Northam may survive
Despite calls for his exit, state law is on his side
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam might hang on to his job despite requests for his resignation over a racially insensitive photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook.
Virginia’s Constitution states elected officials who commit “malfeasance in office, corruption, neglect of duty or other high crime or misdemeanor” can be removed from office. But one law professor in Virginia said Northam has done nothing to merit impeachment.
A muddled defense that included moonwalking and a blackface Michael Jackson costume might be enough for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to keep his job despite overwhelming calls for his resignation over a racially insensitive photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook.
Virginia’s Constitution says elected officials who commit “malfeasance in office, corruption, neglect of duty or other high crime or misdemeanor” may be removed from office. Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, said “nothing that has happened so far is grounds for removal” under the state’s provisions for impeachment.
“There is nothing in his service as governor that satisfies those terms,” Tobias said.
The governor on Friday apologized for being in the yearbook photo, which depicted one person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe.
He reversed direction Saturday, saying he doesn’t believe he is in the photo and calling it “disgusting, offensive, racist.”
Northam admitted to blackening his face with shoe polish for a Michael Jackson costume at a dance contest in the 1980s. At one point during his Saturday press conference, he seemed to show off his moonwalking skills. His wife stopped it.
Northam said looking back on his past, he regretted “that I did not understand the harmful legacy of an action like that.” The Democratic governor, elected in 2017, said he is determined to complete his term.
Tobias said the rules for ousting a governor were built around behavior while in office, not events from 35 years ago. But if the state’s House of Delegates decided to impeach Northam, he would be tried in the Senate. Two-thirds of senators would have to agree for Northam to be removed.
“He may think he can survive,” Tobias said. “It is unlikely that the (state) Senate would convict. But most people don’t think it would get that far.”
The resignation drumbeat grew louder Sunday. Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, and Rep. Donald McEachin, a Virginia Democrat and member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Northam must go.
“It doesn’t matter whether he was in the photo or not in the photo at this point,” McAuliffe said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We have to close that chapter. It is heartbreaking, but Virginia has to move forward.”
McAuliffe said Northam never displayed any racist sentiment while serving as his lieutenant governor. McEachin said he considered Northam a friend but added that the governor has lost the “authority” to lead.
“We’re certainly grateful for the contributions he’s made to the betterment of Virginia,” McEachin said on ABC’s “Meet the Press.” “But the question now is, ‘Can you lead? Can you help us heal?’ And given the actions that he’s demonstrated over the past 48 hours, the answer is clearly no.”
The answer is not so clear to everyone on the state’s Eastern Shore, where Northam grew up.
“I think he has the right to prove himself,” said the Rev. Kelvin Jones, pastor at First Baptist Church Capeville. “I think that he has the right to serve until he feels he’s no longer capable of doing the job.”