Glenn Youngkin – Page 2 – C-VILLE Weekly

Governor’s race torch stunt fans flames locally

Five young people wearing identical white shirts, glasses, and baseball caps, holding tiki torches, standing in a straight line in front of Glenn Youngkin’s tour bus, praising the Republican gubernatorial candidate: It all seemed a little too neat. And indeed, it was—shortly after images of the demonstration began circulating on social media, it came to light that the torch-wielders weren’t neo-Nazi Youngkin fans who attended the rally to support the candidate. Instead, they were deployed by The Lincoln Project, a political action committee comprised of former Republicans aimed at defeating Trump and his allies. (Posing as a neo-Nazi—do you think that was listed in the internship description?)

A statement from the project said the ham-fisted stunt was an attempt to “remind Virginians of what happened in Charlottesville four years ago, the Republican Party’s embrace of those values, and Glenn Youngkin’s failure to condemn it.”

The Youngkin campaign accused Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe of organizing the event, prompting McAuliffe’s campaign manager to denounce the demonstration and call for an “immediate apology” from whomever was behind it.

During Monday’s City Council meeting, Tyler Magill, who was injured during the August 11 torch-lit rally on the UVA Lawn, spoke out against the “nasty prank,” and asked council to demand The Lincoln Project donate money to equity groups helping Unite the Right victims.

“We’re tired of the pain of our community being used as a prop [and] our community being used for everything but the uplift of our community,” he said. “There’s still a lot of pain in this town, and it needs to be addressed.”

Councilors Lloyd Snook and Heather Hill agreed the city should issue a response denouncing the stunt.

“People who are not from Charlottesville don’t realize the extent to which I think Charlottesville is still struggling with PTSD from that experience four years ago,” said Snook. “Even the TV ads that we’re seeing are triggering for a lot of people in Charlottesville.”

Mayor Nikuyah Walker did not comment on The Lincoln Project, but acknowledged the “people in this community who have had pain and suffering and trauma long before 2017.”

“That is the main problem that we need to focus on in this community,” added Walker.

At press time, we were sitting around biting our nails, awaiting the results of the governor’s race. Check back for in-depth coverage of the election online and in next week’s paper.

Chip Boyles gets new gig

After resigning as Charlottesville City Manager on October 12, Chip Boyles has landed a new job as executive director of the George Washington Regional Commission in Fredericksburg. Cathy Binder, chair of the search committee, expressed the commission’s excitement about its new man on the job, saying that committee members “were impressed by his knowledge, demeanor, and professional reputation, and believe that he will be an excellent leader of the GWRC staff.” Boyles says he looks forward to “addressing the needs of the region” alongside the GWRC staff and partner agencies. This latest post adds to Boyles’ lengthy list of experiences working in city government. We’ll see if he lasts longer than eight months.

In brief

Bounty hunter plot goes wrong

A Culpeper woman was arrested on federal criminal charges last Wednesday for attempting to hire a hitman over the internet. The 25-year-old placed an “order” on the dark web requesting muder-for-hire services, including photos of and personal information about the intended target. She deposited $3,200 in Bitcoin to get the job done, and offered information about the best time and place to kill the victim. U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said the incident should serve as a reminder “to remain vigilant in the policing of those dark corners of the web where cybercrime thrives.” The accused party faces up to 20 years in prison.

Jefferson plays defense

National Review Editor Rich Lowry and Texas Congressman Chip Roy visited UVA last week to give a lecture “In Defense of Mr. Jefferson,” hosted by the Young Americans for Freedom student group. Roy recently voted against creating a commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection, and was fined for refusing to wear a mask in the Capitol (alongside Marjorie Taylor Greene). Is it unfair to judge Jefferson by the company he keeps?

This plaque sat outside Number Nothing Court Square until early 2020. Photo: City of Charlottesville

Former slave auction site sold

Number Nothing Court Square, the historic building adjacent to the site of a slave auction block where people were bought and sold, changed hands last week. The new buyers are a mysterious entity called Excellent Horse LLC, reports Charlottesville Tomorrow. The property was purchased for $1,287,500, just below the initial asking price of $1.35 million. In the past, some community members have suggested turning the space into a museum of local history, but for now its future remains to be seen.

McAuliffe and Youngkin take debate stage

Gubernatorial candidates Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin butted heads in the 2021 election’s first debate last week.

McAuliffe, a longtime Democrat insider who served as governor of Virginia from 2014-2018, stood by his record, while former private equity boss Youngkin styled himself as a businessman who knows how to “get things done.”

When asked about his position on abortion, Youngkin said that he would support a “pain-threshold bill” that included exceptions in the case of incest, rape, or if the mother’s life was in jeopardy. “My opponent wants to be the abortion governor, and I want to be the jobs governor,” Youngkin said.

McAuliffe warned that if Virginia instituted a ban like Texas, high-tech companies would be driven out of the state. The former governor pledged to defend women’s right to abortion, and advocated for enshrining Roe v. Wade in the Virginia constitution.

One of the moderators pressed McAuliffe on his decision to mention Donald Trump in so many of his campaign ads, and in his rhetoric throughout the campaign. “My opponent is a Trump wannabe,” McAuliffe responded.

McAuliffe repeatedly stated that Youngkin’s economic plans would “run Virginia into a ditch.” The Republican’s plans include a $10 billion education cut that McAuliffe said would force 43,000 out of work.

When asked about climate change, Youngkin said he would not have signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act—which was passed in 2020 and aims to get Virginia electric utilities to 100 percent renewable generation by 2050—while McAuliffe said “of course” he would have signed it.

Both candidates opposed ending qualified immunity for police officers.

When candidates were given the opportunity to ask each other questions, McAuliffe asked Youngkin if he believed a nurse treating an immunocompromised patient should be required to get a vaccine. Youngkin asserted that it should be the nurse’s choice, and criticized McAuliffe for his intentions to mandate vaccines.

Youngkin has made “election integrity” a major talking point in his campaign, echoing false assertions from national Republicans that the 2020 presidential election included voter fraud. When pressed by moderators, both candidates pledged to absolutely accept the results of the election, win or lose. The next debate will take place September 28.—Kristin O’Donoghue

Early voting is now open

Early in-person voting for Virginia’s November 2 election began last Friday. Charlottesville residents can submit ballots at the City Hall Annex downtown, and Albemarle County residents can vote at the County Office Building on Fifth Street. Everyone in the state will have an opportunity to vote for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, as well as their House of Delegates member. City residents will have to choose two of three City Council candidates, as well. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a comprehensive election preview from C-VILLE.

“It is a cruel irony that schools have only just returned to the classroom for full-time instruction since the start of the pandemic and we are already grappling with another act of senseless gun violence.”
—Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott, after a Newport News school shooting left two students injured

In brief

Map mixers

Virginia’s new bipartisan redistricting commission continues its attempt to create a map of state House and Senate districts that both parties consider fair. The commission is comprised of eight Democrats and eight Republicans, and each cohort hired a consultant to draw up statewide map drafts. Those drafts were submitted this week, and now the commission is tasked with mashing the maps together to create something passable for everyone. The group is supposed to finalize a new map by October 10.

Bus bidding war

Thanks in part to the pandemic, local school districts are facing a dire shortage of bus drivers. In an effort to address the problem, this summer Charlottesville City Schools gave its drivers a $2,400 bonus. That sparked a bit of local free market competition—Albemarle County has announced that it’s now offering a $2,500 bonus for new drivers. The Daily Progress reports that Charlottesville is 20 drivers short and Albemarle currently has 18 transportation jobs open.

More shots for all

This week, Pfizer announced that its coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective for children ages 5 to 11, based on robust trial results. The company plans to apply for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the month, according to the Associated Press. Also this week, the FDA is expected to approve Pfizer booster shots for high-risk adults. The Blue Ridge Health District continues to hold vaccination events regularly, including walk-in vaccination opportunities five times per week.