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State Senator Frank Wagner Announces Retirement After 28 Years In Virginia Legislature

Becoming the third Republican State Senator to retire this year, Frank Wagner (R-Virginia Beach) has announced that he will not seek reelection in 2019. The Naval Academy graduate has served in the General Assembly’s upper chamber since 2002, being a staunch proponent of improving transportation infrastructure in Hampton Roads, supporting veterans care, and aiding in deregulatory measures to promote business growth.

“It has been one of the highest honors of my life to serve the citizens of the Commonwealth. I want to thank the citizens of Virginia Beach and Norfolk for giving me that privilege of serving them in Virginia legislature,” the 63-year-old said in a statement.

“Virginia is a great state, which is why we choose to live here. I just hope that I have left our state a little better off for me having served. However, the time has come to turn my seat over to the next generation to continue to make Virginia a better place for all of us to live and raise our families,” he added.

Wagner began his 28-year legislative career in the House of Delegates, serving as the 21st House District’s representative from 1992 to 2001. Apart from being a member of the State Senate for the past 17 years, Wagner ran unsuccessfully to become the Republican Party’s nominee for governor in 2017 with a campaign slogan of, “One veteran, one businessman, one Virginian, one choice.”

During the 2019 legislative session in Richmond, Wagner’s legislation regarding coal ash ponds was passed by the General Assembly. S.B. 1355 requires coal ash ponds to be closed by moving coal ash to lined landfills on site or recycled. According to the bill, approximately 27 million tons of coal ash across the Commonwealth will be secured in a safe manner.

S.B. 1746, which was also passed, directs the Department of Education to encourage school boards that have a significant number of enrolled military-connected students to partner with the National Math and Science Initiative to provide such students with the tools and resources necessary to advance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning, job creation, and career readiness.

Wagner also helped lead the charge to ban people from holding a cell phone while driving a to mitigate distracted driving injuries and fatalities in the Commonwealth, but the bill failed to become law.

Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment (R-James City) said of Wagner’s retirement, “Having worked closely with Frank for many years, he has become a great and close friend.”

“With nearly three decades serving the people of Virginia in the General Assembly, and his earlier service to our nation in the Navy, I know Frank will continue to find ways to contribute to Virginia, America, and, of course, Hampton Roads,” he added in a statement.

Senators Richard “Dick” Black (R-Loudoun) and Bill Carrico (R-Grayson) also announced their plans not to run for reelection this November. Currently, the GOP is holding onto a slim 21-19 majority in the upper chamber, with Democrats already eyeing the 7th State Senate District that encompasses Virginia Beach and parts of Norfolk.

Featured News

State Senator Bill Carrico Announces Retirement, Two Republicans Vie For Seat

State Senator Bill Carrico (R-Grayson) announced Tuesday afternoon that he will not seek reelection this November as all 140 seats in the Virginia General Assembly will be on the ballot. Carrico finishes his legislative career after 10 years in the House of Delegates and eight years in the State Senate.

The retired state trooper and Marion native has represented Lee, Scott, Grayson, and Washington counties, parts of Smyth, Wise, and Wythe counties, as well as the city of Bristol the southwestern part of the Commonwealth. The legislator explained that he had “served long enough” in Richmond’s statehouse, and would like to spend more time with his family.

“I don’t think our founders intended for this to be long term, so while they didn’t set term limits, they did expect it to be a sacrifice and not something to make careers out of,” Carrico said in a report from The Roanoke Times. “Serving in the General Assembly, being from Southwest Virginia, is a real sacrifice.”

“I feel like I’ve done my very best. I haven’t been perfect by any means, but I tried to help everybody that asked for my help, regardless of their party or if they voted for me or not,” he added. “That’s what I want to leave on, that fact I’m just one of the people, and I served them honorably, and when I see them, I don’t have to bow my head in any way. I’ve been thankful to serve them.”

During the 2019 legislative session, Carrico introduced and passed S.B. 1512, which would allow the Virginia State Police to operate handheld speed monitoring devices in highway work zones to protect the workforce.

Aimed at restoring Christian values, he also patroned S.B. 1502 to require local school boards to offer an accredited course on the “Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament of the Bible or the New Testament of the Bible or a combined course on both. The bill, however, was left in the House Appropriations Committee.

Carrico also worked to provide solutions to improve infrastructure on Interstate 81 during this year’s 46-day session.

To replace Carrico in the reliably Republican 40th State Senate District, two GOP candidate have announced their intentions.

Delegate Todd Pillion (R-Washington) and Marion Community and Economic Development Director Ken Heath are the only candidates that have announced thus far. Nevertheless, Carrico endorsed Pillion just after he relayed his retirement to his constituents.

On April 25, Republicans will convene at the Scott County Career and Technical Center at 150 Broadwater Avenue in Gate City for a mass meeting to choose between Pillion and Heath. Prospective Republican candidates have until March 25 to file paperwork with the legislative district committee, with open an primary being the way they will choose a Republican nominee for the 4th House District.

Featured News

American Reporter, Virginia Native Detained In Caracas As Maduro’s ‘Death Squads’ Control Venezuela

With political unrest continuing to mar Venezuela as the public disputes the contentious presidential election and winning candidate, socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, government-backed forces have taken to the streets eliminating opposition members. The turmoil began on January 23 when Juan Guaidó, the leader of the country’s National Assembly, proclaimed himself interim president, leading to the United States and dozens of other countries recognizing him as the rightful leader.

The latest development in the politicial melee is that Cody Weddle, a 29-year-old reporter that has worked out of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas since 2014, has been detained by government forces during a raid on his residence early Wednesday morning, Fox News reports.

Weddle is a Virginia native, hailing from Meadowview in Washington County. According to his Facebook page, he attended Patrick Henry High School in Ashland, Virginia, before graduating from Virginia Tech. He is a freelance reporter who has worked for multiple news stations and newspapers, including the Miami Herald, WSLS, and ABC.

Through a post on Twitter, the U.S. State Department said they are “aware of and deeply concerned with reports that another U.S. journalist has been detained in #Venezuela by #Maduro, who prefers to stifle the truth rather than face it. Being a journalist is not a crime. We demand the journalist’s immediate release, unharmed.”

Weddle is presumed to have been targeted for his coverage of opposition leader Guaidó’s “triumphant” return to Venezuela. He stated on his Facebook page via a news article published by The Telegraph that there is “growing evidence that death squads are being used in Venezuela to prevent uprisings in working-class neighborhoods.”

The Virginia native’s detainment by Venezuelan officials comes just days after Univision journalist Jorge Ramos and his team were briefly detained after they interviewed Maduro.

This week, Maduro’s disputed government also gave German Ambassador Daniel Kriener 48 hours to leave the country after he expressed support for Guaidó.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has reiterated U.S. support for a democratic transition of power in Venezuela led by Guaidó, and that the Trump Administration is “pursuing several new diplomatic and economic incentives in support of that transition.”

As President Donald Trump waits for any excuse to intervene in the South American nation, Weddle’s detainment could prod the commander in chief to act.

Featured News

Delegate Steve Landes Plans To Retire From House, Run For Circuit Court Clerk

After 12 terms in the Virginia House of Delegates, Steve Landes (R-Weyers Cave) has announced that he will not seek re-election this November. However, the senior Republican legislator is set to run for an open clerk of the court position in Augusta County as Carol Brydge announced she plans to retire April 1.

Landes’ decision comes as a surprise just as Republicans gear up to defend their slim majority this November as all 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for reelection. In the House, Republicans have a 51-49 majority, and a 21-19 majority in the State Senate.

As the 25th House District’s representative, which covers portions of Albemarle, Augusta, and Rockingham counties, Delegate Landes also served as chairman of the House Education Committee, vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and vice chairman of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC). Moreover, he was a member of the Rules and Privileges and Elections committees, the House Select Committee on School Safety, and the lower chamber’s member on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates.

During his tenure in the statehouse in Richmond, which began in 1996, Landes focused on promoting economic development, fostering education innovations, and increasing healthcare choice, access, and affordability. According to his website, he was named the 2016 Legislator of the Year by both the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and named the Partners for College Affordability and Public Trust’s “2018 Champion of Affordable College” for his work during last year’s legislative session.

During the 2019 session, Delegate Landes introduced H.B. 1729 as a part of the House Select Committee on School Safety’s 24-point priority recommendation list. The bill would require school counselors across the state to spend at least 80 percent of their time counseling students.

Another important piece of legislation from Landes this year, H.B. 1611, provides that the ratio of the assets to the obligations of the Virginia College Savings Plan shall not exceed 105 percent, given the plan is the most well-funded its been in its history. He said the bill “will have a significant impact on families being able to keep more money in their pockets and attend college at a lower cost” in a news release.

As of Monday, no one announced their intent to run for the Republican nomination for the soon-to-be vacant seat. The 25th District Legislative District Republican Committee voted in February to hold a party canvass for its candidate. The deadline to file with the committee is March 6 at 5:00 p.m.