On November 13, the House Privileges and Elections Committee convened to discuss House Joint Resolution 9, a proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution that seeks to safeguard marriage equality. Delegates Michelle Maldonado (D-Manassas), Rozia Henson (D-Lorton, Woodbridge), and Paul Milde (R), representing parts of Northern Virginia, participated in the proceedings, which underscored Virginia's ongoing evolution in its approach to civil rights and marriage laws.

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On Tuesday, November 13, 2024, the Virginia House Privileges and Elections Committee engaged in a debate over a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to glorify reproductive freedom, including the right to abortion, into the state’s constitution.

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In a rare move, following Donald Trump’s re-election to the presidency, the Virginia House of Delegates Privileges and Elections Committee has scheduled a surprise meeting to review three proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution.

The meeting, set for 11 a.m. tomorrow, November 13, 2024, will take place in House Committee Room C—206. It will catch the public’s attention ahead of the General Assembly’s regular session in January 2025.

The proposed amendments aim to codify rights around convicted felons voting, abortion, and gay marriage. Notable committee members include bipartisan voices such as Paul Milde (R-Stafford), Joshua Cole (D-Fredericksburg), Rozia Henson (D-Woodbridge), and Michelle Maldonado (D-Manassas).

Proposed Amendments on the Agenda:

Voting Rights

One proposed amendment, co-patroned by Prince William and Stafford County Senator Jeremy McPike (D), seeks to expand and clarify voting rights in Virginia. Under this amendment, individuals who have completed incarceration for felony convictions would automatically regain their voting rights, eliminating the current requirement for rights restoration by the governor.

Additionally, this proposal clarifies that mental incompetency can only disqualify an individual from voting if a court has determined the person cannot understand the act of voting. The amendment also includes provisions to allow advanced registration for young citizens nearing voting age, helping to ease their entry into the electoral process.

Abortion

In response to ongoing debates around abortion, the second proposed amendment would establish a constitutional right to abortion. This amendment, also co-patroned by McPike, states that individuals have an intrinsic right to make decisions about all matters related to pregnancy without government interference unless justified by a compelling state interest, such as protecting health per accepted medical standards.

The amendment also protects individuals from prosecution or penalties for seeking an abortion.

Gay Marriage

If adopted, the third amendment, co-patroned by Cole, would enshrine gay marriage in Virginia’s Constitution. It removes the current language defining marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman, instead recognizing marriage as a fundamental right.

The amendment prohibits discrimination in marriage licensing based on sex, gender, or race, ensuring equal treatment under state law for all marriages. Religious organizations and clergy would still retain the right to refuse to perform marriages that conflict with their beliefs. This amendment seeks to solidify Virginia’s commitment to marriage equality, further supporting recent shifts in national and state attitudes.

As the General Assembly prepares to meet in full session in January, the Privileges and Elections Committee’s preliminary discussions on these amendments could set the tone for Virginia’s legislative agenda in 2025.

Citizens interested in speaking or submitting comments to tomorrow’s committee meeting may do so online here.

Fredericksburg City Council has taken a pivotal step toward enhancing its green spaces by including an urban tree canopy expansion initiative in its legislative agenda. The move, discussed during the council’s October 22 meeting, has earned appreciation from local environmental advocates, including Friends of the Rappahannock, a group dedicated to preserving the region’s natural resources.

Brent Hunsinger, a representative for the organization, spoke on the importance of expanding tree cover in urban areas, stating, “Thank you very much for working with the city on this issue…we feel that this is a very important step so that our lawmakers in Richmond can see that localities care about this as well, not just organizations such as Friends of the Rappahannock, as we work towards expanding that authority potentially down the road to try preserve and expand that urban tree canopy.”

Urban tree canopy initiatives provide numerous benefits, including improved air quality, reduced heat, and enhanced community well-being. These projects are increasingly recognized as essential for building climate resilience in cities, where trees help mitigate the effects of urban heat and contribute to carbon sequestration. With the legislative session approaching in January, Fredericksburg’s request for increased authority to preserve and grow its tree canopy reflects a broader commitment to environmental sustainability.

Mayor Kerry Devine underscored this commitment, pointing to the community’s growing focus on quality-of-life improvements. “We often hear about issues like vehicle noise, and this agenda item is another reminder that our community prioritizes quality of life,” she said. “Expanding green spaces and preserving our urban canopy will have lasting benefits for Fredericksburg residents.”

Councilor Jason Graham echoed these sentiments, highlighting Fredericksburg’s goals for sustainable growth. “We hear the concerns about [environmental impacts]… It remains critically important that we are committed to growing in an environmentally sustainable way,” Graham remarked.

As Fredericksburg continues to partner with local environmental groups and advocates for legislative support, the council’s efforts may set a precedent for other Virginia localities to follow. Enhanced legislative authority would enable Fredericksburg to implement even more effective strategies for protecting and expanding urban green spaces in the face of ongoing development.

On Thursday, October 17, 2024, the Stafford County School Board convened with local lawmakers to present its 2024 legislative agenda for the upcoming Virginia General Assembly session. Focused on enhancing educational quality and addressing critical funding disparities, the School Board laid out priorities designed to improve resources, staff retention, and the educational environment for Stafford County Public Schools.

The School Board’s legislative agenda underscores several issues:

1. Cost-of-Competing Adjustment (COCA): Stafford County receives only 25% of the COCA funding that neighboring Northern Virginia districts enjoy, despite facing similar cost-of-living and market conditions. The Board urged lawmakers to support full COCA funding to help Stafford attract and retain educators, noting a $10,000 average salary gap between teachers in Stafford and nearby districts.

2. Eliminating the Support Position Cap: Instituted during the 2009 recession, the cap restricts state funding for non-instructional support staff. The School Board argued that lifting this cap would address staffing shortages in essential roles such as social work, custodial services, and administrative support, critical to maintaining high-quality education.

3. Additional Local Sales and Use Tax: Stafford’s enrollment is projected to grow significantly in the coming years, creating a need for expanded school facilities. The Board proposed a local tax increase, pending voter approval, to fund school construction and renovation, helping to address the division’s $1.5 billion in identified capital needs.

4. Standards of Quality (SOQ) Support: The Board called for increased funding for counselors, psychologists, and social workers, advocating that these positions are essential for student mental health and well-being. They also requested more assistant principals to enhance school safety and support instructional leadership.

5. Enhanced Technology Funding: The School Board requested an increase in the per-school allocation for the Standards of Learning (SOL) Technology Initiative from $26,000 to $50,000, with an annual inflation adjustment. This adjustment would provide much-needed resources for technology infrastructure, enabling more effective online testing and digital instruction.

6. Juvenile Court Services Coordination: Recognizing the need for informed intervention, the School Board urged changes to juvenile court reporting requirements, allowing superintendents access to more detailed case information. This, they argued, would improve support-based services and educational planning for students involved in the juvenile justice system.

Moving Forward

As the Virginia General Assembly prepares for the 2025 legislative session, Stafford’s School Board hopes for robust support for its agenda, stressing that these measures are critical for meeting the needs of Stafford’s growing student population. School Board Chair Maureen Siegmund emphasized, “Investing in recruitment, infrastructure, and student support is essential to creating a thriving educational ecosystem that serves not only our students but our entire community.”

Virginia State Senator Danica Roem (D-30, Manassas Park, Manassas) met with the Manassas Park Governing Body on Tuesday to discuss legislative priorities for the upcoming 2025 Virginia General Assembly session. Roem, who recently relocated to Manassas Park, emphasized her commitment to addressing local needs and improving community infrastructure.

During the session, Roem expressed her ongoing efforts to collect community input to shape her legislative agenda effectively. "I am in my information gathering phase," Roem stated, explaining her approach to understanding the specific needs of the communities she represents, including Manassas Park, the City of Manassas, the town of Haymarket, and Prince William County.

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In Prince William County, a catch-and-release style revolving justice system keeps more criminals on the street in the name of fairness.

A shooting at Manassas Mall on July 9, 2024, left two people injured, including one of five suspects in the case, underscores a more significant problem with the justice system in a much more progressive Prince William County.

At odds are those who want to reform the judicial process to make it more fair for criminals and those who wish to prosecute crime to get them off the streets for a determinate period. Caught in the middle are county residents.

Revolving Justice System and Its Implications

In a July 10 letter to her constituents, Coles District Supervisor Yesli Vega, whose district borders the Manassas mall, highlighted two cases where individuals previously accused of felony offenses were released from custody and re-offended. In the mall shooting, she highlighted that 18-year-old Daevon Russell, one of the individuals involved in the gun battle that left a shooter and a bystander wounded, had been previously arrested after an August 2023 shooting for reckless handling of a gun causing permanent bodily severe injury, a felony.

Court records show Russell went to a classmate’s house and shot the cousin of the classmate, who was also inside the home, without provocation. Russell ran from the home, leaving the victim there to bleed. The victim went into cardiac arrest several times on the life flight to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where doctors were able to stop the bleeding and save his life.

Controversial Decisions and Judicial Diversion

When the case went to court, Judge Petula C. Metzer, on a recommendation from county Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth, released Russell with nothing more than a promise to appear and the stipulations that he “not consume intoxicants and have no contact with the victim.” Ashworth claimed her office argued for no bond at a previous hearing, but she could not produce the bond document to prove her claim.

There was no stipulation in Metzler’s order to not possess or carry a firearm. Russell is now accused of going to the mall armed and getting into an altercation in the food court that escalated to shots fired between the two groups.

In a separate case in her letter, Vega highlighted Arial Moya Claros, who has 11 previous charges involving alcohol and family violence over the last two years, before his arrest on July 7, 2024, for felony abduction by force and misdemeanor domestic violence assault and a second driving while intoxicated (DWI) charge.

Six months earlier, in a January 2024 case, Claros’ landlord sought a restraining order against him after the landlord claimed Claros “took the eviction process personal” and claimed Moya Claros was caught on camera attempting to damage the landlord’s vehicles. A verbal confrontation ensued, and the police responded. The landlord also claimed in his petition for a restraining order that Claros followed his pre-teen daughter home, and she had to hide and call her parents because she was scared.

Claros’ case was adjudicated in a family court diversion program in the two earlier domestic violence instances. Had he been convicted in either of the other domestic violence cases, he would be facing a Class Six felony charge for the Domestic Violence assault, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in jail.

Now, he faces only a misdemeanor assault charge because there were no convictions in the earlier cases, for which carries a much lighter potential sentence. Despite his history of violence and the escalation of violence with this same victim, Claros was released within hours of his arrest on a simple promise to appear.

Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth points to Virginia law that judges only consider convictions, not pre-trial adjudications, when making bail decisions. This requirement by the code to only consider convictions and Ashworth’s focus on diversionary programs sidesteps the more intense consequences convictions provide for re-offenders.

Citing a long-standing prohibition on making statements about open cases, Ashworth said that her office “takes domestic violence cases very seriously and would never agree to a bond if [her office] believed the accused was a danger to anyone or there was a risk the accused [would abscond].” She also said that her office makes good faith recommendations to the judges regarding bail and diversion, but “the Judges unfortunately do not issue reasons for the decisions that they make.”

Diversion Programs vs. Public Safety

Diversion is a broad term referring to alternatives to prosecution that minimize an offender’s exposure to the criminal system by offering an alternative to prosecution and incarceration. These programs bank on an offender’s desire to stay out of jail, to get them on a path to not re-offend.

Diversion programs can help first-time offenders, but experts warn that overusing them for repeat offenders could weaken domestic violence prosecutions. This overuse might unintentionally support the ongoing cycle of violence that victims experience.

Elisa Castillo, director of domestic violence services at Action in Community Through Service (ACTS) in Prince William County, said, “Diversion programs have their place, but some people, for whatever reason, don’t take the chances they are given seriously and jail has to be part of the equation.”

With Ashworth’s election in 2019, county prosecutors shifted focus from a reputation of being tough on crime to a more diversionary justice system that incarcerates fewer criminals and focuses prosecutorial efforts on programs to rehabilitate criminals before they go to jail. The result is a record-low incarceration population in the county lockup and a heavier workload on the probation office.

Prince William County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Terry Fearnley said the jail population hovers around 540 and represents only the worst of the worst offenders. That number is about half of the jail’s average under former county prosecutor Paul Ebert, who retired after 50 years. Under Ebert, the jail averaged 1,000 inmates.

The jail population is not a bellwether of a healthy justice system but can indicate problems. According to Steve Austin, the county’s director of criminal justice services, referrals from the courts to his pretrial release program have risen nearly 19% during Ashworth’s tenure. Yet, recidivism rates, or the number of accused who commit additional crimes, in his programs have increased by two percentage points in the same period.

Ashworth has said that she does not maintain recidivism statistics, so we are unable to compare how many times people not involved in pre-trial supervision re-offend on her watch. In a statement to Potomac Local, Austin said he could not pinpoint why the recidivism rate in his program has increased despite increased staffing and budgeting.

Community Impact and Political Reactions

Supervisor Vega, reserve Prince William sheriff’s deputy, has been critical of Ashworth’s soft-on-crime policies for some time. She highlighted the two cases because they are “but two examples of the catch and release justice system she sees under Ashworth’s watch.” Vega said she has a unique vantage point of the justice system, previously as a patrol cop and now in her reserve capacity working in the courthouse. “I hear complaints from law enforcement officers telling me that they are dismayed how quickly people they arrest for serious crimes are back on the streets within hours of their arrest and back re-offending, and I hear from constituents that are worried about how unsafe our community has become.

Ashworth is a founding member of the Virginia Progressive Prosecutors for Justice (VPPJ), a left-leaning political activist group. VPPJ has been a leading proponent of justice reforms in Virginia that make crime less detrimental for criminals in the name of equal justice.

VPPJ has called for the state legislature to end mandatory minimum sentences and cash bail. A 2021 letter to the General Assembly argued that these reforms would make it more fair for poorer Virginians. Ashworth does not think making the accused put up collateral to leave jail will help criminals return to court, “Requiring a cash bond punishes people for being poor, and it makes bail bond companies rich,” she said.
With the largest prosecutorial team in the commonwealth, Ashworth has made headlines for prosecuting significantly fewer cases and instead focusing on diversionary efforts as an alternative to prosecution. On average, Ashworth’s predecessor, Paul Ebert, prosecuted 350 felony cases monthly. Ashworth comparatively averages to indict 75 125 felonies per month despite a massive influx in funding and personnel.

Her opponents have blamed the lack of prosecutions as the reason for the county’s alarming 70 percent increase in violent crime between 2019 and 2023. In an unsuccessful bid to unseat Ashworth in 2023, Matt Lowery held a press conference highlighting the rise in violent crime last year. “Ms. Ashworth has charted a course virtually identical to the ultra-liberal prosecutors all around us, and Prince William County residents have paid the price with their property, with their health, and even sometimes with their lives,” Lowery said.

In a 2019 interview with Potomac Local News, Ashworth stated that the fair handling of domestic violence cases was one of her top three issues when running for office. “I will assign a senior attorney to exclusively handle domestic violence so we can pay more attention to the serious domestic violence cases and sort out the minor ‘push-and-shove’ cases,” Ashworth said.

According to The National Domestic Violence Hotline, domestic abuse almost always escalates to something bigger without intervention. This escalation appears to be present in the Moya Claros case, where he is now accused of abducting his victim by force- a felony- in his current case.
Russell’s trial on the December charges is set for August 5, 2024. He remains at the Prince William Adult Detention Center with no bond after his arrest for the Manassas Mall incident. He’s scheduled for a preliminary hearing on the mall charges on September 19, 2024.

Moya Claros’ case is set for another adjudication hearing on November 19, 2024. He remains free on a promise to appear.

*This story has been corrected.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin and state lawmakers are scrambling after veterans' families lost education benefits following the approval of the state budget.

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