The highest-ranking member in the Democrat Party’s House of Delegates was ousted in an effort led by the progressive wing of her own party.
“I thank the people of Virginia and my colleagues in the House of Delegates for allowing me to serve as the first woman and first person of Jewish faith to serve as Speaker in the 403-year history of our Commonwealth — truly the honor of my life,” Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) said. “I was proud of all that we accomplished after taking the majority in 2019 and was willing to step up as Minority Leader once more to regain that majority. Our caucus is made up of 48 talented and diverse individuals and I look forward to working with them to retake the majority.”
Previously, Filler-Corn was the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. She was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2010.
Delegate Don Scott Jr. (D-Portsmouth), a relative newcomer who was first elected in 2019, reportedly led the charge against Filler-Corn.
Scott is indeed a progressive, whose website calls for “transforming Virginia’s criminal justice system” to include shorter probation periods for convicted criminals, the legalization of marijuana and automatic expungement of certain misdemeanor crimes. He also supports universal healthcare.
Scott declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.
Democrat caucus has not yet decided who will replace Filler-Corn as their leader.
“We’ll do it quickly, like, probably the next time we’re in town,” Delegate Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax) said, per The Richmond Times-Dispatch.
According to The Republican Standard, others were involved in the vote to get rid of Filler-Corn.
“The effort to remove Filler-Corn was spearheaded by several Democratic newcomers to the Virginia House of Delegates, many of whom have connections to progressive dark money group Clean Virginia owned by Charlottesville billionaire Michael Bills,” that blog reported.
Clean Virginia is a far-left climate activism non-profit that has ties to The Virginia Mercury, a far-left publication in the state.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Virginia House of Delegate Chamber” by Antony-22. CC BY-SA 4.0.
