Look out: Terry’s running away with it
It’s no surprise that Terry McAuliffe is leading the Democratic primary gubernatorial field in fundraising. The former Virginia governor and DNC chair is famous for his shameless shakedowns—in a 2007 book, he wrote about making his teary wife and newborn baby wait in the car on the way home from the hospital while he jumped into a gala to raise “a million bucks for the Democratic Party.” (Yes, really.) Thus far in his campaign, McAuliffe has pulled in $7.2 million, more than the rest of the Democratic field combined, per the Virginia Public Access Project. Former state legislator Jennifer Carroll Foy is second with $3.7 million in her war chest.
That money edge—plus McAuliffe’s name recognition as a former governor—has translated to polling success. A mid-April Public Policy Polling survey shows 42 percent of likely primary voters in McAuliffe’s camp, with no other candidate even cracking double digits. The Democratic primary will be held June 8.
Meanwhile, on the Republican side, businessmen Pete Snyder and Glenn Youngkin lead the way, each having raised similar amounts as McAuliffe. State Senator and self-proclaimed “Trump in heels” Amanda Chase has raised just over $800K. The Republicans will hold a drive-through nominating convention on May 8.
Poem patter
You might have heard some buzz about a wave of cicadas swarming across the East Coast this May. Billions of winged creatures—the ominously named Brood X—will soon wake up from their 17-year slumber and emerge ready to mate, lay their eggs in trees, and then burrow back underground. If that prospect gives you the heebie-jeebies, don’t leave town this spring. Northern Virginia skies will ring with the high-pitched wail of the insects, but central Virginia’s cicadas, known as Brood II, are set to snooze until 2030.
__________________
Quote of the week
“This is just outright scary. I’m not sure how the planets aligned for this to happen!”
—Community activist Don Gathers, after this week’s City Council meeting adjourned in a record-fast 90 minutes
_________________
A new kind of fake ID?
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has joined a coalition of state leaders—and the FBI—trying to quash the sale of fake vaccine cards. Apparently, entrepreneurs around the country have been selling fraudulent paper vaccine receipts to the needle-shy, impatient, and anti-vax crowds. If you ask us, it seems like a lot of bother when the local health district is currently doling out shots to all comers.
Taking the Fal
Liberty University has filed a lawsuit against its former president Jerry Falwell, Jr. The evangelical hardliner was expelled from the university in late 2020 after it was revealed that he wasn’t practicing what he’d been preaching—first, Falwell posted a photo on Instagram showing him swilling booze in a state of partial undress, and then it came to light that he and his wife had been engaged in a yearslong sexual relationship with a pool attendant they met in a Miami hotel. Now Liberty wants Falwell to cough up tens of millions for damaging the school’s reputation.
Getting loose
Charlottesville City Council voted Monday night to repeal the city’s COVID-19 ordinance and defer to state guidelines. Over the last year, the city has been one of a handful of localities to enact more stringent gathering restrictions than the state requires. At this time, Virginia allows gatherings of up to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, and limits event spaces to 30 percent capacity. The city’s ordinance repeal comes as Charlottesville and Albemarle residents continue to get vaccinated at high rates, with roughly 50 percent of the local population having received at least one dose.