Merianne Jensen, the newly appointed Vice Chair of the Prince William County Republican Committee, discussed her journey into politics and outlined her plans to invigorate the local Republican Party and secure victories in upcoming elections.
Jensen, who gained national attention after a viral video of her impassioned speech against mask mandates at a Prince William County school board meeting, revealed her initial reluctance to enter the political arena. "I've been new to politics," she admitted. "I started getting involved in 2020 when my kids were forced out of school and forced to wear masks," said Jensen.
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Delegate Ian Lovejoy (R-22, Prince William County) was one of the few Virginia lawmakers who passed any new legislation on fentanyl. This deadly drug kills four to five Virginians a day.
The bill, awaiting Governor Glenn Youngkin’s signature, standardizes how children. “We’re seeing fentanyl dig deeper and earlier and younger into the school system.
More than 1,500 children and teenagers under the age of 20 died from fentanyl in 2021, four times as many as in 2018, reported Science News in April 2023.
Despite that fact, Democrats in Richmond aren’t doing much to combat the deaths, said Lovejoy.
“Democrats are afraid to add new crimes to the books because they don’t want to piss off their base,” said Lovejoy. “No laws got stricter about any crimes. No new crimes were created. We only weakened offenses in the code.”
On Tuesday, Abigail Spanberger (D-Va., 7th. Prince William, Stafford, Fredericksburg) joined Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham in Woodbridge to warn about the dangers of smoking fentanyl through a straw, which is an increasing number of people who consume the drug way of using the drug, reports Insidenova.com.
Spanberger used the press conference to which Potomac Local was not invited to talk about her new bill, Dubbed the Targeting Online Sales of Fentanyl Act. The bill would require the U.S. Government Accountability Office to investigate the methods used to enable the online sale of fentanyl and assess efforts by federal law enforcement and online providers to combat the practice.
Lovejoy said Spanberger toured the halls of the Virginia Capital multiple times during the 2024 General Assembly session, which ended March 9, and notes she failed to lobby any Democrats in the House to pass new legislation combating fentanyl.
In addition to curbing fentanyl use, Democrats failed to strengthen the penalties for drug dealers whose fentanyl kills its users. A Senate bill that would have upped the charge to felony homicide died in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee, with local Democrats Scott Surrovell (Fairfax) and Jennifer Carroll Foy (Prince William County) voting to kill it.
“I think that’s when she should have sat down with her democratic colleagues and said, ‘We need to move the ball forward on meaningful fentanyl legislation.’ She could have been very public about it, signaling that she wants and supports more aggressive fentanyl legislation, and she was mute on all those issues,” said Lovejoy.
Lovejoy, a freshman in the House of Delegates and the only Republican Delegate in Northern Virginia agreed to a wide-ranging interview about his first General Assembly session. We’ll bring more of that to you in the coming days.
Delegate Ian Lovejoy (R-22, Bristow) updated his legislative priorities at the end of the first week of the 2024 Virginia General Assembly.
Lovejoy emphasized his focus on two key issues: limiting the siting of data centers near certain areas and addressing potential conflicts of interest among local elected officials involved in land use proceedings.
Siting of Data Centers in Residential Areas:
Lovejoy introduced an amendment to the Code of Virginia, specifically adding a new section to address the siting of data centers. According to the proposed amendment:
– Any local government land use application required to build a data center must be approved only for areas one-quarter mile or more from federal, state, or local parks, schools, and property zoned or used for residential purposes.
The amendment came after the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in 2023 approved a data center complex on 990 acres next to Manassas Battlefield National Park and another next to a densely populated neighborhood at Linton Hall and Devlin roads in Bristow.
Disclosures in Land Use Proceedings:
Lovejoy also proposed amendments focusing on disclosures in land use proceedings.
– Members of the board of supervisors, planning commission, and board of zoning appeals involved in land use proceedings must fully disclose any business or financial relationships with the applicant or title owner of the land in question.
– A disclosure includes relationships within the 12 months before the hearing, and any member with a business or financial interest or a specific relationship shall be ineligible to vote or participate in such cases.
– Penalties, as a Class 1 misdemeanor, are outlined for individuals knowingly and willfully violating these disclosure provisions.is the most severe class of misdemeanor offenses and may include up to 12 months in jail and up to a $2,500 fine.
The proposed amendments aim to enhance transparency in land use proceedings by requiring elected officials to disclose relevant relationships, thereby minimizing potential conflicts of interest.
Lovejoy is serving his first term as a House of Delegates member. He previously served on the Manassas City Council.
The 2024 General Assembly session ends on March 10, 2024.
“As data centers continue to proliferate across Virginia, the General Assembly this winter is poised to take up a host of bills intended to address their impacts, including increased electricity costs and environmental pressures,” reports Charlie Paullin at The Virginia Mercury. “Virginia is home to the greatest concentration of data centers in the world. While the centers can be found around the state, most are in Northern Virginia, which has more than 300. Eastern Loudoun County, where the facilities cover roughly 573 acres, is known as Data Center Alley, and Prince William is increasingly becoming a hot spot after local officials recently approved a campus of 27 centers that would sit on 270 acres.”
Travis Nembhard: “I’m running for the U.S. Congress in my home district of VA-10. I look forward to continuing to serve the community that has given me so much, and where I’ve been raising my two children with my wife Stephanie.”
“I have spent my career standing up for people who are too often forgotten. My lifetime of public service is focused on combating injustices and fighting for those who need someone to fight for them the most. While working in the Obama White House, I witnessed the power of government to be a force for good. As an assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Bureau, I went after slumlords, corrupt employers that violated wage laws, and companies that discriminated against individuals. And, as a financial regulator, I investigated instances of complex white-collar crime. I have a consistent record of working to protect the public against bad actors, and I intend to do the same in Congress, on behalf of the 10th Congressional District.”
Nembhard, a Democrat, lost his bid for the Virginia House of Delegates seat in the 22nd District in Prince William County, which includes Bristow and Nokesville. Republican Ian Lovejoy won the seat by four points.
Nembhard is on a growing list of candidates who seek to replace Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D), who announced her retirement at the end of her term on December 31, 2024, due to health reasons.
The 10th congressional district includes western Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
Delegate-elect Ian Lovejoy: “Today the office of Delegate-elect Ian Lovejoy announces the launch of an aggressive constituent services outreach campaign ahead of the 2024 general assembly session. Dubbed “50 Ways in 50 Days” this initiative is described as an “idea-raiser” – designed to solicit feedback from residents of House District 22 regarding legislative priorities, issues facing our district and region, ways our office can engage the public and more.”
“Residents are encouraged to share any ideas they have to improve our community with the program hoping to gather a minimum of 50 good ideas.”
Lovejoy won the November 7 General Election to represent the district, which includes portions of western Prince William County, including Bristow.
Juke Box Diner in Manassas hosted the Fox News Channel's morning show "Fox and Friends," which did a series of live reports from the diner on Wednesday, July 5, 2023.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who came to the diner to appear on the show, talked about education and talked to Potomac Local News about the importance of hiring more police and supporting them in the field.
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Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares visited Prince William County on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.
Miaryes: “I had the pleasure to speak at Ian Lovejoy’s campaign kickoff in Manassas last night! As a Councilman, entrepreneur, and small business owner, @IanTLovejoy has served his region for over a decade and knows what Virginians want.”
Lovejoy: “Standing room only tonight at Bristow Manor- thank you so much to everyone who came out to support our kickoff. Special thanks to Attorney General Jason Miyares and House Speaker Todd Gilbert and everyone for the huge showing of support.”
Lovejoy (R), a former Manassas City Councilman, is running for the House District 22 seat, which has no incumbent. The district includes Nokesville and the area south of Manassas.
The following day, Miyares went to Manassas to announce children in Virginia middle schools will receive child ID kits.
An attorney and political newcomer, Travis Nembhard (D), will challenge Lovejoy for the seat.
Josh Quill announced his candidacy for the Virginia House of Delegates District 21Â in western Prince William County.
