Senate Democrats Follow Governor Youngkin’s Lead on Rejection of Appointees

Richmond, VA – Following Governor Youngkin’s lead on rejecting 11 of Governor Northam’s highly-qualified appointees, Senate Democrats voted today to reject Governor Youngkin’s nominees to the Parole Board and the Safety and Health Codes Board. This comes after Democrats attempted to resolve this issue in a bipartisan manner, but Governor Youngkin and Republicans refused to work together.

Gov. Youngkin and House Republicans set a dangerous precedent earlier this session by refusing to confirm 11 of Governor Northam’s highly-qualified public servants. Gov. Youngkin simply abandoned any promise of bipartisanship, and displayed an abuse of power that will hurt governing in the Commonwealth for decades to come. 

As a reminder, here are a few of the appointees that Governor Youngkin and Republicans have refused to confirm: 

• Anthony Swann, a teacher from Southwest Virginia who was named Virginia’s Teacher of Year in 2021, was removed from the Board of Education.
• Richard D. Langford, a Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board Member since 2002, who has been appointed by five Republican and Democratic governors, was removed from the Air Pollution Control Board.
• Jamelle Smith Wilson, fifth dean of the University of Richmond School of Professional and Continuing Studies, was removed from the Board of Education.
• Stewart D. Roberson, a Professor of Practice at the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, was removed from the Board of Education.

“Governor Youngkin and House Republicans have made the decision to play partisan politics, rather than lead,” said DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker. “Today, Democrats showed Virginia Republicans that they can't keep holding these qualified appointees up without repercussions. We will continue to reconcile any differences in a bipartisan manner, but unfortunately now are faced with this choice. Governor Youngkin and his legislative acolytes shouldn’t have charted this dangerous and reckless path for the Commonwealth.”

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