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Five Election Comedies To Watch While You Wait For Results

Marilyn Drew Necci | November 3, 2020

Topics: Batman Returns, election, Election 2020, Long Shot, movies, Napoleon Dynamite, The Campaign

We’re not going to learn who won anytime soon, so instead of making yourself crazy watching the returns slowly trickle in, why not amuse yourself with some topically appropriate comedies? Trust us, you’ll have time.

Tonight’s the night — and I definitely mean that in the Neil Young rather than the Rod Stewart sense. It’s going to be a real nail-biter for all of us, no doubt. If you’re the sort of person to pop popcorn and put on your fave 24-hour news network to watch the results roll in throughout election night and beyond, you better have some antacids next to the pretzel bowl.

Really, though, we might all be better off if we find something else to watch tonight. Virginia’s early and absentee votes aren’t supposed to show up in our state’s count until 11 PM when the registrars report, so things might be totally up in the air for the Commonwealth until then. And considering the differing rules for receiving and tabulating the millions of early and absentee ballots cast around the nation, chances are we won’t really know who our next president will be until tomorrow morning — and then only if we’re lucky.

So instead of sitting on your couch sweating bullets all night, why not try to watch something else on the subject of elections — something a bit more amusing? I know, I know, that joke isn’t funny anymore. But it used to be, and maybe remembering those times for one brief evening won’t be so bad. At least it’ll keep us from panicking every time CBS updates the numbers in the 7th district race or anything.

Here are five amusing films involving elections that all have decidedly lower stakes than the current real-life election. Yes, even the one about a presidential election. Tune in, turn off your brain for a couple hours, and enjoy.

Election

If you haven’t seen this one before, it’s a wild ride featuring a political race just as tense as the 2020 presidential race — only it’s a race for student body president in a small suburb somewhere, one in which the school’s number one overachiever is all but guaranteed to win, until a teacher who can’t stand her decides to throw a monkeywrench into things. Reese Witherspoon is note-perfect in the role of the ultimate Type-A high school overachiever, Tracy Flick, and Matthew Broderick kills it as social studies teacher Jim McAlister, whose shaky personal life and dislike for Flick leads him to overstep personal and professional lines to put his thumb on the scales. This movie is pitch dark and funny as hell, which means it’s either perfect for this time in all our lives or absolutely the worst thing for you to watch right now — you’ve got to decide what’s right for you. Choose wisely, but make no mistake, this movie’s a classic.

The Campaign

How much ridiculous fun you’re in for with this one should be obvious as soon as I tell you that it involves Will Farrell and Zach Galifianakis playing rival candidates for a Congressional seat in rural North Carolina. Farrell’s character has never faced an opponent in his four previous elections, and has grown cocky and complacent. However, a couple of corrupt businessmen (Dan Aykroyd and John Lithgow, clearly having a blast) have decided to buy the district in order to pull off a shady trade deal with a Chinese company. They get Galifianakis, playing a certain highly recognizable type of Southern dumb guy, to run against Farrell, and the race immediately goes off the rails. From Farrell getting bitten by a poisonous snake while trying to gain the evangelical vote to a memorable scene in which Galifianakis’s sons admit to some truly appalling shenanigans over the dinner table, this one is full of hilarious moments. Like Anchorman and other classic Farrell comedies, it is completely unrealistic, but considering that the world is way too real right now, maybe that’s what we need.

Napoleon Dynamite

It’s become such an iconic cultural reference that this one is if anything sort of played out by now. But if you haven’t gone back and watched it in a while, it’s worth checking out one more time just to remember how truly weird it is. The plot centers on another high school election, which gave birth to that early-00s fashion fad of wearing t-shirts that read “Vote For Pedro” in iron-on letters. That trend is, in hindsight, more than a little unfortunate, but there are a lot of great bits in this movie, many of which have nothing to do with the overarching plot. From Napoleon’s terrible liger illustrations and Uncle Rico’s NFL audition tape to Napoleon biking pulling Kip on rollerblades and the unforgettable Jamiroquai dance sequence, you just might be shocked at how well this one holds up — even if it doesn’t have any curse words in it.

Long Shot

If you’re looking for a rom-com on this list, here’s what we’ve got — a classic “man dates up” plot in which Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen), a somewhat shlubby journalist, runs back into his old babysitter, Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron). Now the Secretary of State, she runs into Rogen just as she’s seriously considering a run for president. After checking out some of Fred’s work, Charlotte decides to hire him as a speechwriter, and their interactions quickly turn into the most unlikely of flings — one that everyone around Charlotte feels can only hurt her chances to actually get elected. There are twists and turns aplenty from there. The time-honored will-they-or-won’t-they rom-com plotline makes this all a bit predictable, but it remains fun nonetheless. In particular, there’s a pretty great scene in which Charlotte has to engage in some high-stakes politicking while also high on ecstasy (do the kids still call it “molly”?). If worrying about whether Fred and Charlotte get together keeps you from thinking about whether the United States and Joe Biden will get together for two hours, it’s worth it.

Batman Returns

I know, I know, I said “comedies,” and this three-decade-old superhero film is not anyone’s idea of a comedy — at least, not on the surface. But what none of us remember from our childhood viewings of those early-90s Tim Burton Batman movies is that they are pretty goofy in a deadpan sort of way. Michael Keaton is an outstanding actor, and while he doesn’t have Jack Nicholson for a foil in this film, Danny DeVito as Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman are double trouble in the best possible way. For those who don’t remember the plot of this one, aka everyone, the election in this film is the Gotham City mayoral election in which Oswald Cobblepot — the Penguin, that is — is at first attempting to manipulate the results, and ultimately running for mayor himself. What the Penguin really wants is for his gang to take over the city and wreak havoc. The plot is much more convoluted than that, in fact, but my recommendation is to avoid getting caught up in it, and instead sit back and watch Keaton, DeVito, and Pfeiffer at their scenery-chewing best.

VIRGINIA: Today is the Last Day to Register to Vote

Brianna Scott | October 15, 2018

Topics: ballot, election, november 6, polls, register to vote, vote, voter registration

Virginians: Today is the last day to register to vote for the Nov. 6 elections. You can register online, in-person or by mail.

Go to Virginia’s online registration website to register or to update your voter record.

To register in-person or by mail, fill out the Voter Registration Form and mail it in, or drop it off at your local voter registration office. You can also register to at your local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or at any public library.

For those out of state/county, you can still register to vote by requesting an absentee ballot.

Voter applications must have a Monday, October 15th postmark, and in-person applications must be submitted by 5 p.m.

Online applications are due by 11:59 p.m.To check voter registration requirements and more information, visit the DMV’s website and make sure to check out the candidates for next month’s election here.

Do the right thing.

Republican Candidate Corey Stewart Tweets He’s Going to Kick Tim Kaine’s Teeth In

David Streever | June 14, 2018

Topics: Commonwealth, Corey Stewart, Democrat, election, Mid-Terms, Republican, Senate, Tim Kaine, virginia

Fresh off a disastrous appearance on CNN, GOP Senate candidate Corey Stewart took to Twitter to claim his primary win as a mandate to “kick @timkaine’s teeth in.”

Virginians wanted someone to kick @timkaine's teeth in.

I'm honored to have been selected for such a high honor. #VAsen #VAPolitics#FireKaine#TakeBackVA

— Corey Stewart (@CoreyStewartVA) June 14, 2018

Stewart is the current chair of the Prince William Board of Supervisors, but has struggled to win office outside of his county. He notably lost the Republican primary for the office of Governor to Ed Gillespie in 2017 by a slim margin, which Gillespie supporters ascribed to Stewart’s caustic, aggressive tone. After his narrow victory in the Tuesday primary over Nick Freitas, Stewart seems to have doubled-down on the often violent rhetoric he employs on the campaign trail.

On a CNN appearance last night with Chris Cuomo, the candidate struggled to answer questions about his support for and from anti-semites and white supremacists. In 2017, he received an endorsement from Paul Nehlen, an anti-semite who Stewart described as “one of my personal heroes.” Although he tried to deflect when Cuomo asked him about Nehlen and other white supremacist supporters, Stewart eventually said, “I take support from whoever wants to give it to me. That doesn’t mean I support their views.”

After his failed GOP primary run for Governor last year, Stewart was singled out for praise by Steve Bannon, a one-time President Donald Trump advisor who associates with white supremacists under the title the “alt-right.” Bannon described Stewart as the “titular head of the Trump movement” in an interview with the Washington Post, where he maintained Stewart would have prevailed over Northam, and predicted he’d bring national attention to the race for Kaine’s Senate seat.

Northam had a different take on his victory that invoked both Michelle Obama’s “We go high” mantra and “The Virginia Way,” the idea that elections in the Commonwealth are won by candidates who maintain a positive image and platform. While Bannon’s prediction about national attention has come true, ultimately, it will be up to Virginia voters to decide between two candidates who for many exemplify opposite ends of the spectrum: Tim Kaine for Democrats and “The Virginia Way,” and Corey Stewart as a bellicose, Trumpian member of the GOP.

Photo from Corey Stewart FB

Democratic Women Prevail Over Republican Opponents, Make History in Virginia Elections

Caitlin Barbieri | November 10, 2017

Topics: election, General Assembly, va politics, Virginia House of Delegates, Women in Politics

A ray of light beamed through the gray clouds of politics this week; not only did 14 Democrats get elected to delegate seats, but 11 of them were women. Of those 11 women, seven of them come from minority groups, bringing a level of diversity to the General Assembly which has never been present before.

These women ran on issues ranging from affordable health care to improving public schools, building infrastructure, and creating jobs, issues which polled highest and ultimately determined the outcome of this past week’s election in Virginia. But most unexpectedly, this election proved the people of Virginia wanted change – in a big way – and it was the women of Virginia, triumphing over their male Republican counterparts, which made that happen. 

RVA Mag reached out to some of these extraordinary women to get their take on the election and the issues which ushered them into their historic victories.

The House of Delegates will now be joined by its first female Asian-American, Kathy Tran, who won in the 42nd District, claiming a seat previously held by Republican Dave Albo. Tran, a Vietnamese refugee, has 12 years of experience under her belt at the U.S. Department of Labor. She went on to work at the National Immigration Forum, one of the nation’s leading immigration advocacy organizations, an issue included on her platform along with preventing gun violence and access to affordable healthcare. 

“To me, it was a clear rejection of hate, racism, bigotry, and misogyny that the Republicans were running in the gubernatorial campaign,” Delegate Elect Tran said of her win. “It’s a very strong affirmation in Virginia for the core values of our democracy of hope, opportunity, and inclusivity.”  

In the 13th District, Danica Roem became the first transgender woman elected to state legislature. After months of bringing attention to real issues such as traffic congestion in Northern Virginia, Roem came out on top and ousted Bob Marshall, a 13-term Delegate known for introducing anti-LGBTQ legislation.

Another first for Virginia is Dawn Adams, who won a seat in Richmond’s 68th District, defeating Manoli Loupassi, and is the first openly lesbian member of the House. This election was a huge win for the LGBTQ community and showed Virginia is indeed for lovers. 

“It’s high time we have a government that reflects the diversity of the commonwealth and that brings to bear such diverse experiences and perspectives to really understand how laws impact people,” Delegate-Elect Tran said.

Adding to that diversity is Elizabeth Guzman, a public administrator, who became one of  the first two Latinx women to sit in the House of Delegates, along with first-time candidate Hala Ayala. Guzman immigrated to the United States from Peru with a high school diploma and advocated for preschool, family, and mental health services during her run for the 31st District of Virginia.

Ayala, who campaigned on protecting choice and contraception options for women, and on Medicaid eligibility, went from being a cashier at a gas station to working as a cyber-security specialist for the Department of Homeland Security. On Tuesday, she became the Delegate for the 51st District in Prince William County, defeating Del. Rich Anderson, a four-term incumbent. 

Kelly Fowler is replacing Republican Ron Villanueva in Virginia Beach. She will be representing the 21st district and is the first female Asian-American Pacific Islander to have a seat in the House. One of her top issues during her run was expanding Medicaid in the state. “As we watched our government under Trump this year, we ran a marathon to get to the point where we could make a bigger difference,” Delegate-Elect Fowler said. “Protests and rallies can only do so much; we had to take our seat at the table. When the women get involved, we see things through until they are done right.”

Another woman eager to take her seat at the table is Jennifer Carroll Foy. The VMI grad and former public defender discovered she was pregnant with twins three weeks after announcing her campaign for delegate. Even though her sons were born after only 26 weeks, her commitment to the people never wavered. Foy will be the next delegate of Virginia’s 2nd district and is currently mother to two healthy boys. Protecting Planned Parenthood, expanding Medicaid for 400,000 Virginians, and improving transportation are just a few of the issues she is fighting for. 

Professor of anthropology and women’s studies Debra Rodman had an upset victory in 73rd District and will be the new delegate for the residents of Henrico, aiming to ensure access to affordable healthcare and job growth. “I think it gives people a lot of hope to see people like them, hard-working women, professional women, and stay-at-home moms who are going to be fighting for the everyday Virginian,” Delegate-Elect Rodman said.

Women took another Republican seat when Karrie Delaney unseated Republican incumbent Jim LeMunyon in the 67th District (Fairfax and Loudon counties). In all, Democratic women claimed seven Republican seats in the Virginia House of Delegates. Delaney was formerly the Communications Director for Shared Hope International, a non-profit dedicated to ending sex trafficking. She currently serves as Chair of the Fairfax County Library Board of Trustees. She’s aiming to create well-paying jobs and implement long-term transportation reform with her new position. 

Wendy Gooditis won the race for delegate in the 10th District. After losing her brother at the beginning of her campaign, Gooditis ran on issues of health care and equal access.

“I think this historic number of women running for office has given the rest of the America hope that we are the country we believe we are,” Delegate-Elect Rodman said. “We’re ready to work together and show we are a community that cares about one another and that we don’t want to fight. We want to create unification around the issues that matter.” Beyond what makes these women unique, they are all unified by their love for the state of Virginia and commitment to the people of their districts. These women are qualified, dedicated and aware of the issues facing the people of Virginia – and that is what really matters.  

 

Virginia Politics Sponsored by F.W. Sullivans

 

Opinion: Voting Democrat is Still the Lesser of Two Evils for Progressives

Ryan Persaud | November 10, 2017

Topics: Democratic Socialists of America, Ed Gillespie, election, LGBTQ rights, Ralph Northam, va politics, Virginia Governor

I wasn’t enthusiastic about voting yesterday.

Although I took the day off because some of my professors canceled classes, I wasn’t in a rush to get to my polling place. After I spent my morning and early afternoon catching up on assignments, I headed out on that rainy, dreary day, ready to begrudgingly cast my vote for Ralph Northam and the other Democrats on the ballot. I felt hopeless. Gillespie had this election in the bag, at least I thought. Northam’s campaign had been underwhelming, to put it charitably, and I didn’t know anyone who was actually excited to vote for the Lieutenant Governor. Coming off of the surreal and deeply depressing 2016 Presidential election, I was bracing myself for the worst.

Thankfully, we now know that I was wrong. Northam defeated his Republican opponent Ed Gillespie by nine points, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. And in more riveting news, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member Lee Carter defeated House Majority Whip Jackson Miller in the 50th district. Additionally, Democrat Danica Roem, an openly transgender candidate, defeated Republican and notorious bigot Bob Marshall in the 13th District. This effectively threw the longtime incumbent in the dumpster, where I’m sure he’ll angrily draft anti-transgender bills in silence for the rest of his days.

Although it’s important to acknowledge these victories and to celebrate them when they happen, it is equally important to acknowledge the failures of the Democratic Party, especially leading up to this election. After all, this election has been a nightmare for progressives, with Northam lacking in tangible progressive policies and values. Examining the flaws of Northam’s campaign, and the Democratic Party as a whole will help us understand the demands that people need make of the party going forward. And hopefully, by doing so, we can lessen our chances of having a “too close to call” situation between a racist, fear-mongering conservative and a milquetoast democratic candidate.

It is also important to acknowledge the fact that Northam isn’t a progressive. I don’t understand how anyone would consider someone who voted for George W. Bush twice, refuses to take a hard stance against the building of pipelines, and is willing to change his position on something as vital as immigration policy to be a progressive, let alone allow him to get away with branding himself as such.

Photo by David Streever

Admittedly, there are policies that Northam believes which separates him from Gillespie, such as his open support of reproductive rights and the LGBTQ community.

However, this gets at a key frustration I have with the Democratic Party: When I’m voting for a Democrat, I am often voting for my survival. In every election I have participated in, I’ve had to choose a politician who didn’t have any ideas on how to improve the lives of those struggling under capitalism, yet I supported them because they weren’t interested in taking my rights away. In Northam’s case, I voted for him due to the fact that he supports reproductive rights, and because I wanted one of my best friends to continue to safely transition as a trans woman.

Voting out of fear for the safety of a loved one is a terrible reason to want to vote for any politician. It’s cold, callous, and it proves that our “lesser of two evils” two-party system is broken. However, this fear plays right into the Democrats’ hands. The Democratic Party runs on fear. For the past couple of years, their platform has been the fact that they’re not as bad as the Republican Party. But by giving marginalized people no choice, and offering voters nothing but the security of their basic rights, Democrats are leaving us worse off. For example, single-payer health care is becoming an increasingly popular idea among progressives in the United States. However, establishment Democrats don’t want to embrace this fact, opting to die on the hill of the flawed Affordable Care Act instead. If Democrats want to look like they’re serving the interests of the people, they would consider an issue such as single payer, or at the very least, craft another healthcare solution that would serve more of its constituents.

Even if we buy into the fact that we must vote for Democrats simply because they will protect certain rights, there’s no way of knowing whether they’ll stay true to their word. After all, if Northam is willing to change his position on sanctuary cities, using the lives of undocumented immigrants as a bargaining chip, what else is he open to changing his mind about? More to the point, what other issues does Northam think he can compromise with Republicans on? Are we ever going to see an anti-transgender “compromise” in Virginia, similar to the one we saw in North Carolina?

As a young voter, the only time I felt like I was actually voting for someone I believed in was when I voted for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary. With the Democratic Party undermining Sanders’ popularity and his more progressive policies ever since the primary, and with reports of corruption occurring within the party itself, it’s clear that the Democratic Party does not care about my opinions as a leftist person of color.

This is why we need to step up and make our voices heard. This is why pro-sanctuary city protesters interrupting Northam’s acceptance speech last night is not only important, but absolutely necessary. If we don’t push Democrats to care about progressive issues — which are issues that impact a majority of people in the United States — they won’t care about them. It is our job to challenge these politicians, to make it clear that they work for us, and not the other way around. In these tumultuous times, we cannot get caught resting on our laurels. There’s a lot more work that needs to be done, and the only way we’re going to make progress is by getting active, both inside the electoral system, and in progressive organizations outside out of it.

I’m glad Ralph Northam won the election. Now, it’s time to keep him in check.

Marijuana, Drug Wars, and The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Time to Right a Devastating Wrong in Virginia

Cliff Hyra | November 5, 2017

Topics: Cliff Hyra, election, election 2017, Governor, Libertarian, marijuana reform, school to prison pipeline

In this year’s gubernatorial debates, Confederate monuments came up time and time again. Such a singular focus seems strange, considering that all the candidates in this election have essentially the same position on that issue – leave the decision up to local residents. But because it is a culture war issue, it commands attention. One candidate likes the monuments. Another does not. That tells us which team they are on in the ongoing culture war.

Some people are passionate about Confederate monuments. I understand that. But what a shame that the topic has sucked up so much of the oxygen in the room, leaving little time for issues that much more directly impact the material well-being of Virginians on a daily basis. As a lawyer and a believer in the importance of freedom, choice, and of our constitutional and civil rights, I see criminal justice reform as one of the top priorities in the Commonwealth. However, the topic never came up in any of the debates. Have the monuments been pushed front and center to distract and divide us, to keep us from reaching a bipartisan consensus on urgently needed reforms in other areas?

Virginia’s criminal justice system is unfortunately not very just and has many policies that are a legacy of an explicitly racist past, when state government enforced massive resistance to public school integration and banned interracial marriage. Its burdens weigh especially heavily on lower income Virginians and people of color, but all of us pay dearly — both through a loss of skilled workers and economic dynamism, and direct support of the system and affected families with taxpayer money. Each of us must come to terms with our association with an unjust and devastating system that shames us on a national level.

Virginia’s criminal justice system fails most dramatically where success is most critical — for our children. In a tragedy often referred to as Virginia’s “School-to-prison pipeline,” Virginia refers students to law enforcement agencies at the highest rate in the nation — nearly triple the national average, disproportionately black and disabled children. About half of criminal complaints are for children aged 14 and under. Schools are not required to report the reasons for the referrals, but anecdotal evidence abounds, with charges of “disorderly conduct” for behavior such as kicking a trash can.

The Virginia Department of Corrections reports that we pay over $120,000 per year to keep a child in juvenile detention, even though we utilize large juvenile prisons with severely limited programs for rehabilitation and recidivism reduction. Rehabilitation and reintegration into society should be top priorities for juvenile facilities, because the human and financial cost of losing an entire lifetime to the criminal justice system is astronomical. But our failure in this area is staggering — 75 percent of youths leaving juvenile facilities are reconvicted within three years.

While housed in these facilities, located over 100 miles away from Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia — our highest committing communities — youths pay $5 to $10 per phone call and earn 35 to 50 cents an hour in their institutional work program. Meanwhile, their families are forced to pay child support to the state to support the cost of their commitment.

Community-based alternatives not only exist, but are used successfully in other states, where research has proven their effectiveness. Functional Family Therapy, a structured family‐based intervention that uses a multi‐step approach to enhance protective factors and reduce risk factors for the family; Aggression Replacement Training, which uses repetitive learning techniques to help offenders develop skills to control anger and use more appropriate behaviors; and Multi-Systemic Therapy, which improves families’ capacities to overcome the causes of delinquency by promoting parents’ ability to replace deviant peer relationships with pro‐social friendships; have each been shown to produce net benefits of tens of thousands of dollars per youth. We need to bring those proven programs here to Virginia. Where secure facilities are necessary, they should be small, regionally-based, and focused on growth and rehabilitation under an independent ombudsman’s oversight.

But reform needs to go well beyond our juvenile justice system. Too many Virginians are languishing in prison for victimless crimes like drug use, away from their families and away from any productive work. Virginia spends billions of dollars each year on a criminal justice system that arrests 40,000 Virginians for drug crimes every year, with marijuana arrests accounting for 60 percent of those and mere possession well over 80 percent. The direct cost to incarcerate one person is about $30,000 per year, not to mention the loss of their productivity to the economy and the loss of their tax dollars, the fracturing of their family, and all the negative economic consequences for their families and for their futures.

Drug arrests disproportionately affect African American communities, even though research indicates drug use is no more prevalent there, and contribute substantially to the gaps we see between those communities and others in terms of educational outcomes and economic performance.

The number of drug arrests in Virginia has skyrocketed over the last 10-15 years, almost doubling — even though rates of violent crime and property crime are dropping, and even though rates of drug arrests are also falling rapidly in other parts of the country. The Commonwealth has ordered a study into marijuana decriminalization, but do we really need a study? 29 states and the District of Columbia already have legalized marijuana. We know that it works.

When marijuana is legalized, opioid deaths plummet and tax revenues soar. Surveys show that more than 85 percent of Virginians support some form of legal marijuana, and over 60 percent support full legalization. But because we have no ballot referendums here in Virginia, we are still waiting for action from a governor who cares about what the people of Virginia want. We don’t need a study, we need to stop wasting taxpayer money incarcerating productive citizens, separating them from their families and subjecting them to abuse, and depriving them of their ability to obtain stable and high paying jobs in the future. We need to legalize marijuana now.

Although legalization requires cooperation of the legislature, the governor has the power to grant an absolute pardon to any Virginian who is in jail only for drug use, after completion of a treatment or anti-recidivism program (if deemed necessary), so they can return to their families, expunge their records, and get a good, stable job. And until marijuana is formally legalized, the governor can order law enforcement to give laws against drug use the lowest possible enforcement priority. That would allow us to dramatically cut the $3 Billion spent on the justice system each year and increase tax revenues while strengthening families and improving relationships between police and the communities they serve.

Numerous other abusive criminal justice practices in Virginia should also be curbed. For example, arrest quotas should be made explicitly illegal, so that police officer promotion or awards cannot be predicated on making a certain number of arrests. The abusive suspension of driver’s licenses for failure to pay trivial fines and for minor drug offenses should end, to help keep at-risk Virginians employed.

Civil asset forfeiture abuse, also known as “policing for profit,” is a common practice in Virginia whereby police can seize private property based merely on a suspicion that the property was related to criminal activity, without any criminal charge or conviction. Victims are forced to sue the police department to get their property back, a costly, time-consuming, and, for most victims, impractical process. A criminal charge should be required before property can be seized, proceeds should be sent to the general fund and not directly to the police, and property should be returned to the owner when a criminal conviction is not obtained.

In Virginia, judges with little knowledge of the lives of the accused set bail levels at their own discretion and without relying on statistical evidence. Experiments with bail reform in other states have shown equal or better results in defendants showing up for trial, with much lower costs to the accused – many fewer poor people forced to stay in jail, sometimes for a year or more, just because they can’t afford bail.

The felony larceny threshold should be increased from $200 (the lowest in the nation) to the national average of $1,000 or more. Studies show that low thresholds waste valuable resources without any benefit in crime reduction.

Parole for non-violent offenders encourages rehabilitation and good behavior and reduces recidivism, and should be reinstated in Virginia. Restoration of voting rights should be made automatic after all sentences and probation are served, as in almost all other states. Trial by ambush should be ended, by requiring prosecutors to turn over police reports and other evidence to the defense before a trial. And, Virginia should implement the recommendations of the 2015 Governor’s Commission on criminal justice reform for improving our prison system, which could save Virginia $500 Million each year while improving effectiveness.

All of these reforms are badly needed and would save the Commonwealth billions of dollars in direct and indirect costs while allowing law enforcement to focus on serious crimes. They would also rehabilitate our reputation and make our state fairer and more just for all its citizens. Shouldn’t the Governor make these reforms a priority? Only one candidate has made them a priority on the campaign trail — that’s me.

 

*Photos by Landon Shroder

 

Virginia Politics Sponsored by F.W. Sullivans

 

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