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With a New Governor at the Helm, Can the General Assembly Work in a Bipartisan Manner?

AP Photo / Steve Helber

The British classic rock band known as the Who famously belted out “Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss.” As Michael Pope reports, Republicans say that sentiment could have been written about the Executive Mansion in Richmond.

When the General Assembly gaveled into session this year, Republicans said they were hopeful that they would be able to work with the new governor in a way that they never really did with the previous governor. Ralph Northam is one of them, a former member of the General Assembly who spent years presiding over the state Senate. But Republican Leader Todd Gilbert says Northam’s speech Monday night was a missed opportunity. 

“That speech was so partisan that I wondered if he found it in his predecessor’s desk and just pulled it out and gave a McAuliffe speech where we hoped a Northam speech would have been.”

Now, one potential sign of bipartisanship is emerging here at the Capitol. It’s an effort to increase the threshold for what constitutes felony larceny. Northam brought the issue up during his speech, and Democrats cheered loudly when they saw Republican Senator David Suetterlein of Roanoke standing to applaud. That’s because he has introduced a bill on that issue.

“Well several other Republicans support my bill, the Republican majority leader and a lot of the Republican leadership is on the Courts of Justice Committee today that voted for my bill.”

Another issue that Republicans say they’re looking forward to working with Northam on this year — a second chances bill – one that would allow young people to expunge convictions for marijuana possession, underage alcohol possession and using a fake ID.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Michael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria.
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