Video: DPVA Chair Susan Swecker Says “The incompetence and disregard for the rule of law from this administration is startling and has real impacts on Virginians”

ICYMI: DPVA Chair Susan Swecker Hosts Press Call on Gov. Youngkin’s Chaotic Week of Secretive and Far-Right Failures

Richmond, VA — Today, DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker held a virtual press conference on Governor Youngkin’s actions this week causing chaos and uncertainty in our public schools, unprecedented secrecy, and a growing list of lawsuits against the Governor.

DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker said today:

This week was filled with more attempts to advance the far-right agenda of the Youngkin Administration. Just yesterday Governor Youngkin made a push in Alexandria to eliminate Virginia’s grocery tax at the state and local level, which would strip hundreds of millions of dollars from Virginia students and our public schools. This is yet another example of how he’s continuing to wage his self-proclaimed war against our kids’ education by defunding our public schools. This sends a clear message to the commonwealth that the Governor misled them on the campaign trail and is not as committed to these issues as he promised to be.…

I also want to point out that the number of lawsuits – three to be exact – filed against Gov. Youngkin is more than any sitting governor in history within his first month in office. The governor has ignored his promise to support parents, and parents around Virginia continue to push back on his dangerous agenda.…

The citizens of Virginia deserve a competent and transparent administration, and so far they’ve received neither. The incompetence and disregard for the rule of law from this administration is startling and has real impacts on Virginians. Virginians are not only standing up to his dangerous far-right agenda, they’re taking him to court for it, and we’re proud to stand along with them in this fight. We will not allow the governor to abuse his power to roll back the progress we’ve made

Since being inaugurated, Governor Youngkin has continually attacked Virginia’s public schools. During his first week in office, Gov. Youngkin threatened to use official state resources to try and force Virginia school divisions to comply with his illegal executive order. Republicans have since rallied behind the governor and have threatened to defund school divisions that choose to keep their students safe by leaving science-backed mask requirements in place. And by week three, Gov. Youngkin set up a watchdog hotline to monitor what public school teachers are doing in the classroom and now refuses to share “Tip Line” emails leaving Virginians asking what the governor has to hide.