By Reginald Stuart
The political elections last week in Virginia began a dramatic new chapter in history with voters awarding Democrats control of the state’s House of Delegates for the first time in the state’s 400-year history.
With political control of the 100 -seat House legislative body shifting in the November elections to Democrats from Republicans, the new House leadership is set to be run by Representative Donald L. Scott, Jr. a Houston-born son of a single mother who went from the schools in Houston and proceeded to climb a tough ladder to professional and public political leadership. His nomination to Speaker of the House, strongly supported by the new House majority, is to be confirmed in January.
The state legislature leadership change marked “…the first day of a new Virginia,” Scott told supporters after the surprising outcome of the elections became clear and preparations by leaders of both parties began working on a seamless transition of power.
The election results “thwarted MAGA Republicans’ attempt to take control of our government and our bodies,” said state Senator Mamie Locke, referring to the millions of dollars spent by former president Donald Trump and staunchly conservative Republicans on campaigns to solidify Republican control of both houses of the legislature.
The Republican Party effort would have kept the antiabortion campaign and hard line conservative political values intact, like restricting voting rights and leveling the playing field for the poor and underrepresented in court.
A graduate of Texas A&M University and the Louisiana Sate University School of Law, Scott soon was convicted of holding illegal drugs for a friend. That clash with the law, derailed his ambitions and got him a 10-year prison sentence. After serving nearly eight years in prison upon his release as a convicted felon, he stayed focused ,working in job training programs and resumed his studies for the bar exam. His conviction meant he could no longer participate in elections, as a felon he could not vote. Scott persuaded then Gov. Robert McDonnell to restore his rights. Scott remained on track and was focused.
In 2014, Scott passed the state bar on his first try after nearly a year of study. He was off and running, making a name for himself winning cases and getting his name around the Portsmouth area. In the wave of Democratic wins in 2019, ambitious newcomer Donald Scott Jr. won election to the Virginia House of Delegates. Scott quickly teamed with Gov. Ralph Northam who championed gun control legislation, gay rights issues, justice restoration and abortion rights, according to reporting by The Washington Post, and several non-partisan election survey groups.
Scott was first elected to the legislature in 2001 having become a successful personal injury lawyer. A skilled practitioner of decorum in the family and legislative halls, Scott has earned and been complimented across Southeastern Virginia for his volunteer work and civility. He has worked energetically on workforce development and is married to Mallanda Colson-Scott, a dentist in the Southeastern Virginia Tidewater area. They have a teen-age daughter.
As the election results were pouring in for hotly contested political contests from Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi, election observers and political media analysts knew this election was going to reflect the mood of voters since the Supreme Court’s stunning decision to reverse the controversial Roe vs. Wade case. The original ruling 50 years ago established a woman’s right to make her own choices about her health care and pregnancy.
Republicans took on that issue from state to state without hesitation and met Virginians at the polls head on with a tough campaign declaring opposition to abortion for most reasons, regardless of a physician’s input.
Indeed, the abortion rights issue overshadowed some other issues on the ballot in many states.
A skilled prosecutor of legislative and judicial decorum, Scott has learned since childhood while growing up with siblings about power sharing and delegating. Observers say that experience will serve him well as he manages the House with its hundreds of members and thousands of staff.
In nearby Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear, the incumbent Democrat, won reelection despite his support for abortion rights. In Ohio, despite massive Republican spending on antiabortion candidates and issues, voters rallied to amend their state constitution to protect a women’s right on the abortion issue.
Gun control was lost on the election radar this month as its prominent presence in many recent election contests was overshadowed by the abortion rights issue, political incivility justice in the court system and the economy.
Scott appears set for battle on all these fronts as tough sailing lies ahead.
