Candidate Forum
The Gay Community Center of Richmond
1407 Sherwood Ave., Richmond, Virginia 23220
Wednesday, May 8th 2013
7:00pm- 9:30pm
As in past years APV, in cooperation with numerous other organizations including GETEqual – Va, People of Faith for Equality in Va, Progress Va, Richmond NOW, Sierra Club-Virginia Chapter, UniteWomen.org and Virginians for Responsible Gun Laws is hosting a forum for candidates running for state-wide office in Virginia. We have invited all those who have registered to run in the election including independents, Republicans who will participate in this month’s nominating convention and Democrats who will participate in the June 11th primary.
At present we are expecting four Democratic candidates for Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor; unfortunately the Republican candidates either declined our invitation or did not choose to respond.
We have commitments from Aneesh P Chopra and Ralph Northam who are running for Lieutenant Governor in the June Democratic primary and Justin Fairfax and Mark Herring who are running for Attorney General. We preferred to have candidates speaking in opposition and since Mr. Cuccinelli chose not to attend; Mr. McAuliffe will not be speaking.
In the next four years many important issues will come before our leaders in Richmond: Women’s reproductive choice, uranium mining, transportation, education, LGBTQ equality and nondiscrimination, voting rights, gun laws and more. This is a prime opportunity for you to see and speak with these candidates. The 2013 election will be critical to Virginia’s future and we urge you to get to know those who wish to lead our Commonwealth.
Please join us!
Roland Winston
Deputy Policy Director for Equality and Diversity
Here is a link to our facebook page for this event: https://www.facebook.com/events/596695773676059/
Show Your Support For Clean Energy
April 24, APV Deputy Policy Director Stefan Reed testified before the Virginia State Corporation Commission regarding Dominion Power’s proposed 1.1 billion dollar natural gas plant to be built in Brunswick County between now and 2016. Stefan made a strong case against such a large investment in a technology that is already yesterday’s news. “We need to invest in technologies that provide clean and renewable energy for the 21st century not the 20th”. Stefan talked about the need to force Dominion (Virginia’s largest political donor) to live up to its promises of safe, clean, renewable energy instead of the lip service we have gotten so far.
Also at the hearing we heard moving testimony from local Southside business and government leaders in favor of the plant. APV is very sympathetic to the ongoing plight of these communities. Unemployment in this region sits stubbornly at around twice the state average. The citizens of Brunswick County and their neighbors deserve a sustainable, job creating industry in their region. Sadly, instead of a cutting edge alternative energy infrastructure that will bring and keep quality jobs in the Southside such as Wind, Solar, Geothermal, Tidal or Hydroelectric, they are being asked to wed their region’s future to the outdated, inefficient and dirty technologies that Dominion persists in advancing. As Stefan said “we need to invest in real energy solutions, not more of the same”
Equality Virginia Gala
The APV table at this year’s Equality Virginia gala in Richmond April 5th. Pictured: Kim Allen, Roland Winston, Victoria Bragunier, Merry Rutrick, David Bernard, Del. McQuinn, Robyn Deane, Kim Gray, and Meg Rapelye. (photo credit: Gay RVA)
Press Conference – Wedding Reception
On Valentine’s Day 2013 gay and lesbian Virginians once again participated in “Witness for Marriage“, protests in five cities across the Commonwealth by going to the local courthouse and applying for marriage licenses. At a time when the United States as a whole is moving towards full equality for LGBT Americans, Virginia still lags behind. (Photo credit: GayRVA)
At the General Assembly before the event the Alliance for Progressive Values held a press conference with Delegate Scott Surovell (Alexandria) who introduced legislation this year that had it passed would have opened the doors of the courthouse to gay and lesbian couples by ending the so called Marshall/Newman amendment. We were joined by representatives from Equality Virginia, People of Faith for Equality, Get Equal VA and the First Unitarian Church of Richmond as well as gay and lesbian couples from across the state.
Victoria Bragunier, APV Public Policy Director, spoke at the press conference:
“Today is Valentine’s Day. A day marked by promises of love and fidelity—a day many celebrate by getting married. Yet, in the Commonwealth of VA, gay and lesbian couples are still denied this right because of the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
The Marshall-Newman Amendment defines marriage as solely between one man and one woman and bans recognition of same sex marriage and civil unions, keeping Virginia from recognizing such arrangements formed in other states.”
Uranium Mining Bill Killed in Committee
APV has worked long and hard since our founding in 2011 to keep the ban on uranium mining in Virginia. Yesterday (Jan. 31) the most recent threat to the ban was stricken from the docket in the important Senate Agriculture Committee. We expect more efforts by the deep pocketed resource extraction industry to open the Commonwealth up to this risky practice and we will continue to work to keep our environment safe and clean and to promote clean and renewable energy models for the future.
From the article:
Scott Price, president of the Alliance for Progressive Values, said the bill’s defeat is a win for the proverbial little guy.
“This is a big victory for the people in Virginia against big money,” he said. “It shows what happens when people are organized and people fight back.”
