Judge sidesteps legal issue over Senate control
A judge declined Friday to issue a temporary injunction in a suit brought by a Democratic state senator seeking to block Republicans from seizing control in the evenly divided Virginia Senate.
The suit, brought by Henrico State Sen. Donald McEachin, sought a declaratory judgment that Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, is not entitled to vote in certain matters, including organizational matters, that come before the State Senate.
McEachin in a statement said the Senate Democratic caucus “will continue to explore all its options” to resolve the issue, and called on the GOP to “respect the will of the voters and past history.”
“The Senate is evenly divided, 20-20, so committees and responsibilities and power should be divided to reflect that even split, just as the Republicans said in 1996. Even then-Governor Allen spoke to the need for parity under these samecircumstances,” said McEachin, noting the view of Republicans following the 1995 elections that resulted in a 20-20 split. Republican leaders at that time called on Democrats to share power even though then-Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, a Democrat, could have split any ties in organizational votes in favor of the Democratic caucus.
Senate Dems file suit to block GOP power grab
Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Donald McEachin filed suit on Monday in Richmond City Circuit Court, on behalf of the Senate Democratic caucus, to stop Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling from breaking an expected tie this January when the State Senate comes back into session and organizes for the next four years.
“The voters elected 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans to the Senate. Yet, in spite of that, the Republicans choose to ignore these results and, instead, claim absolute power and authority,” said McEachin (D-Henrico). “This willingness toignore the evenly divided results of the election is unfair and unacceptable.”
The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment acknowledging that Bolling does not have the constitutional right to cast a vote breaking the expected tie about how the Senate organizes. In addition, the lawsuit seeks a temporary injunction preventing Bollingfrom voting on organization until the issue is resolved. Copies of the lawsuit were provided to Lt. Gov. Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
“In Virginia, only an elected member of the Senate can vote on the rules of the Senate. The lieutenant governor was not elected to the Senate,” said McEachin. “Unfortunately, the Republicans have not shown any inclination to work with us to resolve this impasse. In a 20-20 Senate, power should be shared, but instead, the Republicans insist on an arrogant power grab.”
Senate Dems: Share power, or we’re going to court
State Senate Democratic leaders said Friday that they will take legal action if necessary to ensure equal representation on legislative committees in the wake of Election Day results that have Democrats and Republicans each holding 20 seats in the chamber.
On Monday, party leaders took their case to the court of public opinion.
“What we’re asking for from our colleagues is simple fairness. The voters of Virginia obviously voted for a divided Senate,” said Senate Democratic Caucus chair Donald McEachin, laying out the case for the request of Senate Democrats for equal representation in Senate leadership and committee assignments.
Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, has said since Election Day that he will work with Senate Republican leaders to ensure that the GOP effectively controls the senior chamber.
“Make no mistake about it. There is a Republican majority in the State Senate,” Bolling said after the November elections.
McEachin, an attorney, counters that the state constitutional provision that lays out how each chamber of the General Assembly is to organize itself does not mention the lieutenant governor as part of the Senate.
The only other time in Virginia political history that the State Senate had split representation, following the 1995 state elections, Democrats and Republicans agreed to share power and committee assignments.
The lieutenant governor at the time was a Democrat, Don Beyer. Republican leaders made a similar case to the one being advanced now by Democrats for power-sharing following the 1995 elections.
“I would hope that my Republican colleagues would remember the word they uttered in 1995 and 1996 and remember that if it was fair then, it’s fair now,” McEachin said.
Majority Leader Dick Saslaw conceded the point that the state Constitution is unclear, which is what may precipitate legal action if the two parties cannot come to an agreement.
The state Constitution gives the lieutenant governor the power to break tie votes, “but that’s always been on general legislative matters. It’s never been settled on something like this,” Saslaw said.
Saslaw thinks there could even be an issue going forward on votes involving the state budget and judicial appointments. “It’s not just a matter of this year. It should be settled for all time. That’s the purpose behind this,” Saslaw said.
Senate Dems vow to fight if GOP refuses to share power
The Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus today announced its unanimous opposition to the Senate Republican attempt to claim a Senate majority even though 10 days ago Virginians elected 20 Democratic senators and 20 Republican senators.
The Senate Caucus believes that with a chamber evenly divided between political parties, power should be divided as well.
Sen. Dick Saslaw, unanimously re-elected majority leader by his fellow Democratic senators, said, “Virginians elected 20 senators of each party, and it’s only right the power in the Senate is divided equally. The Republicans are wrong to try and grab power when half the state voted for Democrats. It’s a question of fairness. The Republicans are trying to overrule the will of the people and claim a majority they did not earn.”
Meeting at the Mason Inn and Conference Center in Fairfax during the first day of their caucus retreat, the senators agreed that Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling does not have the right to break a tie when it comes to Senate re-organization.
Newly-elected Caucus Chair Donald McEachin said “the Constitution of Virginia is very clear, the organization of the Senate is the prerogative of the elected members of the Senate and Lt. Governor Bolling is not a member of the Senate.”
The only time the Senate was tied at 20-20, after the 1995 state elections, the Republicans and Democrats shared power.
“In 1996, the last time the Senate was deadlocked at 20-20 the precedent for power-sharing was set. We see no reason why it should be different now,” McEachin said. “As George Allen, who was governor of Virginia at that time said of the power sharing pact, ‘This is reflective of the balance and equity that should be accorded the election results.”
WhenVirginiaWasBlue.com: Dems-Virginia taxpayers ‘real victims’ of Cuccinelli activism
Democratic Party of Virginia chair Dick Cranwell spoke out on Tuesday on the ruling by an Albemarle County judge on a request for information made by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli related to climate-change research by a former University of Virginia professor.
“I was glad to see this ideological crusade by Mr. Cuccinelli dismissed by Judge Peatross, but the real victims are Virginia’s tax payers,” Cranwell said in a news release issued by the Democratic Party of Virginia. “The attorney general is using his taxpayer-funded office as his own personal piggy bank, at a time when Virginians need help. These ideological crusades do nothing to protect Virginians from predatory lending. They do nothing to protect consumers from unsafe products or fraudulent services. In short they do nothing but advance the attorney general’s reputation as an extremist who cares more about his ideology than he does about Virginia. Taxpayers beware, Mr. Cuccinelli is wasting your money.”
Democratic Party of Virginia chair Dick Cranwell spoke out on Tuesday on the ruling by an Albemarle County judge on a request for information made by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli related to climate-change research by a former University of Virginia professor.
“I was glad to see this ideological crusade by Mr. Cuccinelli dismissed by Judge Peatross, but the real victims are Virginia’s tax payers,” Cranwell said in a news release issued by the Democratic Party of Virginia. “The attorney general is using his taxpayer-funded office as his own personal piggy bank, at a time when Virginians need help. These ideological crusades do nothing to protect Virginians from predatory lending. They do nothing to protect consumers from unsafe products or fraudulent services. In short they do nothing but advance the attorney general’s reputation as an extremist who cares more about his ideology than he does about Virginia. Taxpayers beware, Mr. Cuccinelli is wasting your money.”
Link to news brief on WhenVirginiaWasBlue.com.
