Welcome to Notes from the Square, a weekly roundup of state politics and policy news. Each Friday, we bring you updates on the movers and shakers in Virginia politics as well as the legislation they’re supporting or opposing — with a Southwest and Southside Virginia focus.
Got a tip or story idea? Email me at elizabeth@cardinalnews.org.
Perriello and Macy endorse each other
Candidates who would have been competitors in the 6th Congressional District had Virginia’s mid-decade redistricting effort been upheld traded endorsements on Thursday.
Former journalist and current author Beth Macy, who is running as a Democrat for Virginia’s 6th District, endorsed former Congressman Tom Perriello in his bid for the state’s 5th District. And Perriello responded in kind.
“Tom Perriello and I have been fighting for the same communities for a long time — the families who are working themselves to the bone and still can’t get ahead,” Macy said in her endorsement. “He knows their stories because he has been showing up to hear them. That is the kind of stubborn, relentless, I-am-not-going-anywhere commitment that this moment demands.”
“I know what it takes to stand up for working families in western Virginia against powerful interest groups, and I know how rare it is to find a candidate like Beth who combines real moral courage with deep roots in a community,” Perriello said in his endorsement. “I’m excited to stand with Beth because I know she will actually show up and fight. I urge people across the Sixth to give her the chance to represent the Valleys.”
Perriello will face two other Democratic candidates, Rob Tracinski and Suzanne Krzyzanowski, in a primary contest on Aug. 4 for the party nomination. Early voting in that primary is underway. The winner of the primary will go on to face either incumbent Republican Rep. John McGuire or his primary challenger, Melanie Lucero, in the fight to represent the 5th District.
Neither Macy nor incumbent Republican Rep. Ben Cline, whom she is challenging, will face a primary contest in the 6th District.
Macy and Perriello were expected to face off in a primary for the 6th District less than two months ago, after the redistricting referendum passed and before the Virginia Supreme Court voided the effort. The redrawn congressional maps had included Charlottesville — Periello’s home — and Roanoke — Macy’s home — in the same district. After the state Supreme Court ruling, the maps returned to their original form, with Roanoke firmly planted in the 5th District and Charlottesville in the 6th.
Both Perriello, if he wins the primary, and Macy will have hard-fought battles for their respective districts, which are both considered Republican strongholds.
Attorney General Jay Jones’ message regarding firearm accountability
Attorney General Jay Jones issued a message to the firearm industry during a press conference Monday, ahead of the July 1 enactment of a slate of new gun-related bills: You will be held accountable.
The new industry accountability law establishes standards of conduct that would require members to have reasonable controls to prevent thefts, illegal sales and gun trafficking. The bill also provides a civil cause of action for victims and survivors of gun violence to go after bad actors, prohibitions against illegal marketing practices, and strong enforcement mechanisms for the Office of the Attorney General and localities. The attorney general will also have authority to issue civil investigative demands and pursue legal actions against violators.
“Accountability is the bedrock of our legal system, and firearm industry actors who are negligent and cause harm through unlawful or irresponsible practices will be held accountable by this office,” Jones said in a statement.
Jones’ press conference kicked off a week of court battles regarding the new firearm laws in Lynchburg, Lancaster and Abingdon. The attorney general’s office saw a win on Wednesday in Lynchburg when a judge granted a request by Jones to dissolve an injunction that had kept a bill from being enforceable.
Then, on Thursday, Jones’ office saw a loss in Lancaster when a judge granted a preliminary injunction that barred state police from enforcing an assault weapons ban that was slated to take effect July 1.
The judge who heard the case in Abingdon on Thursday regarding the assault weapons ban did not immediately issue a ruling. Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, who is representing the plaintiffs in the Abingdon case, asked the Washington County judge to issue an injunction against the assault weapons ban for all law enforcement, including local authorities.
The two court cases regarding the assault weapons legislation are ongoing in Washington and Lexington counties.
Jones said his office plans to “urgently file a motion to stay” the Thursday ruling in Lexington, and that he plans to appeal the temporary injunction.
“We will continue to vigorously defend Virginia’s assault weapons ban and magazine capacity restrictions and uphold the laws designed to keep Virginians safe,” Jones said.
Griffith announces $6.19 million in brownfields funding for Southwest and Southside localities
On Thursday, Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, announced $6.19 million in funding for brownfields to be disbursed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to three localities across Southwest and Southside.
What’s a brownfield? you ask. Great question. According to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, a brownfield is a property whose expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. Examples of such properties could be large industrial sites, smaller commercial properties or mixed-use buildings along a Main Street corridor.
The $6.19 million will come from the federal Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program, which aims to help communities clean up these sites so that those properties can be repurposed.
“Redevelopment of brownfield sites in Virginia’s Ninth District are promising projects that account for economic growth potential,” Griffith said in a statement.
These communities are slated to receive the federal funding:
- $1 million to Martinsville.
- $1.5 million to the Mount Rogers Planning District Commission, which includes the counties of Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Smyth, Washington and Wythe and the cities of Bristol and Galax.
- $3.69 million to Giles County.
Other 9th District communities to receive brownfields program funding since 2019 include Pennington Gap in Lee County, Dublin and Pulaski in Pulaski County, Bluefield in Tazewell County, Martinsville and Bristol, according to Griffith’s office.
