Virginia

How Virginia scrapped its ban on personal use of campaign funds – Virginia Mercury

Published

3 months ago

February 29, 2024

How Virginia scrapped its ban on personal use of campaign funds – Virginia Mercury

Onzlee Ware, who died earlier this month, was a former Democratic state legislator from Roanoke and the first Black judge appointed to the city’s Circuit Court.

But he also will be remembered as a footnote in an unexpected chapter of state history in 2009 that effectively eliminated Virginia’s longstanding ban on the personal use of campaign funds, a situation the General Assembly is still struggling to rectify.

The story began when Ware faced a Democratic primary challenge in June 2009. His opponent, Martin Jeffrey, pointed to entries on Ware’s publicly available campaign finance reports that he said suggested Ware had spent campaign funds for his own personal use, in violation of state law.

Ware ignored accusations while cruising to a 2-to-1 primary victory. But Jeffrey’s complaint had found its way to the State Board of Elections, which unexpectedly decided to open an investigation. There was no precedent for such an inquiry. Officials in the board’s campaign finance section previously had said their enforcement powers extended no further than asking candidates to correct mathematical errors or supply missing information such as donor addresses or occupations.

The day after the primary, David Allen, who had recently been hired to head up the campaign finance section, wrote to Ware demanding the Democratic legislator produce receipts and other documentation related to the spending in question.

In a recent interview, James Alcorn, then the State Board of Elections’ policy director, said the case went forward under the theory that because the agency asks for documentation in other types of enforcement actions, it has the authority to ask candidates for expenditure receipts. “When the complaint did come in against Delegate Ware, we had a responsibility to look into it,” Alcorn told The Roanoke Times in June 2009.

The Ware case alarmed lawmakers of both parties, who worried that the agency could become a pawn in politically motivated complaints.

Ware agreed to amend several of his campaign finance reports to include a more detailed description of some expenses, but he denied spending money for personal use. The Roanoke Times reported that Ware turned to Allen’s predecessor, Chris Piper, to help respond to the request. Piper was working for a Washington, D.C., law firm with a campaign finance compliance practice.

The Board of Elections eventually closed the investigation into Ware’s campaign spending, but in the process called into question the applicability of language in the state code that for decades had banned the personal use of campaign funds.

The meaning of the language leaves no doubt about the law’s intent: “It shall be unlawful for any person to convert any contributed moneys, securities, or like intangible personal property to his personal use or to the use of a member of the candidate’s ‘immediate family.’”

The agency turned to the state Office of the Attorney General for help. A lawyer there said the language was clear but discovered that its placement in the code had changed during a general reorganization of campaign finance laws approved by the General Assembly in 2006. Originally, the personal use language appeared in its own code section. But the reorganization placed it as a subsection of a law related to “final” campaign finance reports, which candidates submit when closing the account of a candidate’s fundraising committee.

The lawyer’s reading of the law, based on where the language appeared in the code, was that the prohibition against personal use applied only to the weeks or months before a candidate closed his account. In other words, at all other times personal use is not illegal in Virginia.

Based on that interpretation, the Board of Elections closed the Ware investigation without any further action in October 2009. Officials said because Ware’s spending in question had not taken place within the timeframe of a final report, the agency was “barred by law” from looking into the matter.

There has never been a request for a formal attorney general’s opinion confirming that interpretation, but the Board of Elections’ announcement led everyone in the political community to accept that Virginia effectively no longer prohibits personal use of campaign funds.

In the last 15 years, the General Assembly has been unable to put the genie back into the bottle. Legislation to reinstate a universal ban has foundered over how to define “personal use” without the potential for candidates facing complaints like the one an opponent lodged against Ware.

“I’m happy I went through the process,” Ware told the Roanoke Times in October 2009, “but I cannot sit here and tell you that I believe there was ever a legitimate concern … about my campaign expenditures. All of it was contrived and made up.”

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Virginia

No. 13 Aggies Upset No. 5 Virginia, Advance to NCAA Final Four – Texas A&M Athletics – 12thMan.com

Published

6 hours ago

May 18, 2024

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No. 13 Aggies Upset No. 5 Virginia, Advance to NCAA Final Four – Texas A&M Athletics – 12thMan.com

STILLWATER – The No. 13 Texas A&M women’s tennis claimed its spot in the NCAA Tournament Final Four for the second time in program history after upsetting No. 5 Virginia Friday at the Greenwood Tennis Center, 4-1.

The Aggies (26-7) continued their trend of upsets in the NCAA Tournament with a dominant showing in singles, which was capped off by standout freshman Lucciana Perez to ensure the 4-1 victory over Virginia (25-5), as Texas A&M booked its spot in the tournament semifinals.

High quality back-and-forth play started off the match, as the Maroon & White and the Cavaliers each secured a court in doubles play. The decider came down to court 1, where Virginia snatched a tiebreak victory to lead heading into singles.

Needing to regain the momentum in the match, No. 26 Nicole Khirin did just that with a dominant display on court 3 besting No. 91 Sara Ziodato (6-4, 6-1) to tie the squads up at one.

The nation’s best, No. 1 Mary Stoiana, followed suit on court 1, as the junior captured her 20^th-ranked win of the season with a straight-set victory over No. 24 Hibah Shaikh (6-2, 6-1).

Leaving the Maroon & White one point from the win was Jeanette Mireles on court 6. She faced Melodie Collard and after a competitive 6-4 opening set, she closed out the second frame only dropping two games (6-2), to give A&M the 3-1 advantage.

Dealing the final blow and punching the Aggies ticket to the semifinals was the SEC Freshman of the Year Perez. She battled with No. 125 Elaine Chervinsky on court 5 through a pair of tough sets, ultimately outlasting her opponent (6-4, 6-4) to clinch the match result, 4-1.

Both No. 88 Carson Branstine on court 2 and No. 45 Mia Kupres on court 4 were leading in their matches before the overall results was decided.

COACH’S QUOTES
Head coach Mark Weaver on the team’s impressive performance …
“That was a very impressive performance by our group. It was an exciting doubles point that came down to the wire. There was a lot of nerves on both sides. Those doubles points are kind of a roll of the dice and sometimes they can go either way. Excellent composure by the girls to win all six first sets [in singles] and really set the tone there. We brought it, and you could see the confidence growing on our side of the court. It’s a big stage out there and we really handled it well, especially in singles. I’m very proud of our group.”

Mary Stoiana on the team’s confidence …
“We all knew we were capable at playing at this level. We know we can take down any team in any way. We’re really confident and excited to keep it rolling. We’re trying to do something really special here.”

Up Next
The Aggies return to the court tomorrow for the tournament semifinals, where they will take on the winner of No. 8 UCLA and No. 16 Tennessee with first serve set for 6:30 p.m.

Match Results
Singles Results
(TAMU) No. 1 Mary Stoiana Def. (UVA) No. 24 Hiba Shaikh (6-2, 6-1)
(TAMU) No. 88 Carson Branstine – (UVA) No. 67 Annabelle Xu (7-5, 2-2) unfinished
(TAMU) No. 26 Nicole Khirin Def. (UVA) No. 91 Sara Ziodato (6-4, 6-1)
(TAMU) No. 45 Mia Kupres – (UVA) Natasha Subhash (7-6(2), 2-1) unfinished
(TAMU) Lucciana Perez Def. (UVA) No. 125 Elaine Chervinsky (6-4, 6-4)
(TAMU) Jeanette Mireles Def. (UVA) Melodie Collard (6-4, 6-2)

Double Results
(UVA) No. 8 Melodie Collard/Elaine Chervinsky Def. (TAMU) No. 7 Mary Stoiana/Mia Kupres (7-6(5))
(TAMU) Carson Branstine/Lucciana Perez Def. (UVA) Hibah Shaikh/Natasha Subhash (7-5)
(UVA) No. 88 Sara Ziodato/Meggie Navaro Def. (TAMU) Nicole Khirin/Jeanette Mireles (6-4)

FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M women’s tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M women’s tennis team on Facebook, Instagram, and on X by following @AggieWTEN.

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Virginia

Republican candidates for Virginia U.S. Senate seat speak at public forum

Published

13 hours ago

May 17, 2024

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Republican candidates for Virginia U.S. Senate seat speak at public forum

AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) – In a divisive political atmosphere, and a divided Virginia government, the 2024 election is important in the Commonwealth.

The presidential election is not Virginians’ only item on the ballot this year—the U.S. Senate spot held by Democratic incumbent Tim Kaine is up for election this year.

Kaine plans to rerun for the spot, launching his campaign in Virginia. The Republican Party is looking to take control of the seat and take down the Democrat’s lead in the Senate.

The Virginia Ballot will see five different names on June 18 when the primary elections take place. Those names are:

All of the candidates, except for Cao, were in Augusta County for a public forum to win over voters.

Though they had their differences, each of them agreed on wanting to take down Kaine in November. Kaine has held a political position since 1994, when he was elected to Richmond City Council.

Parkinson was the first to speak at the forum. He hoped to charm the audience with his dedication to his family and his desire to fix issues, like the drug problem the Shenandoah Valley faces. However, he wanted voters to understand he would protect the rights given to them by the Constitution, like the right to a comfortable life.

“I’m running on public safety, ending the illegal immigration crisis from the southern border, stopping fentanyl from getting into our communities and the cost of living is crushing the American family, the middle-class, and I want to make sure we attack “Bidenflation”, and all the policies Tim Kaine is supporting,” Parkinson said.

The next speaker, Emord, said his experience as a constitutional lawyer set him apart from the others. In his career, he “took down bureaucrats” and worked to protect people from bureaucratic leaders attempting to make legislation under the table. He said he would help Virginians keep money in their pockets and live the lives they choose.

“We don’t need bureaucrats telling us how to live, we know how to live ourselves, and we need them to get out of the way. That’s what the people of this area of Virginia believe strongly. I know that, I’ve been here many, many times,” Emord said. “They want the government out of their lives, and that’s what I want to do, I want to get there and get them out.”

Eddie Garcia, a U.S. Army veteran who served for more than 20 years, wanted the crowd to understand he comes from an average background. One of his selling points he said was the lack of endorsements/money given from people in Congress. He said he understands the working class and wants to support them, rather than be above the working class and not support them.

“The people in Washington D.C. have enriched themselves, they have increased their power and control over everybody’s lives. The working people, the farmers, the ranchers, the single moms, the landscapers, the bricklayers, the construction workers, all those people who put on their hard hats, who lace their work boots, they show up to work before the sun comes up and they don’t go up until the sun goes down,” Garcia said. “These people are getting left behind.”

Smith was the last speaker, his campaign focused on the national issues that are constantly debated in Congress but never solved. He emphasized the importance of immigration reform to voters in the crowd.

“I will stand up for the constitution, I will make sure that our border is under check. My personal belief is that we should not have any type of immigration until we get our border fixed. The people who are currently in the system can proceed, but no new applications until we can get our border under control,” Smith said.

You can find more information about each candidate’s platform on their campaign websites.

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Virginia

Woman killed in Appomattox County crash

Published

20 hours ago

May 17, 2024

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APPOMATTOX COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – A woman from Pamplin, Virginia was killed in a crash early Friday in Appomattox County, according to Virginia State Police.

Amanda G. Layne, 44, was taken to a hospital, where she died of her injuries, according to police.

The crash occurred at 4:45 a.m. May 17, 2024 on eastbound Route 460. Police say Layne was driving a Dodge Durango near the intersection with Old Evergreen Road, went off the road to the right, and hit a mailbox and a tree.

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