”
By November 2023, the results were in, and Republican Tara Durant was elected to become a State Senator. Strictland had been hit with numerous complaints about his signs that were used for the campaign. Virginia allows candidates to raise unlimited money and say just about anything they want but they have to disclose who is funding them and put a disclaimer on the campaign material. Numerous signs were placed without any disclaimers.
Then this past Tuesday on March 19, Matt Strickland appeared before the Virginia Board of Elections. Strickland was facing $500 in fines. Strickland claimed that he had no knowledge of the campaign material, despite the obvious fact that his tweet in October, he clearly admitted knowledge of the campaign and that he was communicating with them.
Strickland’s personal friend Mike Rose came forward to claim that he was running the Facebook page “Matt Strickland Never Back Down.” Rose also admitted to using Strickland’s primary election campaign name “Friends of Matt Strickland” without Strickland’s consent.
Strickland was asked a few questions by Dennis Polio from the Office of the Virginia Attorney General about the signs pictured on screen. Strickland said that he could not be questioned about it because it was not part of the complaint. Polio responded, “with all due respect, I can ask you whatever I want.”
The Board of Elections decided to postpone this matter to their meeting next month with the possibility of also penalizing Mike Rose.
Later that evening, I posted on Twitter that Strickland had acknowledged knowing about the write-in campaign and Strickland responded, “They are fining me for write-in signs I had no part in purchasing or erecting.” Strictland posted after the meeting, “… I was infuriated watching them kiss the ring… They had no rebuttal, and didn’t know what to do…”
Strickland continues to attempt to display himself in a position of strength while attempting to display everyone else as weak. The issue before the Board was about the signs not having a proper disclosure. If somewhere written on the sign, “paid for by Friends of Matt Strickland” and reported in a campaign summary, then this would not be an issue. The penalty is only a fine.
The glaring thing is that Strickland refuses to admit defeat. Strickland is not electorally popular, and the write-in campaign was ultimately another losing effort. Rather than admit defeat, Strickland refuses to acknowledge that he ran an unsuccessful campaign, even if he was not the one making the signs, and that he is facing the consequences of not having those signs labeled.
Don’t let your hubris be your downfall and follow my live-tweets next month at the Virginia Board of Elections meeting on April 16, 2024.
Read more from Goad Gatsby HERE
