Behind the curtain at the state Capitol
Virginia leaders offer reflections on cancer, diversity, Trump
RICHMOND — The General Assembly convenes each year for the primary purpose of passing legislation. But while much of the action during the legislative session revolves around bills, lawmakers also can request a point of privilege — a moment when they rise on the House or Senate floor to give personal remarks.
During the recent session, which spanned from Jan. 10 to March 9, legislators discussed a range of issues, including personal health battles, abortion, extremism, and safety concerns for women at the legislature.
Here’s an overview of some notable remarks.
Breast cancer awareness: Del. Jeion Ward, D-Hampton, revealed she was diagnosed last summer. Ward said she quietly received radiation treatments and is in recovery. But she decided to speak out to warn others that breast cancer can be challenging to detect.
“Cancer is a tricky little thing because no one could feel a single thing on me,” she said. “Go in there and get that mammogram every single year.”
Celebrating diversity: On Martin Luther King Day, Del. A.C. Cordoza, R-Hampton, took a moment to note the diversity within state government.
“The progress is apparent,” he said. “My district has its first Black representative, Chesapeake elected its first woman representative in the Senate, and Virginia, who is more diverse and beautiful than ever, sees its first Black speaker, first Black lieutenant governor, first Hispanic attorney general and a governor who will shake the hand of anyone he meets with the same vigor and good humor.”
Sexual violence: Del. Jackie Glass, D-Norfolk, said she
received a “safety briefing” from other women when she first joined the General Assembly.
“I was told who not to go drink with, who not to be alone with and who to just watch out for,” she said.
“That kind of angered me,” she continued. “When other grown women in this body feel the need to show up for each other in that way because of their personal experiences, because of the things they’ve witnessed, or the things that they’ve been told.”
Explaining she was sexually assaulted prior to becoming a legislator, Glass said she wanted the next generation of women to feel safe and supported. She said she decided to speak out because she wanted to put the offending parties on notice.
“I want to transfer power,” she said. “I want them to know and feel like we all know … I pray that we collectively make them feel uncomfortable in this body.”
Abortion: Del. Phil Scott, R-Fredericksburg, said he was tired of hearing that men shouldn’t share their opinions on abortion. Explaining his daughter has a serious health condition, Scott said he objected to legislators who use babies with disabilities or medical problems as “political pawns” to defend abortion rights.
“Until anyone walks a mile in the shoes of those with a family member who has one of these severe medical conditions that ultimately limit the life of that loved one, (I could say) stop with the political rhetoric,” he said.
But Scott said he didn’t push to silence others because he believed everyone had a right to speak.
“We must allow open and honest dialogue,” he said.
Donald Trump: Del. Katrina Callsen addressed some of her colleagues who attended a campaign rally in Richmond in early March for former President Donald Trump — and said she wanted to remind them about the “Unite the Right” rally that drew white supremacists to Charlottesville on Aug. 11, 2017.
The group, which included Neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klansmen, marched through the University of Virginia campus while chanting “Jews will not replace us.” One white supremist drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing a woman and injuring more than a dozen people.
“Hate has no place in the commonwealth of Virginia, so to see some of my colleagues welcome to the commonwealth a man who is the embodiment of the rhetoric that led to that riot — it doesn’t make sense to me,” said Callsen, D-Charlottesville. “He called those who came to my home ‘very fine people.’”
Trump came under fire for his response to the rally, during which he asserted there were good and bad people on both sides of the clash.
Antisemitism: Del. Laura Jane Cohen, D-Fairfax County, touched on the effects of the Israel-Hamas war.
“In the last few months, navigating this world as a Jewish person has been hard,” she said. “What’s happening in our world is tragic and I don’t need to tell you the impact on Jews and Palestinians alike.”
But Cohen said she took offense to lawmakers who make public statements against antisemitism while simultaneously supporting Trump.
“I’m standing up in this body to say we will not be used as pawns,” she said. “We will not be used (by those) who stand behind and renew their support for a man who stood behind people carrying torches saying Jews will not replace us, a man who stated that Jews who vote for Democrats are disloyal.”
Supporting the deaf: Del. Phil Hernandez, D-Norfolk, urged legislators to think about how they could better support hearing-impaired constituents. Hernandez, who spoke and signed his remarks, explained that his younger sister is deaf.
“I remember when we were little kids sitting on the floor of our living room, reading books and learning sign language together and practicing the ABCs and seeing who could sign them the fastest and then laughing because she always won,” he said.
But Hernandez also recalled moments when his sister felt excluded. Sometimes they would want to watch a movie but it didn’t offer closed captions. Or they would attend a holiday dinner with extended relatives who didn’t know how to sign.
Hernandez, who distributed worksheets showing how to sign the alphabet, asked delegates to imagine facing communication barriers everyday.
“It is our responsibility here in the Virginia legislature to help,” he said.
Awards, memorials: Del. Anne Ferrell Tata, R-Virginia Beach, took a moment to honor Bill Frierson, a surfing icon who died in January at age 76.
Tata praised Frierson, a Virginia Beach resident, for his skills as a surfer and surfboard shaper, and noted he made history as the first Virginian to be inducted into the International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame. She said he was also a beloved husband and father.
“I hope his life will inspire us all,” she said.
Del. Cia Price honored her former teacher, Patricia Dianne Redcross, who died last year. Redcross was a longtime choral director for Newport News Public Schools. She also co-founded the Hampton Academy of Music, Dance and Drama.
“A bunch of energetic, moody and off-key kids were transformed into a disciplined and faithful choir of truly unified voices with brighter futures,” said Price, D-Newport News.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears presented John Grisham, an author and Albemarle County resident, with this year’s Outstanding Virginian Award.
Grisham has published dozens of best-selling thrillers, including “The Firm,” “The Pelican Brief” and “The Rainmaker.” He is also a board member for the Innocence Project, a nonprofit that works to free the innocent and prevent wrongful convictions