EPISODES
Dr. Jatia Wrighten: Why Do Black Women Carry the Burden of American Democracy?
Collective bargaining in the classroom: With restrictions against public-sector collective bargaining removed, teachers, firefighters, and other government employees have now been allowed to organize. Research shows that collective bargaining helps morale, staffing retention, and educator pay, giving teachers more say in their job. Richmond's school system has been the fastest to organize, but other school districts aren't far behind. Wartime profiteering: new orders for defense capital goods are steadily increasing, according to new numbers from the Census Bureau. Like it or not, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is profitable for Virginia's military-industrial complex, with the state's access to D.C. and logistics command at nearby Fort Lee. As the war continues, the demand for weapons shows no signs of stopping. The welcome project: While there's a long history of state governors getting publicity by re-issuing road maps and welcome messages with their own names and faces, a new scandal faces the Youngkin administration: Virginia's latest ad campaign was produced by Poolhouse Media, which helped then-candidate Youngkin win the governorship. Their bid was prepared on the first day the contract became available--easily beating out the other bidders, including the longstanding Martin Agency.
Collective Bargaining, Wartime Profiteering, and Government Contract Favoritism
Collective bargaining in the classroom: With restrictions against public-sector collective bargaining removed, teachers, firefighters, and other government employees have now been allowed to organize. Research shows that collective bargaining helps morale, staffing retention, and educator pay, giving teachers more say in their job. Richmond's school system has been the fastest to organize, but other school districts aren't far behind. Wartime profiteering: new orders for defense capital goods are steadily increasing, according to new numbers from the Census Bureau. Like it or not, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is profitable for Virginia's military-industrial complex, with the state's access to D.C. and logistics command at nearby Fort Lee. As the war continues, the demand for weapons shows no signs of stopping. The welcome project: While there's a long history of state governors getting publicity by re-issuing road maps and welcome messages with their own names and faces, a new scandal faces the Youngkin administration: Virginia's latest ad campaign was produced by Poolhouse Media, which helped then-candidate Youngkin win the governorship. Their bid was prepared on the first day the contract became available--easily beating out the other bidders, including the longstanding Martin Agency.
Christine Kuglin: Virginia Faces Nearly $1B of Unfunded Debt Obligations
Christine Kuglin, Director of Truth in Accounting's Daniels College of Business, explains how Virginia's constitutionally-required "balanced budget" can be reconciled with the Commonwealth's billion-dollar debt burden. While some debt can be good, it also carries risk, such as when worker pensions are leveraged and tied to stocks and bonds.
Markus Schmidt: Marie March Charges Wren Williams With Assault, Battery
Markus Schmidt of Cardinal News joins the show to discuss the contentious Republican primary for Virginia's 47th District, where redistricting pitted incumbent delegates Marie March and Wren Williams against each other. March filed a criminal complaint alleging that Williams shoved her at a GOP event. Schmidt walks us through the security camera footage and political implications.
Early Voting, Financial Data Transparency, and New Guidelines for Transgender Students
Republican Delegate Phillip Scott says Virginia's 45-day early voting period is too long, causing an undue burden on Virginia's registrars and Department of Elections. Thomas and Michael discuss early voting and the possibility of getting a recurring absentee ballot sent directly to your house. Transparency in government: Senator Mark Warner has introduced the Financial Data Transparency Act, which would require state and local governments to submit financial documents in a machine-readable format--something private corporations have been required to do for years. This would make it easier to read, research, and verify financial information in government documents. New state guidelines for school districts suggest policies that would allow teachers to misgender students. Delegate Danica Roem had some choice words in response to the new policy, which currently has no enforcement mechanisms.
Dr. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo: Elaine Luria, Jen Kiggans, and the Race for Virginia's 2nd District
Dr. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo, Associate Professor of Political Science and Research Lab Director of the Judy Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University, joins Michael and Thomas to talk about the hotly contested midterm election for Virginia's 2nd District. Democratic incumbent Elaine Luria faces a challenge from Republican Jen Kiggans in a newly-redrawn district: what do these candidates want their voters to take away and how will the election shape up?
Dr. Stephen Farnsworth: Abigail Spanberger, Yesli Vega, and the Fight for Virginia's 7th District
Professor Stephen Farnsworth, Director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, joins Michael and Thomas to talk about the hotly contested midterm election for Virginia's 7th District. Democratic incumbent Abigail Spanberger faces a challenge from Republican Yesli Vega in a newly-redrawn district: what do these candidates want their voters to take away and how will the election shape up?
Mountain Valley Pipeline Extension and the Midterms Changing Tides
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is giving the Mountain Valley Pipeline an additional four years to obtain all the necessary permits to finish construction. This isn't the first time FERC has granted an extension--but some experts say it's a bad deal for Virginians, both environmentally and economically. According to a new Roanoke College survey, consumers are feeling better about the economy--eight points up from the spring. While consumer confidence is still at a historic low, the upturn might be one good sign for Democrats in what's otherwise looking to be a difficult midterm election.
Junk Science Conversion Therapy and Challenging the Earned Sentence Credits
Thousands are behind bars right now, even though they should've been released--that's the result of a recent budget amendment that changed how "earned sentence credits" worked. A lawsuit by the ACLU challenges whether the amendment can undo the credits earned since the 2020 law was passed.
Also in the news: While conversion therapy is illegal to perform on LGBTQ+ children, it's still not illegal for adults. Despite the practice being widely discredited, the Virginia Department of Health Professions is telling licensed state health professionals that it's okay to keep using this junk science on adults.
Holly Seibold: The Six-Year Journey to Eliminate Virginia's Tampon Tax
GUEST: Holly Seibold, founder of BRAWS (Bringing Resources to Aid Women's Shelters) discusses her work helping women's shelters and the six-year process of convincing the General Assembly to eliminate the state sales tax from pads, tampons, and other hygiene products.
Election Fraud: Scott Taylor for Congress
After an investigation found hundreds of falsified signatures on a 3rd-party candidate's ballot petition, one former Republican Congressman's entire campaign staff has been indicted or convicted on dozens of counts related to election fraud. Fmr Congressman Scott Taylor (VA-02) also remains under investigation. Michael and Thomas take a Thanksgiving break from their usual interview format to bring you up-to-date on a real Virginia political true crime.
Steve Descano: To prosecute or not to prosecute? ...That's discretion
Steve Descano is the Commonwealth's Attorney for Fairfax County. He comes out swinging in his response to allegations from the incoming Attorney General, Jason Miyares, that he's putting criminals first.
But first on the podcast, does Fmr. Delegate David Ramadan (R-Loudoun) regret his decision to endorse Democrat Terry McAuliffe over Republican Gov.-Elect Glenn Youngkin? He's on the podcast to explain his choice and what he thinks Miyares's chances are for passing his marquee legislation.
Quentin Kidd: Which seven unlucky Democrats lost reelection?
Virginia Democrats lost seven seats in the House of Delegates and Republicans gained control of the Chamber. Where did Democrats lose and what were some contributing factors? We analyze the election results with Dr. Quentin Kidd, a Professor of Political Science at Christopher Newport University.
Bold Dominion Crossover: What happened to Democrats in the 2021 Election?
Republican Glenn Youngkin will be the next Governor of Virginia, managing to erase decades of trends moving Virginia to the left. What went wrong for Terry McAuliffe and the Democrats swept out of power? The Bold Dominion podcast joined the Transition Team to discuss their first impressions as they process the results. What happened and what might happen next? Listen to find out.
Previewing the 2021 statewide election with Sean Perryman & Mike Allers
"The 2021 election is upon us and the candidates have made their final pitch. Who's up? Who's down? What will happen on Tuesday? Democrats might have a blue wall in Northern Virginia, but Republicans smell blood. Sean Perryman is the Executive Director of the Payne Center for Social Justice Thurgood Marshall College Fund and a former Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Mike Allers is a former Republican candidate for the 50th House of Delegates district and co-host of Grand New Podcast. We analyze the statewide elections between Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin for Governor, Hala Ayala and Winsome Sears for Lieutenant Governor, and Mark Herring and Jason Miyares for Attorney General.
Chaz Nuttycombe: Which House of Delegates elections are the most competitive?
Virginia's 2021 election is only a couple weeks away, so how are the competitive House of Delegates races shaping up? Chaz Nuttycombe is an election forecaster and the director of CNalysis. He reveals which incumbents that he thinks could be in trouble and the ones in competitive races who should be able to hold on. Support independent media on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/transitionva .
Supply chain shortages & catalytic converter theft with Gonzi Aida
First, the supply lines are getting crunched and that's leading to shortages of everything from Lunchables to auto parts. Next, Attorney General Herring is prosecuting two companies for stealing wages owed workers building the new General Assembly. Unions want "general contractor liability" so there's greater incentive for employers to ensure their subcontractors deal honestly with their workers on construction projects. Finally, Gonzi Aida with the VA Independent Auto Dealers discusses economic realities for mom & pop auto dealers and the reasons for increasing thefts of catalytic converters.
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