Latest news with #Bagby
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bagby elected next Democratic Party of Virginia chair
Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury) Following a brief campaign to replace outgoing Democratic Party of Virginia chairwoman Susan Swecker, Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, was chosen as her successor over the weekend. After announcing her decision to step down last month ahead of her term's end in December, Bagby emerged as the sole and heavily-endorsed candidate. Then democratic organizer and activist Josh Stanfield and DPVA 10th Congressional District chair Zach Pruckowski announced their candidacies, as well. At a March 22 meeting of DPVA members, Bagby won election to complete Swecker's term, with 66% of the votes. 'My role is to make sure that I'm providing the glue to keep us together, to make sure that our coordinated campaigns and messaging is in sync, and that we have the resources to to get it done,' he told The Mercury ahead of his election. In the weeks before the election, Stanfield had questioned Bagby's failure to disclose certain financial information on paperwork elected officials are required to file. Bagby updated the documents to correct what he called an 'oversight.' As he prepares to take on his role within DPVA, he does not plan to step down from his current term as a state senator or as chair of the senate's Transportation Committee. He will resign as chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus. With 32 members, the caucus is ripe with others who could become its primary voice. With Virginia's elections for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates up for election this year, Bagby will now be able to play a role as the face and voice of DPVA to help boost Democrat candidates. While candidates may look to the party for support in a handful of the most-competitive districts this year, Democrats are also stepping up to run in nearly every district. Maintaining their majority in the House will be important for the advancement of three proposed constitutional amendments. Amending the state constitution requires resolutions to pass the legislature two years in a row with a House election in between before appearing on statewide ballots for final approval or rejection by voters. While resolutions to remove a same-sex marriage prohibition from the constitution and to enshrine voting rights for people whith felony convictions who've completed their sentences passed with bipartisan support, a reproductive rights resolution advanced because of Democrats' majority in the legislature. 'I am ready to roll up my sleeves, work with local committees, engage directly with voters, and ensure our party keeps leading Virginia toward a brighter and better future,' Bagby said in a DPVA press release announcing his election as chair. The Republican Party of Virginia may also see new leadership as chairman Rich Anderson has been tapped by President Donald Trump to serve as assistant secretary of the Air Force. Pending likely U.S. Senate approval, RPV could elect its new chair as early as April 12 , when its next meeting is scheduled. State Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, has announced his candidacy for the race backed by Gov Glenn Youngkin, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares. Earle-Sears is running for governor this year and Miyares is seeking another term as attorney general, so the new RPV chair can also support their candidacies. Regaining Republican ground in the House could be a counterweight to the Democrat–controlled Senate, which is not up for election until 2026. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bagby's omission of his wife, businesses on economic interest disclosure forms raise questions
Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico. (Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury) Political officials in Virginia are required to submit Statement of Economic Interest forms that are posted to the state's ethics advisory council website. As a part-time legislature, delegates and senators have lives and other work outside of representing constituents and must disclose publicly what might be an economic interest to them. Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, who is running to be the next chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, initially failed to disclose his wife and various businesses on recent SOEI forms. Though the document has been amended to include those details, one of his opponents in the race questions why they weren't revealed in the first place and if it's something Republicans could target Bagby for should he become the leader of the state's Democratic party. Bagby told The Mercury that the omission was an 'oversight.' The form includes the question 'Do you or a member of your immediate family own, separately or together, a business that has a value in excess of $5,000?' Bagby had at first answered 'no,' despite his wife's salon and event space businesses. On the updated form, amended on March 10, he answered yes to that question. Josh Stanfield, who is also running for DPVA chair, has tried to ask Bagby about potential conflicts of interest in candidate forums. In an interview with the Mercury and on his blog, Stanfield noted that when former Democratic governor L. Douglas Wilder was a candidate in 1989, he came under scrutiny from Republicans for failing to disclose his real estate and stock holdings on forms. At the time, Wilder called on then-Democratic Attorney General Mary Sue Terry to investigate the matter. '(She) was able to put that to rest,' Stanfield said. 'But the point is, when it comes to these forms, any sort of omission or anything of serious question gives the Republicans a route of attack, whether founded or unfounded.' Stanfield also points to Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares' run for re-election and how former DPVA spokesperson Liam Watson was subject to a probe from Miyares' office. Watson, who left DPVA in 2023 after being elected to Blacksburg town council, now faces trial for election fraud charges. DPVA's central committee members will vote between Zach Pruckowski, Bagby and Stanfield on March 22 to pick the party's new chair. That person will then be the new face and voice of the political party in Virginia and can play a key role in boosting Democrats ahead of this year's House of Delegates and executive branch elections. The Democratic Party of Va. will pick a new leader this month. Here are the candidates' platforms. When reached for comment, Pruckowski did not wish to weigh in on Bagby's forms. 'I'm just staying focused on making the case to members of (DPVA's Central Committee) that I'm the best guy for the job,' he said. As candidates for an inner-party race rather than a state-run election, neither Stanfield and Pruckowski are subject to the SOEI. 'To qualify for the ballot in a state-run election, you have to fill out to SOEI,' DPVA's executive director Shyam Raman said. Meanwhile, as a former state candidate and current state lawmaker, Bagby fills out SOEI forms each year. Issues with Bagby's paperwork were first discovered by independent journalist Christa Motley and when she questioned Bagby about them, his lawyer responded. 'The omission that you shared has been addressed and was a result of an oversight,' Bagby's lawyer Joe Massie wrote to Motley on March 11 after the forms had been updated. Motley, who has spent years reporting on how Virginia's substance use recovery homes are managed in the state, uncovered Bagby's connections to the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences and began looking into his finances more closely when he announced his run for DPVA chair. Her reporting on recovery homes revealed Bagby's role in state funds that VARR has received in recent years — a role Bagby has downplayed. 'All I have done was give money to the recovery community,' he said in a recent interview with The Mercury. Emails that Motley received through a Freedom of Information Act request showed VARR officials referring to Bagby as a 'champion' in the legislature. He also joined a limited liability company called Imagine The Freedom LLC with members of VARR, which owned a property, as well. Though the LLC was on Bagby's previous SOEI forms, it is absent in recent years. This is because his association with Imagine The Freedom has ended, he told The Mercury. Virginia's Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council website is where SOEI forms are publicly viewable. The database indicates that Bagby recently amended his filing, but previous versions of the forms are not publicly available. The Mercury confirmed the omissions through a records request to the council. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘It's a piece of history and it belongs to this family': A Bakersfield Army veteran's quest to return a piece of World War II history back home
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — It's a mystery: how did Vinson Paul Haralson's enlistment card from more than 80 years ago land on a Bakersfield bus bench? The card was found by a fellow veteran, and bus driver, Jeremy Bagby. 'This person joined a Navy a month after they bombed Pearl Harbor. I want to try to get it back to their family,' Bagby said. We met Bagby a few months earlier when he was given a car at a Bakersfield Condors hockey game. The former Army sergeant had been biking through the streets of Bakersfield. That Toyota Highlander was a well-deserved gift for a veteran who fell on hard times after his service. 'I could've made a lot of better decisions in life, I guess,' said Bagby. 'This is going to change everything.' Then, he mentioned he found the card tossed on a bench by a man digging through the trash. That card belonged to a World War II veteran. 'My niece called and said 'look at the news.' And it just shocked me that we saw that name,' said Sandy Haralson Tiner, Vinson Paul Haralson's last surviving relative. She's the only one still alive who actually knew the man. 'There was three boys and a girl,' said Tiner. 'They farmed in Arkansas, but when the crash happened, they all moved to California like in 'The Grapes of Wrath' and lived in Arvin and farmed, lived in tents.' Vinson was a Navy deep-sea diver in Pearl Harbor after the Japanese attack in 1941. 'Good-natured, hard workers,' said Tiner. 'That's the way they were brought up.' Vinson survived the war although, he contracted a lung disease in the 1960s. He died in 1971, and was buried at North Kern Cemetery in Delano. 'We have his birth certificate, his driver's license, all his pictures that he had,' said Tiner. 'I inherited it from my dad. And he got it from his sister. I thought I had it all.' One more piece of family history missing, but not for much longer. 'I think I found something that belongs to you,' Bagby said, making his way to Tiner's front door where she awaited for her uncle's return. 'I can't even explain it. It's very surreal,' said Tiner. 'Nice and kind, I'm glad he did that. Because it needs to be passed down to my children.' 'I'm happy, I'm very happy. That's where it belongs,' said Bagby. 'It's not an ordinary, everyday card. It's a piece of history and it belongs to this family.' After more than 80 years, Bagby made sure another piece of Vinson Haralson's life is home, fulfilling the code of no man left behind. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
