The Commonwealth’s legislative season is now fully in the rearview mirror and all eyes are now on the statewide primaries to be held June 13 of this year. Note that the deadline to update your address or to register to vote in the primaries is May 22. I encourage you […]

The General Assembly reconvened for the Veto Session April 5. It is the legislature’s turn to act on the Governor’s amendments and vetoes to bills that passed during the regular session. In 2013, Virginians elected Terry McAuliffe as governor. During his tenure in office, Governor McAuliffe has been a firewall […]

The General Assembly has completed its 2017 legislative session. The House of Delegates will be up for election in November along with the statewide offices of Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General. Being an election year, at times it was painful to listen to the debate, as well as view […]

This General Assembly session is in full swing as we near crossover on Feb. 7. On the national front, it’s no surprise this President continues to wreak havoc domestically and internationally with directives that are meant to satisfy a far-right base of supporters. These reprehensible actions run counter to everything […]

Happy New Year to all of the constituents of Virginia’s 35th Senate district. 2016 is now in the books but there is much on the docket for the Commonwealth in 2017. The General Assembly will convene January 11 for the “short session.” That means we will have about 45 days […]

On November 8, millions of Americans went to the polls and cast their ballot for president. Twenty days later, I sit here writing this column, observing that one presidential candidate leads the other by some 2 million votes. But the candidate with the 2 million-vote lead, Hillary Clinton, will not […]

Next week we will have a newly elected President of the United States. After this long and contentious campaign season, my guess is that everyone will be greatly relieved our nation will be opening a new chapter in history beginning January 20, 2017. Here in Virginia we are quickly turning […]

Less than five weeks from today Americans will go to the polls and elect the 45th president of the United States. Our nation faces a monumental decision that may very well impact the fabric of our society for decades to come. It’s no state secret or a partisan attack about […]

On August 26, the Governor addressed the Joint Money Committees of the General Assembly. Most of you are aware the Virginia economy remains in a sluggish cycle, very much modeling the nation. Last February we adopted a balanced, two-year budget anticipating excess revenues from FY 2016 that would be rolled […]

Summer is well on its way and Labor Day is just a little more than a month away. The public school year will begin on September 6. Our colleges and universities begin their academic year even earlier To prepare for the opening of school Virginia will host a sales tax […]