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Virginians remain strongly supportive of funding for public schools and oppose test-based teacher pay, according to a new statewide survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University. The VCU Commonwealth Education Poll finds six?in-10 Virginians (60 percent) say that Virginia schools do not have enough funds to meet their needs, while 29 percent say schools have enough…
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Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine was “surprised” when U.S. Sen. Jim Webb announced in Feburary 2011 that he would not seek re-election. Kaine had hinted after finishing out his term as governor in 2010 that he might be done with electoral politics, even as he stepped at the time into the job of chairman of…
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Today, House Democrats announced their support for legislation to set up a health insurance marketplace in Virginia. Delegates Patrick Hope (D-Arlington) and Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond) are introducing legislation modeled after the recommendations of Governor Bob McDonnell’s Virginia Health Reform Initiative (VHRI). The VHRI was formed to implement the federal health care reform law in Virginia….
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Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling said today that there are no constitutional limitations on his ability to vote on State Senate organizational matters, including the election of Senate leaders and committee chairs and members. “I recognize that senators on both sides of the aisle may be disappointed with my conclusions, albeit for entirely different reasons. However,…
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Del. Bob Marshall is urging Virginia’s GOP leaders to ask the State Board of Elections to rescind its ruling that voters, before taking part in the March 6 Republican presidential primary, must pledge in writing that they intend to support the party’s White House nominee in the Nov. 6 general election. “Ironically, requiring a loyalty…
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Texas Congressman Ron Paul continues to hold a modest lead in Iowa as the days count down to the first presidential contest of the 2012 presidential cycle. Public Policy Polling has Paul at the front of the pack of contenders in the Iowa Republican caucuses at 24 percent. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is second at…
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Gov. Bob McDonnell has proposed deep cuts to K-12 public education and pre-kindergarten in his 2012-2014 budget. Senate Democratic leaders are raising issue with the governor’s budget, with one calling McDonnell “the most anti-public education governor” of the last three decades. “There is no way we should be taking money out of public education in…
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House Democrats offered measured reactions to Gov. Bob McDonnell’s budget proposal as outlined during the Joint Finance Committee meeting Monday morning. “This is the first opportunity we’ve had to see the complete budget and not just the pieces that have been released by the governor over the past few weeks. This budget deserves a thorough…
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A new Public Policy Polling survey reveals that Virginia voters think that Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling would be acting in accord with the state Constitution if he were to break a tie in favor of giving Republicans control olf the State Senate, but that at the same time the GOP should share power with Democrats…
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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…
