State Sen. Richard Stuart (R-Westmoreland) is outnumbered in the General Assembly, particularly when it comes to voting on issues considered partisan.
Democrats control the Senate, the House of Delegates, and the executive branch after Gov. Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the November election.
With minimal political power at the state level, Stuart is using his platform as the King George County Attorney to influence the way local officials and residents view partisan divides in Richmond.
During Tuesday’s King George Board of Supervisors meeting, Stuart took time to explain a pair of bills making their way through the General Assembly that would impact Virginia Military Institute (VMI).
After hearing from Stuart, the board voted unanimously to adopt two separate resolutions opposing House Bills 1374 and 1377, with Stuart describing the former as “pretty egregious” in its original form.
“This sought to remove the governing board of VMI and have the institution governed by Virginia State,” Stuart said. “This has since been amended along the way just like the other one was … What it does now, is it changes the makeup of the board at VMI.”
A summary of the bill states that of the 16 members appointed to the VMI Board of Visitors, only eight should be alumni of the Institute, six shall be non-alumni Virginia residents and at least five shall have U.S. military experience. Current law provides that 12 of the 16 members shall be alumni, among other differences from the proposed bill.
“It removes many of those [alumni] members or at least enough that they can’t have significant influence on the school,” Stuart said.
HB1377 proposes that a task force is created to determine whether VMI should fundamentally be changed, continue to be a state-sponsored institution of higher education in Virginia, or be consolidated into other institutions in the Commonwealth.
Stuart did not specify why the bills are important to King George residents, but the resolution opposing the bills states that “VMI and the VMI Family are treasured and essential parts of King George County’s and Virginia’s society and economy.”
The resolution opposing HB1377 declares that the bill’s “adversarial framing” asserts as fact contested historical and cultural conclusions, including accusations that VMI cadets committed treason against the United States during the Civil War. The resolution also notes that a 2021 State Council of Higher Education for Virginia investigation of VMI that’s cited in the bill did not uncover “explicit racist or sexist policies, no overt Honor Court bias, and full compliance with Title IX. The investigation also found that VMI’s minority retention rates exceeded peer group schools in Virginia, according to the resolution.
However, although the investigation found no formal racist or sexist policies, the report did find that institutional racism and sexism are present and tolerated at VMI; the school’s culture is a disadvantage to minority and female cadets; and that the school failed to adequately address sexual assault and racial slurs. The investigation also determined that VMI’s culture focused heavily on celebrating the Confederacy.
“The bill directs the task force to determine VMI’s responsiveness to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s 2021 report on the institution and to explore changes made to distance VMI from the ‘lost cause,’ which means the Civil War and foster an inclusive environment as well as other matters raised by the task force,” Stuart said.
The board of supervisors didn’t discuss the bills much other than Chair David Sullins stating that he’s heard from VMI alumni in the county who oppose them. Stuart said he believes the bills are the result of shifting priorities resulting from a change of leadership in the state.
“It is a direct shot across the bow at the administration at VMI,” Stuart said. “I’m trying to be fair, but I think that’s the point of the bill(s).”
The board of supervisors also unanimously passed a bill reaffirming its stance that the county is a “second amendment sanctuary” and the sheriff’s office will not enforce new state gun laws.
Stuart said there “have been a significant amount of bills in regard to the second amendment and gun control” in the General Assembly. He specifically cited a proposed ban on “assault weapons.”
“That’s a poor way to describe it because it is based upon the outward characteristics of a gun,” Stuart said of the assault weapon designation. “It is more about what the appearance is than what the functionality of it is, and as oftentimes is the case, many of these bills are drafted by folks who don’t use firearms. So, there are things about it that cause unintended consequences.”
There was one issue the board declined to address — redistricting in Virginia. While Spotsylvania and other counties adopted a resolution opposing the timing of the referendum on the redrawn congressional map, Sullins said it’s best for King George to stay out of the fray and encourage residents to vote.
“The verbiage on the ballot is very confusing,” Sullins said. “It leans toward wanting people to vote one way or the other. The gist of it is if you want to maintain the status quo where we have a roughly 50/50, 60/40-ish split between Democrat and Republican seats then vote ‘no.’ If you want to completely upend that and fix it so that the Democrats have a 10 to 1 advantage in Congress coming from the state of Virginia, then vote ‘yes.’ It’s that simple.”
Sullins, who said he doesn’t think the proposed map is legal, implored residents to gather their neighbors, family and friends to vote on the referendum, and fix it once and for all “so we don’t have to deal with this crap again.”
But Vice Chair William Davis reminded him it was less than four years ago when maps were redrawn.
“They voted on it in 2022, so we wouldn’t have to deal with this crap again,” Davis said. “But here we are.”
