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Virginia Primary 2017 Rundown

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Despite Virginia’s gubernatorial race taking place during a non-presidential year, the ballot is packed and the competition is tight for the primary election, which takes place Tuesday, June 13. Candidates vying for governor, lieutenant governor and several seats in the Virginia House of Delegates will be on the ballot.

Here is a rundown of who is on the ballot, some of GayRVA.com’s and RVA Mag’s coverage of the candidates and where you can vote. Check it out below:

Statewide elections:

2017 June Democratic Primary, governor

2017 June Republican Primary, governor

2017 June Democratic Primary, lieutenant governor

2017 June Republican Primary, lieutenant governor

GayRVA sat down with both Democratic candidates on the governor ballot, current Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello to press them on issues facing the LGBTQ community.

All three Republican candidates, including frontrunner Ed Gillespie, condemned transgender individuals and their use of the bathroom. 

On the other side, both Democratic candidates Northam and Perriello disagreed and said they’d veto any anti-LGBTQ legislation. 

Rep. Gillespie, and Democrats Northam and Perriello all condemned the torch-lit march protesting the removal of Confederate statues in Charlottesville last month.

Stewart, on the other hand, has been a staunch supporter for the monuments and Confederate symbols.

Del. Glenn Davis (Virginia Beach), a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, took time recently to chat with RVA Mag and give us a tour of his infamous Mellow Yellow RV. He gave his views on the monument controversy, how his party is reaching the younger community, and his thoughts on Trump.  

The deadline to register to vote has already passed, but you can check your registration status here. 

You can find your polling place at the official government website here or if that’s too formal for you, there’s also Your Fucking Polling Place. It’ll tell you where to go to vote and what’s on your ballot with cleverly inserted f-bombs.

So get out there tomorrow, June 13, and VOTE!

 

 

Virginia Democrat, Libertarian gubernatorial primary candidates win highest marks on marijuana policies by national advocacy group

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The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) has released a report card for the marijuana policies of the six candidates running in the 2017 Virginia race for governor. The report gave each politician a letter grade, similar to the report cards given out by the advocacy groups. MPP wrote a survey of three questions which was sent to each candidate, who were then scored based on their responses (or lack thereof).

The questions were:

Whether to reduce the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a reasonable civil fine;

Whether Virginia should establish a program allowing seriously ill patients with qualifying conditions to consume medical marijuana with the permission of their physicians;

and

whether they support creating a reasonable system for taxing and regulating marijuana production and sales for legal use by adults 21 years of age and older in Virginia.

Republican Ed Gillespie earned a D, the lowest grade. Libertarian Cliff Hyra, on the other hand, scored the highest grade of A+.

The Democratic candidates, Lt. Governor Ralph Northam and former Congressman Tom Perriello both support the decriminalization of marijuana, earning them a B and an A-, respectively.

MPP appreciated Northam’s support for “decriminalization and the establishment of a comprehensive medical marijuana program,” but his grade was lowered to a B for not saying what his position on the adult use of cannabis is, as well as not replying to the survey.

Perriello was the only candidate out of all six to answer all of the questions provided. In response to question one, he answered in the affirmative, saying that “the decades old war on drugs has failed.” He denounced “racially biased drug laws,” and declared that “We have to fix our broken criminal justice system and put a stop to the school-to-prison pipeline and pattern of ruining lives over non-violent marijuana possession.”

Perriello answered question two with a yes, as well. He said that “Virginia must join the majority of jurisdictions” by creating a medical marijuana program. He supported this statement by referencing the benefits of medical marijuana use. Perriello answered question three by claiming that he would eventually support a tax on marijuana use by adults 21 and older, citing the success of Colorado’s tax on recreational marijuana.

On the republican side, Gillespie – the party’s current front runner – performed the most poorly out of the three, receiving a D for opposing “decriminalization and adult-use,” as well as having an unknown stance on medical usage. He did not answer the survey.

Stewart, the Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, received a B for telling “an MPP staffer that he supports decriminalization and medical marijuana,” but having an unknown policy towards adult use. He, too, did not reply to the survey.

Wagner, who serves in the seventh district in the Virginia Senate, was given a B for the same reasons as Stewart.

The only Libertarian candidate in the race, Mechanicsville lawyer Cliff Hyra, was the conly candidate to receive an A+ for his responses. He threw his weight behind “decriminalization, the establishment of a medical marijuana program, and allowing responsible adults age 21 and older to consume cannabis,” according to MPP.

He responded to MPP’s survey, but not with as much detail as Perriello did. Hyra’s small-government colors show in his statement to MPP:

“A medical marijuana program should be unnecessary because I support full legalization, however I would support a medical marijuana program as a second-best alternative,” wrote Hyra. “Virginia must end its unjust and counterproductive prohibition on marijuana.”

The fact that Hyra was the only candidate to receive an A+ from MPP may raise an eyebrow, especially since his response was much less detailed than the one given by Perriello. He does not state what his potential medical marijuana program would look like, or how Virginia would end its prohibition stance on the drug.

MPP is the largest non-profit organization working to solely address marijuana policies, and most of the money donated by MPP 2016 election cycle went to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’ profile on the organization. However, during all of the other election cycles, they have donated primarily to Democrats.

The more positive views of marijuana reform held by the Democrats and Hyra, however, do not reflect the policies endorsed by the Virginia legislature. While some reform bills have been passed, most legislation on the topic has been killed, as can be seen in the regular sessions from this year, 2016 and 2015, just to address the past few years.

Sentences for first time possession have been reduced in the past.

However, if history is any indicator, then reform minded politicians will have their work cut out for them, but beyond the political value of legalization, a 2016 study by VCU’s CNS program found Black people in Virginia continue to face higher arrest rates for possession vs. their white peers – if any candidate promises to work towards racial and economic equality, legalization could be seen as one way to reduce arrest rates across the state.

Virginia’s GOP gubernatorial frontrunner lags by double digits against Dems, majority disapprove of Trump

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A new Washington Post/George Mason poll shows Virginia’s leading GOP candidate continues to struggle against Democratic opponents as Election Day 2017 draws closer.

Ed Gillespie, a former GOP National Party leader, is the front runner against his two opponents, Confederate Flag-Champion Corey Stewart and businessman Frank Wagner. While Gillespie is way ahead of his competition, he faces double digit losses against either Democratic candidate.

Current Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam beats Gillespie by 11 points, 49-38 with 9 percent unsure and 4 percent unwilling to vote for either candidate.
Against former Congressman (and ambulance smasher) Tom Perriello, Gillespie is down 13 points, 50-37, with a similar portion unsure or unwilling to vote for either candidate.

The poll does appear to lean Democrat, with 34 percent identifying as Dems and 24 percent identifying as Republican, but the 33 percent identifying as independents are what will decide the election and the totals in other questions from the poll seem to show a high level of dissatisfaction with the GOP-controlled Congress and White House.

58 percent oppose steps to roll back Obama’s signature Health Care bill while only 34 percent support it.

And Trump’s popularity continues to lag with 59 percent of voters disapproving of the Commander and chief’s “handling of the job of President.”

These factors and more don’t look great on paper for Gillespie, and Hillary won the state by by over 200,000 votes last year, but after 2016, who knows what polls to believe.

As for the Democratic Primary, the new data shows Perriello at the front of this very close race with Northam, though the two often poll neck and neck with a large margin of undecided voters. Perriello is ahead by only one percentage point in this poll, a similar showing to polls from March of this year.

The Democratic primary race has been particularly interesting as Perriello was endorsed by both Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), two progressive champs who have often pitted themselves against the establishment.

Northam, on the other hand, has racked up endorsements from the state party heavy hitters like Gov. McAuliffe and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.

The poll also reports that Perriello is more popular than Northam with the left wing of the Democratic Party, as well as women and young people. This could also be attributed to Perriello’s support for progressive policies, such as opposing the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley natural gas pipelines. Northam believes the pipelines are inevitable as federal projects, and claims he will work to ensure “property rights, safety and the environment are protected.”

Instead, Perriello favors clean energy solutions, and claims that Northam’s policies will take employment opportunities away from Virginians.

The Commonwealth heads to Primary polls on June 13th.

OpEd: With white nationalists gathering in Charlottesville, how long before RVA is next?

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How much longer does Richmond think it can get away with not addressing the myriad of complex issues surrounding the city’s Confederate symbols? While the city conveniently ignores this ticking time-bomb, in the past week, we have seen protests and arrests in New Orleans during the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. And in Charlottesville on Saturday night a rabble of torch bearing white nationalists, led by none other than “alt-right” poster child Richard Spencer, surrounded the statue of Robert E. Lee in Lee Park – also scheduled for removal.

The Charlottesville story has now broken in multiple national and international news outlets.

But before we move forward, let’s take a moment to acknowledge just how threatening a rabble of torch bearing white nationalists is and the historical message that this conveys to communities of color. The fact that this kind of demonstration can even be planned should provide a barometer on just how emboldened the forces of white nationalism have become.

This cannot be overstated as we brace ourselves for the continued fight over our city’s own Confederate symbols, no matter how hard certain elements within the city want to maintain the status quo.

These tensions do not exist in a vacuum, however. What the Mayor and Richmond’s City Council needs to consider is that baseless claims of ‘preserving heritage’ continue to be a red herring that masks something much more insidious. Such claims are now being compelled by a re-energized brand of extremist politics, which is fusing old hatreds with populist resentments in what has become the modern Republican Party.

As an example, look no further than the campaign advertisements by leading Republican Candidates in Virginia, whether or not it is the second place GOP gubernatorial candidate Corey Stewart (see above) and his very public obsession with Confederate symbols or Lt. Gov. candidate Bryce Reeve’s fear mongering against our Muslim neighbors (see below).

This is the backdrop and political climate which our elected officials now have to make the determination against, as they decide what to do about our own Confederate symbols. Because the time for having it both ways is over, not when emboldened white nationalists’ can engineer a public show of force like they did in Charlottesville on Saturday. This incident should give the city a renewed focus to resolve this issue before something similar happens in our own streets.

The city must also understand that as political and social entrenchment continues to grow and Confederate symbols start to be used more regularly by emerging “alt-right” and white nationalist groups, Richmond will inevitably become the front line of this debate: based on our history, the context in which it still exists and our vast store of available symbols. Knowing this, the city’s leaders need to start providing detailed guidance on how this complex history should be reconciled and the contemporary connection we want associated with it.

Democratic candidate for Governor, Tom Perriello, in light of this incident, has renewed his calls for a statewide commission on racial healing and transformation. City leaders in Richmond should be taking this que and leading this dialogue statewide.

Because no amount of craft brewery openings, beer launches or farm to table restaurants is going to counterbalance the reality of how significant our city is to this debate. Certainly not when the most visible aspects of this conversation remain enshrined in all aspects of the city’s dominant landmarks.

Additionally, given the incident in Charlottesville, now is the time for the city to make a bold statement and actively disengage from any conversation on the issue that might include “preservation of heritage”

This does not mean there is no place for valuable historical insight, very much to the contrary. But we need to recognize these coded terms for what they really represent, which is a communication tactic for “alt-right” groups and white nationalists to further their own supremacist agenda. And until the city elevates all aspects of historical preservation, specifically African American history, to the same status, this line of reasoning remains hypocritical at best and morally corrupt at worst.

Furthermore, we should not be doing the work of these groups for them by engaging in these kinds of maligned conversations. Both Democratic candidates for Governor: Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello, have already strongly condemned what happened in Charlottesville. Yet absent from this conversation is any real position from our own city officials, which seems strange given our relative proximity to Charlottesville and the fact that Richmond is ground zero for this debate.

Given the historical relevance of this city, our role needs to be both symbolic and preeminent in determining the place these symbols should have in public spaces. We need to be setting the example for other southern states and the entire county in how to reconcile past and present, which starts with reducing the role of all Confederate symbols in our city.

This is how Richmond can claim the moniker of the Progressive South.

Anything short of this is just a continuation of the status-quo and setting the stage for a showdown this city is uniquely unprepared for.

Words by Landon Shroder

Endorsed by Bernie Sanders, Perriello campaigns in Richmond

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In his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor, Tom Perriello says he would make community college free, raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and confront the Trump administration over its policies on immigration and other issues.

Perriello – who has won an endorsement from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders – discussed those topics Monday night at a town-hall style meeting at Virginia Union University in Richmond.
Promising to combat President Donald Trump’s administration and help create a “community of conscience,” the Charlottesville native received consistent applause from the crowd.

He touted his support of the Affordable Care Act when he served in the U.S. Congress in 2009-11. Trump, who succeeded Barrack Obama as president in January, has vowed to repeal and replace the ACA. Perriello gave credit to demonstrations such as the Women’s March on Washington for preventing that from happening.

“Five months ago, people could have curled up on the couch and cried, and I’m sure all of us did. But instead, people decided to say, ‘No, this isn’t who we are as a commonwealth; this is not something we are going to stand by passively and watch,’” Perriello said. “Because of these efforts, because of the marches, because of the protests, because of the stories, today the Affordable Care Act remains in place.”

Perriello also discussed his hope to provide free community college to Virginia residents, calling it a good investment. He said trickle-down economics – the notion that tax cuts for the wealthy will generate benefits for poorer people – doesn’t work.

“What the evidence does show you is when you actually increase wages and invest in people, then you do get growth locally, and more growth for small business,” Perriello said. “This is not something we’re doing out of the goodness of our hearts. We’re doing this because it’s a good investment strategy.”

A big part of Perriello’s speech was establishing himself as a viable candidate in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Perriello announced his candidacy in January, when it appeared that Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam would be uncontested in seeking the nomination.

Perriello encouraged supporters to knock on doors and volunteer on his behalf to spread the word about his campaign. That was a critical strategy at the time: Only one in five Virginians even knew his name, according to a poll published in February by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University.

Last week, a survey by the center showed that Perriello and Northam were tied: Each had support from 26 percent of Democratic-leaning voters; almost half of the people polled were undecided.
At the event at Virginia Union University, Perriello had few critical things to say about Northam. Instead, he mentioned issues on which the two candidates agreed – but Perriello said he was the first to take those positions.

“We came out and led the way on standing up for a $15-an-hour minimum wage. A few weeks later, we saw Ralph and others court that decision,” Perriello said. “Same thing with criminal justice reform and debt-free community college. I think what we need right now is someone who’s actually leading a policy agenda.”

Perriello echoes many of the positions that Sanders espoused during his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination last year. On Tuesday, Sanders issued a statement endorsing Perriello.
“We need to elect progressives at every level of government if we are going to beat back the dangerous agenda of the Trump Administration and its Republican allies,” the statement said. “Tom is committed to fighting the rigged economy and income inequality. He was the first major statewide candidate in Virginia to run on a $15 minimum wage and the first to say two years of community college should be tuition-free.”

Perriello will face off against Northam in the Democratic primary election on June 13. Northam has the support of outgoing Gov. Terry McAuliffe and most Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly and the state’s congressional delegation.

On the Republican side, three candidates are vying for the GOP nomination for governor: Ed Gillespie, former chairman of the Republican National Committee; state Sen. Frank Wagner of Virginia Beach; and Corey Stewart, who chairs the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.

Words and photo by Tyler Hammel via VCU’s Capital News Service

Poll: Virginians really don’t like Trump or the direction he’s taking the country

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A new Poll from Christopher Newport University shows Virginians are not into what President Trump is putting down.

This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise – Trump lost the state by about 5% points and his mission to dismantle the Federal Government is bound to not sit well with the 172,000 federal employees who live here. But the new CNU poll shows just how unimpressed members of the Commonwealth are with Trumps performance.

By the numbers, Trump’s job approval stands at 37%, with 59% disapproving and Virginia voters
are “mostly unhappy” with the direction of the country. Meanwhile, in a boon to Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe, They are mostly happy – 50% vs 25% not – with the direction the state is going.

Other interesting numbers show the state’s Democratic Gubernatorial candidates, current Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam vs. former Roanoke-area Congressman Tom Perriello, neck and neck at 26% support among primary voters (with 45% undecided).

Republican Ed Gillespie stands as the candidate with the highest favorable rating (23) with the two Dems floating in the teens – meanwhile he also has the biggest unfavorable rating at 15.

Gillespie is leading the Republican Primary over former-Trump campaign manager Corey Stewart. Stewart made headlines recently for calling Gillespie a “cuckservative” on a recent Reddit AMA. Stewart was fired by the Trump campaign after setting up a protest in front of the NRA Building in Northern VA against the campaign’s wishes.

How all this Trump-hate plays out we’ll have to wait and see when Virginians go to the polls this November.

The results of this poll are based on 831 interviews of registered Virginia voters, including 414 on landline and 417 on cell phone, conducted March 16-26, 2017. Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding. The margin of error for the whole survey is +/- 3.7 % at the 95% level of confidence.

You can read the poll results here.