Democrats on the House Privileges and Elections Committee are blocking five appointments from Gov. Glenn Youngkin. This is in addition to the nine appointments that the state Senate already blocked.
The committee removed a former Democratic state senator as well as a Dominion Energy employee from the list of appointments they approved Friday morning.
One of the blocked appointees is former Democratic state senator Lionell Spruill. Youngkin appointed him to serve on the Norfolk State University Board of Visitors.
Spruill served in the House of Delegates from 1994 until 2016. He served in the Senate from 2016 until he lost in a primary race against Senate Pro Tempore Louise Lucas in 2023 after redistricting placed them in the same district.
The committee also blocked David Botkins, an employee for Dominion Energy, from his appointment to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees.
They blocked Daniel Cortez from his appointment to the Joint Leadership Council of Veterans Service Organizations.
They blocked Brian Campbell and Stanley Goldfarb from their appointments to the Board of Visitors at Old Dominion University.
The committee removed these five names from the legislation and advanced the rest of Youngkin’s appointments.
The full House of Delegates will take up the legislation on Monday, where they could be put back in if any Democrats break from the party to block the committee’s amendments.
The Senate already removed nine Youngkin appointees last week.
“I’m stunned by this. My heart for service and commitment to the history and mission of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation is unshakable,” Botkins said in a statement Friday night. “This is my fourth board appointment by four different governors (both parties) over 17 years – and to be canceled now when I’ve been working closely with VA250 and just gave my annual gift in honor of our JYF board chairman is very perplexing.”
He hopes that the House will reconsider reinstating him.
“I hope the General Assembly will reconsider my appointment. The Governor selected me because I’m a student of the American Revolution who loves our country. That’s not a partisan issue.”
Youngkin’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.