Pod Virginia

IN THE NEWS:

Democrats have an edge in fundraising overall, but Republicans are heading into the November election with more cash on hand for House of Delegates races. The latest round of campaign finance disclosures saw a record amount of campaign cash for an off-year election, and we're just getting started.

Virginia once had a big advantage over Maryland in landing the new FBI because of its proximity to the FBI Academy at Quantico. But now the government agency that will choose the location is changing the criteria to give less weight to proximity to Quantico and more weight to cost and social impact.


At the Watercooler: Thomas discusses the potential for Glenn Youngkin to serve as a less-catastrophic Republican presidential nominee than Donald Trump, and Michael talks about the national politics on the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

TRIVIA: What was Virginia's most expensive state Senate race?

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Attorney and Virginia election analyst Sam Shirazi joins Michael to discuss the dozen Virginia House seats that Republicans have set their sights on for November's election. With Democrats only needing to win six of twelve (and three of those seats being likely pickups), the Republicans are splitting their effort between offensive and defensive efforts to keep their majority.

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IN THE NEWS:

Attorney General Jason Miyares is signing on in support of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The lawsuit calls into question the funding model, which finances regulation of industries with money that comes from the industries that are regulated. Oral arguments in the case are expected this fall.

The Democratic primary was a historic first for voters choosing candidates for the Arlington County Board, which had two open seats. But many voters raised objections about a "single transferable vote," essentially that they were able to cast only one vote even though there were two open seats in an election with six candidates. So the Arlington County Board did a 180 last weekend, returning to a traditional system for the general election.

Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin is working with Democratic Senator Mark Warner to lure semiconductor manufacturing companies to Virginia. They appeared together last week at a summit hosted by Virginia Tech.


At the Watercooler: The Youngkin administration's new model policies on transgender students are damaging and restrictive, and the Arlington County School Board has remained completely silent on the issue--despite Michael's best efforts.

TRIVIA: What year was Ken Plum first elected to the House of Delegates?

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On this episode, Thomas and Michael are joined by Chris Piper, former Virginia Elections Commissioner and now executive director of the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP). Chris explains how VPAP interprets and displays campaign finance information in a non-partisan manner, collects news stories from across the Commonwealth, and displays complex data to help Virginians make more informed election choices.

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Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

IN THE NEWS:

Virginia legalized possession of marijuana in small amounts in 2021. But nobody has a license to sell it because the General Assembly has failed to create a licensing structure. Now one of Glenn Youngkin’s key officials says the governor is not interested.

Attorney General Jason Miyares is launching a new public relations campaign to let young people know that gang violence is a dead end. It's part of a program known as Virginia Ceasefire that balances prevention with prosecution--but critics say it's heavier on the prosecution and leaning toward a surveillance state.

Federal prosecutors say Culpeper Sheriff Scott Jenkins took more than $70,000 campaign contributions in exchange for making donors auxiliary sheriff's deputies, complete with badges, ID cards and the ability to carry concealed firearms without a permit in all 50 states.

At the Watercooler:
- Rumors that AG Miyares has a pretty progressive work-from-home policy for his staff
- Republicans finally embrace early voting

TRIVIA: Which presidents are buried in Hollywood cemetery?

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This week, the Washington Post's Teo Armus joins Thomas and Michael to break down the Democratic primaries in Arlington -- a six-candidate race that included ranked-choice voting and a huge battle over "missing middle" zoning, a type of medium-density housing that would serve as a diverse alternative to single-family zoning. How did the elections go down--and how much of a role did the ranked-choice voting system have to do with it?


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Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

IN THE NEWS:

The new fiscal year has started, and there's still no budget amendments coming out of the General Assembly--which means no funding for any new laws, including the bipartisan mental health initiative passed last year. Plus, that $180 million hole in the education budget is still causing problems...and neither Republicans nor Democrats seem incentivized to blink or negotiate.

Fairfax County's police department has converted its store of largely-unused shotguns into less-lethal beanbag guns, meant to surprise and stun without killing the target. While that might mean safer encounters, it might also cause cops to be more likely to draw their weapon in an encounter.

At the Watercooler:
- Efforts to legalize marijuana in Virginia seem dead in the water
- Pod Virginia is now on Threads!

TRIVIA: Who led the raid on Richmond in January 1781?

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This week, friend of the show Trevor Southerland joins Thomas and Michael to break down the results of the 2023 primaries--specifically, where candidates spent their money to reach voters. While topline fundraising numbres are one part of the story, targeted spending can make a huge difference. How does investing in mailers compare to TV ad buys? What does heavy investment in robo-calls mean for a flagging campaign? And can any amount of money paper over a message that misunderstands the base?




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Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance of Virginia

IN THE NEWS:

This weekend marked the beginning of the new fiscal year, although Virginia is beginning the new year without any budget amendments.That means that all the laws passed earlier this year are not funded. So while the government won't shut down, a whole host of new initiatives are simply not going to get moving until someone blinks in the negotiations.

A few years ago, Dominion Energy donated to the campaigns of just about every member of the General Assembly. Then in 2018, a PAC called Clean Virginia, funded by a millionaire, became a counterbalance. Now the two sides are battling for dominance, and each side can claim some victories in the primary elections.

Southside Virginia has the highest unemployment rates in the commonwealth. That’s according to new numbers from the Virginia Employment Commission. Places like Petersburg, Emporia, Brunswick County and Danville have unemployment rates that are about twice as high as Northern Virginia.

At the Watercooler:
- The Koch machine is likely to fall in behind Ron DeSantis for President...which would mean dire things for Governor Youngkin's chances
- Some of the strongest Democratic candidates to come out of the primaries--Russet Perry, Kimberly Pope Adams, and Susanna GIbson--all have one thing in common: they graduated from Delegate Danice Roem's Emerge Virginia earlier this year.

TRIVIA: What were the other two British colonies that remained loyal (other than the Canadas)?

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With the 2023 primaries over, attorney and Virginia election-watcher Sam Shirazi joins Thomas and Michael to discuss the toss-up Virginia House and Senate races coming up in November. With control of the Senate up for grabs, some of these races are seeing an influx of money closer to Congressional campaigns--so what does the funding mean, and what does low turnout at the primaries bode for Election Day in November?

Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia