Politics

Virginia Voters’ Choice: Forward with Voting Rights Champ for Governor or Backward With Team Trump

Sound familiar? On one issue after another, voters can contrast Youngkin’s unproven claims with McAuliffe’s proven record.

Published

3 years ago

September 18, 2021

Isabelle Price

A young black man with his I voted sticker after voting in an election./iStock

Virginia’s voters will pick the state’s next governor in November. The choice couldn’t be clearer and neither could the national implications of this race in a bellwether state. Not only is the Virginia election a curtain-raiser for the midterm elections of 2022, it’s also the biggest test so far of whether the Trumpified GOP can win major races.

The Democratic candidate, Terry McAuliffe, had a successful term as governor. The Republican candidate, Glenn Youngkin, is a super-wealthy businessman trying to buy his way into power.

Sound familiar? On one issue after another, voters can contrast Youngkin’s unproven claims with McAuliffe’s proven record.

Take voting rights. During his 2014-2018 term, McAuliffe overcame Republican resistance and Jim Crow-era voting laws to restore voting rights to 173,000 Virginians.

What about Youngkin? He refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of President Joe Biden’s victory for months—until after he won the GOP nomination—and has helped promote false right-wing claims about voter fraud that are being used by Republican legislators to justify restrictive voting laws around the country.

Just last month, Youngkin spoke at an “election integrity” rally organized by a Trump supporter who was outside the Capitol during the January 6 insurrection. No wonder Trump has so enthusiastically endorsed Youngkin.

Youngkin promotes himself as if Virginia needs him as some kind of savior to pull the state out of the “ditch” he claims it is in. The Washington Post’s editorial board said Youngkin’s claim is “flatly contradicted by a tsunami of evidence to the contrary.” That sounds like a polite way of saying Youngkin is lying. The state has a budget surplus, lower-than-average unemployment, and a AAA bond rating. This summer CNBC declared Virginia the top state in the country for business.

The real danger of the state dropping into a ditch comes from Youngkin himself. His desire to abolish the state’s income tax would slash the state’s ability to provide services to its residents.

When McAuliffe was governor, he was so successful at attracting economic development and generating new jobs that he was named “Public Official of the Year” by “Governing” magazine in 2017.

The magazine honored McAuliffe “based on his success navigating an opposition Legislature, creating new jobs, and persevering in restoring the civil rights of more than 168,000 Virginians.” McAuliffe credited his team for helping him “build a stronger, more inclusive Virginia.”

In his previous term as governor, McAuliffe also oversaw record spending on education and created the country’s first workforce training program to help people without a college education get access to jobs in high demand. He is pledging to build on that track record by raising teacher pay above the national average, expanding access to preschool, and getting all students online.

Meanwhile, Youngkin’s search for ways to fire up right-wing voters has led him down another divisive road paved by Trump. Youngkin has joined Trump, Fox News, and right-wing activists who are trying to stop schools from having honest conversations about racism in our history, culture, and institutions. They’re hoping to inflame conservative white voters to drive up turnout, and Youngkin has made it the centerpiece of his campaign.

His dishonest comments about Virginia schools show us that he will say or do anything to get into power, no matter how much damage he does along the way. Youngkin fails another test that is of vital importance to Virginians’ health and economic future: dealing responsibly with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Youngkin opposes vaccine mandates and doesn’t think schools should require students to wear masks. He said he would follow the lead of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, whose irresponsible policies have encouraged an upsurge in hospitalizations and deaths. McAuliffe knows that you can’t rebuild the economy if the pandemic is allowed to ravage the workforce and disrupt our lives and jobs.

Virginia voters rejected Donald Trump twice and I believe they will reject Trump’s pick for governor. McAuliffe, whose successful record as governor reflects his commitment to a Virginia that works better for everyone, deserves Virginians’ votes, and the nation will be watching.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way.

Isabelle Price

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

6 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.