ADVOCACY
A new year, a new leadership for Virginia VSCPA stays on top of electoral changes and will advocate for CPAs’ interests this General Assembly session.
On Nov. 5, 2019, Virginians elected candidates
to fill all 140 seats in the Virginia General Assembly. Historically, Virginia has had a limited change in the General Assembly because of the state’s off-year election cycle. However, due to a courtordered redistricting, the retirement of many longserving incumbents and lack of federal or statewide races, 2019 was much more competitive than normal. The competition was most evident by the record number of contested races in both chambers and the amount of money spent by candidates and political parties. As one of the only states with all legislative seats up for reelection in 2019, Virginia is certainly seen by many out-of-state individuals and groups as a bellwether for 2020 elections. Democrats won control of the House of Delegates for the first time in more than two decades. Proof of the importance of Virginia’s elections is clear in the fundraising numbers. Money raised by candidates and their parties does not buy votes, but it does provide candidates with the ability to communicate their messages. The final amount of money spent by candidates seeking election to the Virginia General
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DISCLOSURES
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
Assembly was not available at press time, but we know that 21 candidates spent more than $1 million on their campaigns and another 16 spent more than $750,000. By comparison, in 2015 just 16 candidates spent $1 million. Del. Eileen Filler-Corn will be the next speaker of the House — the first woman and the first person of the Jewish faith to hold that position. Del. Charniele Herring will be the next House Majority Leader — the first woman and the first African-American in that post. Del. Rip Sullivan will be the chair of the newly expanded House Democratic Caucus. In the Senate, Sen. Richard Saslaw will reclaim the title of Senate Majority Leader he previously held five years ago. We will communicate with the following legislators appointed to chair positions. In the House: Del. Luke Torian, Appropriations Committee; Del. Vivian Watts, Finance Committee; Del. Jeion Ward, Commerce and Labor Committee; Del. David Bulova, General Laws Committee. In the Senate: Sen. Janet Howell, Finance Committee; Sen. George Barker, General Laws and Technology; Sen. Dick Saslaw, Commerce and Labor.