Newly empowered Virginia Democrats, led by 1st Jewish speaker, promise ‘action’

A historically diverse Virginia General Assembly convenes Wednesday, led for the first time in more than two decades by Democrats who are promising to enact a litany of changes.

“Voters demanded action, and they have called for a legislature that works for them. And, this session, they will get exactly that,” House Speaker-elect Eileen Filler-Corn says.

Filler-Corn will be the first woman to serve as House speaker. She will also be the first Jewish speaker.

African-American lawmakers are set to have most power at the legislature in Virginia’s 400 year history, including leading several powerful legislative committees.

“It is our time,” Sen. Jennifer McClellan, vice chairwoman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, says Wednesday. She says the black caucus was committed to eliminate the “last vestiges of racism and white supremacy in Virginia law.”

Many Democratic lawmakers wear blue Wednesday, a nod to the November blue wave that helped them take full control of the General Assembly for the first time in a generation.

— AP