Daily Archives: July 7, 2015

Del. Alfonso Lopez had some interesting comments about The Health of State Democracies (or, in Virginia's case, the lack thereof) on this CAP Action Fund panel earlier today. Here are a few highlights (Del. Lopez starts at around 25 minutes in):

*Del. Lopez noted that Virginia "prides itself on being #1 in everything," but the "fact that we came in 50th out of 51" in the health of our democracy indicates that "we have a lot to do" in this area.
*Although Gov. McAuliffe has "vetoed some of the blatantly transparent anti-voter-access bills [put forward by Republicans]...we have only upwards to go."
*Del. Lopez said that, in the end, he "really wasn't" surprised at Virginia's 50/51 ranking.
*Del. Lopez noted that in 2008, in South Arlington ("one of the poorer areas of Northern Virginia," also very diverse), he waited 3 hours and 45 minutes to vote...lines went out the door."
*Now, as if that's not bad enough, add in the negative impact of Republican-sponsored voter ID laws, which are "transparent in their impact, they're simply trying to make it harder for people living on the margins of society - new Americans, immigrants, the poor, the elderly - to vote, and the fact is that's wrong."
*The "sole purpose" of the Virginia House of Delegates Privileges and Elections Committee, in Del. Lopez's view, "is to make it harder to vote as opposed to expand[ing] access."
*Despite rapidly increasing population diversity in Virginia, "we're still behind Mississippi in the number of women in the House of Delegates; I'm the first Latino Democrat ever elected to the Virginia General Assembly in 400 years...what does that say...we're not truly represented."
*"If you look at the Republican House caucus, it's all white men, or nearly...we have a long way to go."
*With regard to the influence of money in politics, Del. Lopez says it's the "Wild West in Virginia...when we're getting $25k, $100k checks...that skews democracy in some ways...We have a long way to go."
*"There are several races that will cost around $1 million for us to match the Republicans' efforts" this year in the House of Delegates.
*Del. Lopez raised the issue of gerrymandering, noting that Democrats have won all statewide elections, yet the House of Delegates is 68-32 Republican, and "that's gerrymandering of the most calculating kind."
*In addition, we have "off-off-off-year" elections for the Virginia General Assembly with extremely low turnout; this is "one of the last remnants of the segregationist Byrd machine, of actually trying to suppress turnout."
*Del. Lopez also decried the fact that Virginia is one of only four states to not automatically restore ex-felons' voting rights, yet another remnant of the "segregationist Byrd machine."
*Del. Lopez said that Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) is "incredibly effective...I am a big proponent of IRV." (I couldn't agree more; this is a no brainer)
*In the end, Del. Lopez said "we are fighting the good fight" and "will win eventually," but "we shouldn't have to litigate healthy democracy" (as is actually happening right now in Virginia pertaining to gerrymandering of Congressional and Virginia House of Delegates districts). Del. Lopez adds that it's possible we could have to redraw all of Virginia's House of Delegates districts and elections in 2016. If that happens, Del. Lopez believes that Democrats could go from 32 seats in the House of Delegates to the "mid 40s," given that there are 18 districts currently held by Republicans that were won twice by Barack Obama.

Why is Virginia so godawful in this new report, "The Health of State Democracies," by the Center for American Progress Action Fund (note: one of the lead authors is former DPVA Executive Director Lauren Harmon)? In short, Virginia scores horrendously - and to anyone who's followed Virginia politics at all, this is not in the least bit surprising - on three key categories: 1) accessibility of the ballot (Virginia gets an "F"), 2) representation in state government (Virginia gets an "F"), and 3) influence in the political system (Virginia gets a "D-"). A bit more detail on where Virginia fails most miserably includes:

1. We have no early voting in Virginia.
2. We do not have "availability of no-fault absentee voting."
3. A photo ID is required, for absolutely no good reason (other than Republicans' mythical "voter fraud," actually voter suppression), in order to vote in Virginia.
4. Possibly most disgraceful (and racist) of all: "Ex-felon post-sentence disenfranchisement." We should have gotten rid of that years ago, as most states have done.
5. "There are no processes in place for citizen petitions."
6. Our Congressional and House of Delegates districts are wildly distorted towards Republicans via insane levels of gerrymandering, making most general elections for House of Delegates and U.S. House of Representatives essentially a foregone conclusion in Virginia.
7. "Communities of color elected representation" sucks.
8. Absolutely no "campaign contribution limits for individual donors." I'd put this one in second place for "most disgraceful," although insane levels of gerrymandering are also hideous.
9. Add in no "availability of public campaign financing" and utterly inadequate campaign disclosure laws, and you can see why Virginia well deserves its "F" grades.
10. Sorry, but a "1-year cooling off period" is not a serious "revolving-door ban."

I'd add a few more factors, some of which stem from the Byrd machine's efforts to limit democracy in Virginia to...well, basically as little as possible. First, it is absolutely outrageous that corporations regulated by the state (I'm looking at you, Dominion!) can get away with "capturing" the Virginia General Assembly, State Corportation Commission, and other bodies that in THEORY are supposed to regulate Dominion et al. That is the epitome of "regulatory capture," or what I'd call "legalized corruption."

Second, Virginia needs to get rid of odd-year elections and align at least our state legislative elections with the federal cycle. Because what happens in odd/off-year election years like 2011 and 2015 is that turnout drops precipitously, meaning that only the most passionate voters, and in the case of Republicans most extreme, come out to vote. The results are as obvious as they are harmful, a small minority of Virginian elects extremists like Dick Black, "Sideshow Bob" Marshall, and many others.

Finally, we need to seriously revisit the "Dillon Rule," which prevents cities and counties from doing...well, just about anything. For instance, let's just say more progressive counties wanted to go beyond Virginia state law in terms of strong environmental protection, more incentives for clean energy, even a carbon tax (revenue neutral or not). Why shouldn't they be able to do that?  Why shouldn't Arlington, Fairfax, Richmond, etc. be able to change the names of roads from "Jefferson Davis" or whatever if they want to? In the broadest sense, why can't at least a bit of power be devolved towards the localities, whose governments are theoretically closest to the people they serve? Oh yeah, another remnant of the Byrd era...sigh.

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, July 7.

*Greece readies new bailout bid ahead of summit
*The non-Clinton alternative for Democrats ("Bernie Sanders speaks for the activist left.")
*Experts Debunk The Coal Industry's "Energy Poverty" Argument Against The Pope's Climate Action
*Trump Lashes Out At Critics, Makes Incendiary New Claims About Mexico
*Rand Paul, dorm room philosopher: Why his "slavery" nonsense is so outrageous ("Paying taxes makes you a slave, says a grown man running for the most powerful office in the world")
*APNewsBreak: Cosby said he got drugs to give women for sex
*South Carolina Senate Votes To Remove Confederate Flag
*Confessions of a Clinton reporter: The media's 5 unspoken rules for covering Hillary ("Everything, no matter how ludicrous-sounding, is worthy of a full investigation by federal agencies, Congress, the 'vast right-wing conspiracy,' and mainstream media outlets")
*Senator Kaine Travels to Middle East, Gives Progress Report on ISIS
*Presidential Contender Jim Webb Almost Beat a Man to Death, Aide Claims in Book (If true...wow, just like his hero Andrew Jackson.)
*McAuliffe's PAC takes in $370,000 ("Billionaire Robert L. Johnson, BET founder, donates $100,000.")
*Carter makes distinction between Confederate flag, monuments (Sure, but no reason to have either.)
*Energy rules have Dominion Power weighing new nuclear reactor (This company is so stupid - HELLO? Any intelligent life there? Nuclear power is WAYYYYY more expensive than energy efficiency, utility-scale solar and onshore wind. Duh.)
*Body cameras, cybersecurity and nanosatellites: Virginia eyes future
*Gay rights advocates decry Virginia House GOP's religious freedom agenda
*Virginia Republicans aim to broaden party appeal with ethnically diverse candidates (They can do that, but unless/until their party's atrocious policies and attitudes vis-a-vis minorities change, I doubt it will work.)
*Casey: The legislature should act on UFOs, LSD ("Lawmakers passed the 2014 voter-photo ID law with no bona fide evidence anything was broken, and with no sincere suggestion anything needed to be fixed. By those standards, there are many other 'dangers' that need legislating.")
*US appeals court upholds Chesapeake Bay clean-up plan
*Why rape kits go untested in Virginia
*Franklin County family fights pipeline to preserve life on farm
*The outspoken conservative riling the Fairfax County School Board ("Outnumbered by liberals, Elizabeth Schultz is used to defeat. Even so, she's praised by many parents." Barf.)
*Ethics experts: no problems with Portsmouth mayor's properties
*Student rep might get voice in Norfolk School Board meetings
*Nationals drop series opener against Reds ("By the sixth inning, the only Nationals on the field who were expected to be starters this season were shortstop Ian Desmond, catcher Wilson Ramos and right fielder Bryce Harper.")
*D.C. area forecast: Hot shot today, daily storm chances through end of week

In a recent press release, Fairfax County Public Schools announced its participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Summer Food Service Program. The school system's embrace of the initiative, which provides nutritious food over the summer to students who qualify for free and reduced-cost meals, marks another commendable move in a positive direction for the County.

For one thing, the ongoing success of the program demonstrates FCPS's encouraging ability to cooperate with federal, state, and local bodies to undertake what amounts to very challenging (and necessary) work. Other than the USDA, which runs the program, the Virginia Department of Health acts as a sponsor, and local agencies like Fairfax County's Department of Neighborhood and Community Services aid in administering the service. In working to keep upwards of 50,000 eligible students nourished, FCPS has also attracted the help of community centers, housing developments, and numerous volunteers, all of whom have given freely of their time and resources to serve. Such public-private partnerships remind us how willing individuals and institutions are to lend a hand when given the opportunity, and how much transformative work can be done at little to no cost; FCPS should seek to expand this sort of multi-level cooperation and these sorts of public-private partnerships in as many other contexts as possible.

More than anything else, though, FCPS's participation in the program is an important acknowledgement of the obligation to meet our students' most pressing needs at all costs-even as the number of students receiving free and reduced-price meals continues to increase. Rather than think of this as a budgetary strain, we should consider the fact that more students have been able to register-and have their needs addressed-a glowing success.

The fulfillment of such basic needs as food and shelter, after all, is prerequisite to FCPS's other ambitions for its students-better grades, higher test scores, improved graduation rates, and so on. Academic aspirations like these are secondary, in both practical and moral terms: according to the USDA, children who miss meals are "more likely to be sick, absent or tardy, disruptive in class, and inattentive," and County records repeatedly show how much more students who qualify for free and reduced-cost meals struggle than their peers, academically and otherwise.

Hopefully, FCPS's participation in the USDA Summer Food Service Program is a step towards further initiatives aimed at addressing more specific groups and their unique needs, even beyond the classroom. The continually changing nature of our County, along with its size and diversity, calls for a school system focused on the wellness of the student as a whole and, moreover, of the community as a whole. FCPS should strive, then, to become a school system with expanded health services and extracurricular programs, among other things. More than one-size-fits-all initiatives and minor adjustments-from the push for marginally later school start times to nominal modifications to graduation requirements-we need programs, and an entire school system, that will reach out to our most vulnerable students and address their most fundamental needs first. A good meal is a good start.

Omar Fateh, a lifelong Fairfax County resident and a former Academic Advisor at Northern Virginia Community College, is running for Fairfax County School Board (At-Large).