Virginia Democrats Make History With House Leadership, Momentum For The ERA Builds, And More
Virginia Democrats make historic choices for House speaker, majority leader
RICHMOND — Virginia Democrats on Saturday chose Eileen Filler-Corn to become speaker of the House of Delegates, a pick that managed to be both historic and conventional for a party that flipped both chambers of the General Assembly in elections Tuesday.
The Fairfax Democrat will be the first woman and the first Jew in the House’s 400-year history to serve in that post, one of the most powerful in state politics. Yet as a business-friendly legislator with ties to the existing power structure, Filler-Corn was a more traditional choice than the more progressive delegate who was her chief rival for the job.
“Two words have never been spoken in the 400 year history of the Virginia House of Burgesses and the House of Delegates: ‘Madam Speaker,’ ” tweeted Sen. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria).
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DPVA Chair Susan Swecker Congratulates Speaker-Designee Eileen Filler-Corn
RICHMOND, VA. — Democratic Party of Virginia Chairwoman Susan Swecker issued the following statement congratulating Eileen Filler-Corn on being chosen as the next Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, becoming the first female Speaker in the history of Virginia’s legislature:
“In another historic moment for Virginia, Democrats have elected the first female Speaker of the House of Delegates in our Commonwealth’s history. Congratulations to Delegate Filler-Corn on this historic achievement. After serving as the House Minority Leader in the previous legislative session and becoming the first woman to lead a caucus in the General Assembly, Eileen will be an excellent leader in the House of Delegates. She was a major force on the campaign trail this year, helping build our historic majority. Now she’ll be a major force in the Assembly, ensuring Democrats deliver on our platform of equal rights, affordable health care, common sense gun safety, and more.”
Happy Veteran’s Day
As Democrats triumph in Virginia, pro-gun groups confront ‘worst scenario’
In a victory speech in Richmond Tuesday night, Shannon Watts, the founder of gun-safety group Moms Demand Action, finished by mentioning a get-out-the-vote tweet from the National Rifle Association. In the video posted a few days before Virginia’s General Assembly elections, a woman in an NRA hat said people who didn’t go vote to protect their gun rights should “pack your shit and git.”
“Tonight, all my thoughts and prayers go out to the NRA’s leaders and lapdogs,” Watts told the jubilant crowd as Virginia’s statehouse flipped blue. “And tomorrow, they can pack their shit and git.”
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Congressional Democrats to Revive Equal Rights Amendment Push
Democrats, buoyed by their party’s electoral sweep in Virginia this week, plan on Friday to revive the Equal Rights Amendment in Congress, embarking on what they hope is a final push to add the nearly century-old measure to enshrine equality of the sexes into the Constitution.
Representative Jerrold Nadler, the New York Democrat who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, will announce that his panel intends to mark up a bill eliminating the deadline for states to adopt the amendment, known as the E.R.A., which was one state short of the 38 needed for ratification when the deadline passed in 1982.
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Upcoming Events
11/20 Norfolk Democratic Committee Monthly Business Meeting
11/21 Roanoke City Democratic Committee Monthly Meeting
12/05 Richmond City Democratic Committee Meeting
12/07 Virginia Democratic Women’s Caucus Annual Fundraising Breakfast
