Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax ‘is one of the most dedicated individuals I know’

WOODBRIDGE — They met during a fundraising event in 2011, way before either man ran for office.

The two connected, talking about public service, and dedication to family and community. Today, former Virginia Delegate Micheal Futrell is remembering that encounter with Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.

“He is one of the most dedicated individuals I know,” said Futrell. “He works to help everyone reach their full potential.”

Fairfax is the man who would become governor should current executive Ralph Northam resign after a racist photo of a man in blackface and another in a KKK robe appeared on Northam’s medical school yearbook page. Northam on Friday admitted it was him and apologized, then walked back the statement the following day, all while ignoring demands from nearly every politician in the state to step down.

Futrell spent the day Sunday taking to reporters, singing the praises of Fairfax, the man whom he says should be sitting in the governor’s office right now.

“This photo [of Northam] doesn’t represent the man I have come to know, however, I no longer think he can effectively lead,” said Futrell, who said he believes it is Northam in the blackface photo.

As for Northam resigning, “I don’t think it’s a matter of if but when he resigns,” said Futrell. And if he doesn’t, “anytime Donald Trump goes on TV and says something racist, and Democrats say something, he’s going just hold up a photo of Ralph Northam.”

Futrell admits that he and others that he knows who once supported Northam were let down when the photo surfaced.

Fairfax has not called for Northam’s resignation. In a statement following Northam’s press conference, Saturday held to explain the photo, Fairfax states, “The governor needed to apologize, and I’m glad he did so.”

He added the state is in need of leaders who can unite residents.

Fairfax is only the second African-American to be elected to statewide office in Virginia, behind Gov. Douglass Wilder, who was also the first black governor in the nation. A federal prosecutor, Fairfax lives in Annandale with his wife and two children. They own a dental practice.

Futrell served as the House District 2 representative in Stafford and Woodbridge between 2014 and 2016. He will continue working in his political consulting business and does not plan to seek office.