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Virginia needs to get serious about ‘megasites,’ outgoing official says
In 2016, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the state’s leading economic recruiter, was in desperate trouble. It was not vetting new corporate prospects and was shoving money and other goodies through the door, according to a scathing report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), a watchdog for the General Assembly. […]
New draft Virginia legislative maps released
Special redistricting experts working for the Virginia Supreme Court have submitted redrawn federal and state legislative districts. The new maps for the U.S. House of Representatives, the House of Delegates and the state Senate are out for public review in advance of public hearings at the court Dec. 15 and 17. The court will consider […]
How Virginia’s new redistricting commission to stacks up to other states
In the last part of the last decade, voters in Virginia and Michigan had become frustrated with how their political districts were drawn. In both states, the voting maps were set up by Republican-controlled legislatures in 2011 after a previous census. In both cases, the districts were designed to favor GOP candidates and disenfranchise minorities, […]
Political analyst and university professor chosen to redraw Virginia political districts
The Virginia Supreme Court has picked Sean P. Trende and Bernard N. Grofman to serve as “special masters” who will redraw voting districts throughout the state. The decision comes after weeks of controversy concerning the failure of the new Virginia Redistricting Commission to select the two people to redraw the maps. Consequently, the decision was […]
Virginia Supreme Court rejects map drawers
The Virginia State Supreme Court has rejected three “special master” candidates nominated by Republicans to help redraw Virginia’s legislative lines. The nominees, the justices said in an order this morning, will serve as officers of the court in a “quasi-judicial capacity” and therefore “must be neutral and must not act as advocates or representatives of […]
McAuliffe v. Youngkin: the numbers beneath candidates’ job, economy claims
In a hotly contested gubernatorial race, few issues have been depicted in such stark contrast by the campaigns as jobs creation and Virginia’s business climate. Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who was governor from 2014 to 2018, paints himself as the jobs guy. He claims that during his term he helped create 200,000 jobs, raised personal income […]