Youngkin’s victory last fall in a blue-trending state vaulted him into the national limelight. But now the political newcomer, who has mostly surrounded himself with advisers unfamiliar with the ways of Richmond, faces the unglamorous work of building relationships and working deals in a divided Capitol.
Youngkin spent much of this week seeking face time with legislators, working out of a tiny office on the third floor of the Capitol so they could easily pop in for what his advisers call “drop-bys.” He hosted a reception at the mansion for freshmen delegates from both parties. He wooed leaders of Virginia’s historically Black colleges and universities, giving them top billing at a campaign-style event touting his plan for partnering institutions of higher education with K-12 schools.
None of the outreach worked instant magic on Senate Democrats, who continued thwarting many of the governor’s legislative priorities that they see as undermining long-sought liberal wins from the past two years, when the party fully controlled the legislature and governor’s mansion.
A marquee administration-backed bill — to ban critical race theory and other “divisive” lessons in public schools — got a thumbs down in a Senate subcommittee and seems fated to die before the full committee next week. One of the governor’s Cabinet picks was hanging by a thread, with Senate leaders vowing to reject former Trump administration official Andrew Wheeler for secretary of natural and historic resources. A Senate bill that sought to ban private employers from mandating coronavirus vaccines on workers died. So did legislation meant to back Youngkin’s effort to rename the state’s director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, making it Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion.
In the Republican-led House, Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) wrapped up the week with a floor speech Friday by accusing Youngkin of “trying to implement a far-right agenda.”
But Youngkin turned some Democratic heads with his unusual visit with Scott, whose remarks had provoked outrage from Republican lawmakers. In his speech Wednesday, Scott accused Youngkin of intentionally sowing division — particularly with his ban of critical race theory, a graduate-level study of systemic racism that has become a catchphrase for what conservatives regard as unduly race-conscious K-12 lessons and teacher training.
“So far, what I’ve seen from his day-one activities is not someone who is a man of faith, not a Christian, but someone who wants to divide the commonwealth,” Scott said.
Del. Lamont Bagby (D-Henrico), the head of the Black Caucus, was returning to his office Wednesday afternoon when he noticed a commotion at Scott’s door and stopped by. Seeing the governor, Bagby and Del. Jeffrey M. Bourne (D-Richmond) decided to sit in, Bagby said.
“It was a healthy conversation where both of them were able to share their perspectives,” Bagby said, declining to specify what was discussed. “I’m hopeful that something productive will come out of the conversation — something helpful to our constituents.”
Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter declined to comment, noting that the conversation was private.
“I’m going to honor my agreement between the governor and I that we would keep it private. It was a good conversation,” Scott said. “I am prayerful that something meaningful will come of it. But if it doesn’t, you’ll hear from me again on the floor.”
Youngkin is an overtly religious man who years ago launched a nondenominational church from his Great Falls home and today starts Cabinet meetings with a prayer. He started that day at an early-morning Bible study in the Pocahontas Building, the high-rise where legislators have their offices. Led by former House speaker William J. Howell (R), the lesson was on forgiveness and the scriptural admonition to settle conflicts through direct conversation.
Howell, who was speaker for 15 years before retiring in 2018, said it was a good move on Youngkin’s part to go see Scott rather than summoning him, as busy governors are often more inclined to do.
“I can probably count on one hand the number of times I called somebody into my office,” Howell said. “I think it shows the person that you care for them and you’re not like a grade school principal calling somebody in.”
But Jerrauld C. “Jay” Jones, a former Democratic delegate from Norfolk, thought the whole episode made Youngkin look thin-skinned.
“Imagine if Ralph marched over to the Pocahontas Building every time a Republican said something about him he didn’t like,” Jones said, referring to former governor Ralph Northam (D). “It sets a bad precedent, and he might end up being in [the] Pocahontas every single day of his administration.”
More than once on the campaign trail, Youngkin questioned the religious faith of Northam, a Democrat prevented by the state constitution from seeking back-to-back terms.
“I don’t know how all of you felt, but when this governor opened up massage parlors and ABC stores and kept my church closed, I knew he didn’t start his mornings like I do, which is in prayer,” Youngkin said, complaining about pandemic restrictions at a rally with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) in May.
Bagby said the 30-to-40-minute meeting inside Room E319 was a positive step and was in keeping with a conversation that he had had with Youngkin over dinner several weeks earlier, before Youngkin was sworn in.
“I shared with him [at dinner] that we need to have face-to-face, frequent conversations and that will, over time, make our relationships and communications healthier,” he said.
Bagby said that he disagreed with many of Youngkin’s executive orders and that he has concerns about his early emphasis on creating publicly funded charter schools and how he rolled out his initiative to create “lab school” partnerships between K-12 school systems and the state’s colleges and universities. But he holds out hope that the administration will keep channels open to talk about how history is taught.
“A lot of this stuff, we just need to have conversations and work and do what you do when you have a split government,” he said. “It’s clear he has work to do and there’s a learning curve.”
January 30, 2022 at 01:28AM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/29/youngkin-scott-democrats-virginia/
After hard-charging start, Youngkin faces tricky work of relationship-building - The Washington Post
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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