Welcome to the weekend! Here is a rundown of what we covered this week in Virginia politics. (Go here to subscribe to our daily newsletter with all of the top headlines)
Former Speaker of the House of Delegates Kirk Cox made it official and announced that he is running for Governor and we interviewed him ahead of his announcement.
Republicans are also attempting to limit the amount of time that the General Assembly can convene by not voting to extend the session beyond 30 days. Although, with the Democrats holding all the power in Virginia, it does not seem likely that the GOP will succeed in stopping them from legislating.
We also took a look at some of the bills that have been filed by Virginia legislators ahead of the General Assembly’s regular session that begins on January 13th.
Delegate Lee Carter, a self-described Democratic-Socialist told Virginia Scope that he believes he has a path to victory in the Governor’s race. Carter is considering running in 2021 as a Democrat.
Governor Ralph Northam provided an update to Virginians on Wednesday as the Commonwealth is dealing with rising COVID-19 numbers. Northam and his administration also provided a timeline for vaccine distribution, saying they are expecting to begin in mid-December.
The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) says they received the news on Wednesday that the extended benefits for unemployed individuals in the Commonwealth will be ending this week.
In parks, near grocery stores and schools, lining streets and at intersections, police-owned surveillance cameras in the District of Columbia and Baltimore disproportionately monitor majority nonwhite areas, most of which are predominantly Black, a Capital News Service analysis has found.
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