All results / Stories / Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum, State Delegate (D-36)
Column: The Age Wave
Commentary
Last week, Bob Brink, a former colleague of mine who represented Arlington-McLean in the House of Delegates and who was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe to be Deputy Commissioner for Aging Services, spoke to the Northern Virginia Aging Network’s (NVAN) annual legislative summit.
Column: At the Half
The General Assembly has reached “crossover,” the point on the legislative calendar when each house must have completed work on bills introduced into its respective chamber. That point was Tuesday for all bills except for adjustments to the budget that will be considered on Thursday.
Commentary: A Legislator's Holiday Season
The multiple celebrations that make up the holiday season bring travel, big meals, and family and friend reunions. For state legislators the end of the year and the holidays bring an additional dimension: preparation for the next legislative session.
Opinion: Commentary: Beyond Jefferson’s Manual
While serving as vice president of the United States from 1797 to 1801, Thomas Jefferson wrote down rules of parliamentary procedure as remembered from his days studying parliamentary rules while a student at William and Mary and from his experiences as serving as president of the United States Senate.
Column: Lull before the Storm
If the Virginia political scene seems to you to be quiet at the moment, stick around for we may just be experiencing a lull before the storm. There are elections every year in Virginia, and at this point in the voting cycle there are numerous state and local offices on the ballot this fall.
Diversity in the Virginia Legislature
Legislatures are about the serious work of governance even though they are often the brunt of jokes and criticism.
Commentary: Marching With a Purpose
I was in college in 1963 in Norfolk, Va. when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his now famous “I Have a Dream” speech. While I agreed fully with the purpose of the March on Washington, I did not have the money nor was I resourceful enough to make my way to Washington, D.C. to participate. I did not have any sense of the importance the march would have or the eloquence of one of the many speakers that day that would resonate through history. Last week I took part in both the “National Action to Realize the Dream March” on Aug. 24, and in the “50th Anniversary March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” last Wednesday, Aug. 28.
Column: Back to the Classroom
I am spending some more time back in the classroom recently. Last week I taught social studies to fourth graders at Lake Anne Elementary School. The students were courteous and well behaved, clearly eager to learn, and as diverse as the world around them.
Governor Proposes New Budget
Commentary
In Virginia a governor can serve two terms, but the terms cannot be successive. All newly elected governors of Virginia take office at the beginning of a biennial budget cycle where the outgoing governor has proposed a budget for that cycle. Since the General Assembly is considering the budget when the new governor comes into office, the new governor can attempt to influence the legislature’s consideration of the budget.
Opinion: Commentary: Legalizing Pot
When settlers to the Virginia colony in the seventeenth century discovered that they would not be able to walk about and pick up gold as some had been led to believe, they had to look around to find a way to make the colony economically sustainable.
Opinion: Commentary: Ending State Executions
Virginia made history last week: The Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam signed the bill that made Virginia the first state in the south and the 23rd state in the nation to end the death penalty!
Opinion: Voter Fraud at the Highest Levels
Over the last several years there has been a proliferation of bills introduced in Virginia and in many other states to prevent voter fraud. Conspicuously missing from the debate on these bills has been any specific examples of voter fraud having been committed. In fact, the greater problem with voting has not been that persons have been fraudulently voting; voter participation in Virginia and the nation has been embarrassingly low. The emphasis needs to be on getting more people to vote and not to make the process more cumbersome and bureaucratic so that it discourages voters.
Commentary: A More Realistic Minimum
Northern Virginia jurisdictions are among the wealthiest in the country.
Commentary: Bumper Sticker Politics
Experts on communications in political campaigns advise that a message needs to be expressed in a matter of seconds—not minutes—if it is to be effective.