Abigail Spanberger, Who Campaigned on ‘Affordability,’ Signs Opening Salvo of Bills Proposing Constitutional Amendments on Abortion, Redistricting
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D.) campaigned on "affordability." Her first legislative acts proposed constitutional amendments on abortion, voting rights for felons, same-sex marriage, and partisan redistricting efforts.
"I JUST signed bills to allow Virginians to vote on proposed amendments to our Constitution," Spanberger wrote on Friday. "We took the next step to protect marriage equality, reproductive rights, the automatic restoration of voting rights, and to let voters respond to extreme measures taken by other states."
If approved by voters in November, the amendments would enshrine abortion, same-sex marriage, and the automatic restoration of voting rights for felons who have served their sentences in the Virginia Constitution. Another resolution would allow a mid-decade redistricting of the state’s congressional map. Proposed maps heavily favor Democrats and could eliminate the vast majority of Republican-held seats. State Republicans criticized the redistricting effort as "reckless," and challenged the process in court.
"Virginia voters deserve the opportunity to respond to the nationwide attacks on our rights, freedoms, and elections," Spanberger’s office said in a press release.
Her actions are a far cry from the issues she emphasized during the race, where she said she would focus on "lowering costs, keeping our communities safe, and strengthening our economy."
"Every day on the campaign trail, I’m hearing about issues of affordability," Spanberger said. One of her primary policies was the "Affordable Virginia Plan," which aimed to tackle rising costs in health care, housing, and energy.
In a Jan. 23 interview, she said she would keep a "relentless focus" on affordability, as she did on the campaign trail. "Along the campaign, I talked about issues of affordability, the priority of strengthening our public schools, and overall just strengthening our communities."
"My focus will be a relentless focus on taking every action possible … to move policies and initiatives forward that will impact people’s lives, bring down costs, and contend with some of the root causes of cost increases," she said.
But she’s received criticism for ignoring affordability in her first actions as governor. In her first week, she announced that she would end Virginia’s cooperation with ICE. On Thursday, she ordered state law enforcement agencies to cut ties with federal immigration enforcement. The state is also in the process of rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which former governor Glenn Youngkin (R.) estimated would increase energy costs. She also appointed two Qatari lobbyists to George Mason University’s board of visitors, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
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