A congressional candidate from Falls Church says he will leave the race if the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision on redistricting stands.
“If there is no new 7th District, then I will not be running for anything this year,” Joe Schiarizzi told ARLnow. “I will not run in the 8th or anywhere else.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on Monday filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt a Virginia ruling invalidating a ballot measure that would have given their party an additional four winnable U.S. House seats.
The move came after the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed just last month. The 4-3 state court decision found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in the Virginia’s general election last fall.
Arlington will remain in a single congressional district after the Virginia Supreme Court on May 8 invalidated redistricting approved by Virginia voters just weeks before.
Unless the U.S. Supreme Court decides to intervene or Democrats can conceive another end-around to overturn the decision, district boundaries revert to where they had been. For Arlington voters, this means all of the county remains in the 8th District, where Rep. Don Beyer will attempt to fend off several primary challengers in August.
The latest Democratic challenger to U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) says the incumbent deserves credit for a storied political career, but should now exit the political stage to let others step up.
Jason Knapp is one of several challengers taking on the six-term incumbent in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary. A retired U.S. Navy pilot, Knapp kicked off his campaign at Wednesday’s Arlington Democratic Committee meeting, where he said it’s time for Beyer’s long-held congressional seat to change hands.
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Arlington is set to reach a historic milestone in September — the 180th anniversary of its return from the District of Columbia to Virginia sovereignty.
More candidates may kick off campaigns for Virginia’s new 7th Congressional District at this week’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting.
A host of aspirants already announced their candidacies at the party’s March and April meetings. But some contenders — including Dorothy McAuliffe and Elizabeth Guzman — have yet to stand in front of the party rank-and-file.
The House Judiciary Committee is targeting all three of Arlington’s main criminal justice agencies over local policies that restrict contact with immigration enforcement.
In separate letters to the Arlington County Police Department, Arlington County Sheriff’s Office and Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, the committee took issue with the limits that these agencies have placed on their cooperation with immigration officers, arguing that such policies endanger the public.
The first Republican contender in the redrawn 7th Congressional District made his pitch to Arlington Republicans this week.
Douglas Ollivant, a Culpeper County resident and managing partner of a strategic consulting firm, is for now the only announced candidate in the 7th District as approved by voters on April 21, although more could be on the way.
Arlington stands to be divided into two congressional districts following last night’s statewide referendum, which narrowly passed with overwhelming support from local voters.
The “yes” vote rolled up about 80% of the vote in Arlington, based on preliminary vote totals released last night by the Virginia Department of Elections. This helped the measure squeak by statewide with about 51.5% of the vote — a majority of about 90,000 votes out of more than 3 million cast, according to preliminary figures.
Even before Virginia voters decide on a new congressional map, Democrats are piling in to run for districts proposed under a redistricting plan that is designed to give their party a near sweep of the state’s U.S. House seats.
The latest entrant is Olivia Troye, who was an aide to former Republican Vice President Mike Pence and has become a vocal critic of President Donald Trump. She announced today (Tuesda)y that she’ll run in Virginia’s newly created 7th Congressional District, which would include much of Arlington, joining an already crowded field.
A supporter and an opponent of Virginia’s April 21 congressional redistricting referendum found themselves in agreement on at least one thing during an April 8 forum sponsored by Advance Arlington.
Del. Marcus Simon (D-13), speaking in favor of the referendum, and former Arlington Electoral Board member Richard Samp, who opposes it, both suggested that an ever-escalating national political tit-for-tat on gerrymandering is not the way to run a country.
Four more contenders in a potentially redrawn 7th Congressional District made their pitches to Arlington Democrats on April 8.
J.P. Cooney, Dave Kennedy, Del. Adele McClure and State Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim join a field of Democrats for the 7th District that includes State Sen. Dan Helmer, who spoke to county Democrats in March, and former Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe, who has yet to make an appearance. Another contender, Joe Schiarizzi, announced his candidacy today (Thursday).
