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By PATRICK WILSON Richmond Times-Dispatch | Apr 8, 2021

Democrats who control the General Assembly rejected a plan for a bipartisan special committee to investigate wrongdoing at the Virginia Parole Board, opting on Wednesday to fund a limited investigation into controversy involving one case.

The limited investigation authorizes Attorney General Mark Herring, in consultation with Gov. Ralph Northam and other Democratic leaders, to choose a law firm to investigate how and why allegations of wrongdoing at the parole board were not included in one state watchdog report last year. The cost could be up to $250,000.

Senate Republicans pushed to create a special committee with subpoena power to investigate the bigger picture of an ongoing scandal involving the parole board. That proposal died on a partisan vote of 21-19, but Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, asked detailed questions about the plan and said there may come a time when such a committee is necessary.

Republicans — led by Sens. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, and Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham — said a bipartisan investigation would be open and transparent, while the proposal from Northam for a limited investigation would be done under a contract with the attorney general’s office, and records would be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said a special committee would require too much work by lawmakers. “I didn’t sign up to be in a full-time legislature,” he said. And the governor’s proposal, he said, was exactly the investigation that had been requested.

But the investigation the General Assembly approved directs a law firm to look into how the Office of the State Inspector General investigated only one case involving the parole board.

“The scope is nowhere near correct,” said Newman, who warned there would come a day when a fuller investigation will be needed.

Republicans in the House and Senate brought up things that the investigation won’t go into, like allegations that the former parole board chairwoman released more than 100 parolees from supervision unilaterally and without any recommendation, and that she had notifications turned off for the surrogate grandmother of a murder victim when the killer was going to be paroled.

“We were told that we would have a full investigation into the parole board matter,” said House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah. “Madam Speaker, you and I both know that something is very rotten at the parole board. We know this because we got a full packet of information from a whistleblower about what is going on.”

Lawmakers debated the issue Wednesday when they convened to consider the governor’s amendments to legislation passed earlier this year.

The ongoing scandal began last year when the Office of the State Inspector General began finding misconduct by the parole board. OSIG completed reports saying the parole board and its former chairwoman, Adrianne Bennett, now a judge in Virginia Beach, violated state law and policy, including at times not notifying the family of victims that convicted killers were being paroled.

The lead OSIG investigator, Jennifer Moschetti, provided records to lawmakers earlier this year and filed a lawsuit acknowledging she had done so and asking for whistleblower protection.

Some of the records that were obtained by news media, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, related to the parole board’s release last year of Vincent Martin, who was convicted in the 1979 killing of a Richmond police officer. While the final OSIG report was six pages, a longer report of 13 pages — apparently a draft — contained more allegations of wrongdoing.

Moschetti’s lawsuit accused Herring’s office of sanitizing the report and said the governor’s staff was so intimidating in a meeting with OSIG about the case that Inspector General Michael Westfall feared for his job.

Westfall reports to the governor, who appoints the five members of the parole board.

The attorney general and governor’s office deny those allegations. Westfall fired Moschetti, who then dropped her lawsuit. But several OSIG investigations of the parole board apparently remain pending, and it’s unclear if Westfall plans to complete them.

The probe approved by lawmakers relates to how OSIG looked into the parole board’s handling of the Martin investigation.

Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, said he reached out to Northam’s general counsel, Rita Davis, and she wrote back to tell him what the investigation will cover.

An independent third party will look into whether the final inspector general report on the Martin case resulted from normal office practices or from any undue political influence, and it should determine the reasons OSIG omitted some material in its final report, Levine said.

The investigator should determine whether OSIG substantiated the allegations in the longer Martin report that were not included in the final report, he said.

A report is supposed to be completed by June 15.

The parole board and marijuana dominated Wednesday’s debates, but the assembly also approved all of Northam’s 18 proposed amendments to the two-year state budget.

Several of the amendments addressed potential uses of federal COVID-19 emergency aid — primarily for Medicaid and child care — until the General Assembly meets in special session later this year to determine how Virginia will spend billions of dollars in funding under the American Rescue Plan Act enacted on March 11.

[email protected]

(804) 649-6061

Twitter: @patrickmwilson

Staff writer Michael Martz contributed to this report.

By Caitlin Piemme
Published: Apr. 6, 2021 at 5:42 PM EDT

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) — Valley lawmakers are mourning the loss of former Virginia Delegate Pete Giesen, who died last week.

State Senator Mark Obenshain reflected on their time spent together and the legacy Giesen leaves behind here in the Shenandoah Valley.

“He was really instrumental, I would say, in the realignment of Virginia politics that took place in the 1970s and 1980s, and turned Virginia from a one-party state to a two-party state,” Obenshain said.

Obenshain also shared that Geisen was a friend to four generations of Obenshains, and they both have a family legacy of lawmakers.

Like Obenshain, Delegate Kirk Cox remained close with Giesen as he moved on to teach politics at James Madison University.

“He loved life. I never saw him without a smile on his face. He loved Virginia, he loved JMU, he loved just being part of the process,” said Cox. “He felt like that, you know this experiment, you know this grand experiment of representative democracy needed to be preserved.”

In addition to the change he brought to Virginia politics, Obenshain says he remembers him for the impact he had on his students at James Madison University.

“Pete will be remembered for building bridges, he’ll be remembered for standing up for what he believed in and for making sure that a new generation of college students understood a little bit about Virginia political history,” said Obenshain.

Cox adds Giesen was a great role model of what a public servant should be.

“That’s what people remember, that good, happy, positive man he was, in frankly an era we don’t see that enough anymore,” Cox said. “And how he got along with everyone. So that to me was his legacy.”

A memorial resolution for Giesen will be considered and passed at the next general assembly.

Copyright 2021 WHSV. All rights reserved.

Patrick Wilson | Apr 7, 2021

Democrats who control the General Assembly rejected a plan for a bipartisan special committee to investigate wrongdoing at the Virginia Parole Board, opting on Wednesday to fund a limited investigation into controversy involving one case.

The limited investigation authorizes Attorney General Mark Herring, in consultation with Gov. Ralph Northam and other Democratic leaders, to choose a law firm to investigate how and why allegations of wrongdoing at the parole board were not included in one state watchdog report last year. The cost could be up to $250,000.

Senate Republicans pushed to create a special committee with subpoena power to investigate the bigger picture of an ongoing scandal involving the parole board. That proposal died on a partisan vote of 21-19, but Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, asked detailed questions about the plan and said there may come a time when such a committee is necessary.

Republicans — led by Sens. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, and Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham — said a bipartisan investigation would be open and transparent, while the proposal from Northam for a limited investigation would be done under a contract with the attorney general’s office, and records would be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said a special committee would require too much work by lawmakers. “I didn’t sign up to be in a full-time legislature,” he said. And the governor’s proposal, he said, was exactly the investigation that had been requested.

But the investigation the General Assembly approved directs a law firm to look into how the Office of the State Inspector General investigated only one case involving the parole board.

“The scope is nowhere near correct,” said Newman, who warned there would come a day when a fuller investigation will be needed.

Republicans in the House and Senate brought up things that the investigation won’t go into, like allegations that the former parole board chairwoman released more than 100 parolees from supervision unilaterally and without any recommendation, and that she had notifications turned off for the surrogate grandmother of a murder victim when the killer was going to be paroled.

“We were told that we would have a full investigation into the parole board matter,” said House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah. “Madam Speaker, you and I both know that something is very rotten at the parole board. We know this because we got a full packet of information from a whistleblower about what is going on.”

Lawmakers debated the issue Wednesday when they convened to consider the governor’s amendments to legislation passed earlier this year.

The ongoing scandal began last year when the Office of the State Inspector General began finding misconduct by the parole board. OSIG completed reports saying the parole board and its former chairwoman, Adrianne Bennett, now a judge in Virginia Beach, violated state law and policy, including at times not notifying the family of victims that convicted killers were being paroled.

The lead OSIG investigator, Jennifer Moschetti, provided records to lawmakers earlier this year and filed a lawsuit acknowledging she had done so and asking for whistleblower protection.

Some of the records that were obtained by news media, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, related to the parole board’s release last year of Vincent Martin, who was convicted in the 1979 killing of a Richmond police officer. While the final OSIG report was six pages, a longer report of 13 pages — apparently a draft — contained more allegations of wrongdoing.

Moschetti’s lawsuit accused Herring’s office of sanitizing the report and said the governor’s staff was so intimidating in a meeting with OSIG about the case that Inspector General Michael Westfall feared for his job.

Westfall reports to the governor, who appoints the five members of the parole board.

The attorney general and governor’s office deny those allegations. Westfall fired Moschetti, who then dropped her lawsuit. But several OSIG investigations of the parole board apparently remain pending, and it’s unclear if Westfall plans to complete them.

The probe approved by lawmakers relates to how OSIG looked into the parole board’s handling of the Martin investigation.

Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, said he reached out to Northam’s general counsel, Rita Davis, and she wrote back to tell him what the investigation will cover.

An independent third party will look into whether the final inspector general report on the Martin case resulted from normal office practices or from any undue political influence, and it should determine the reasons OSIG omitted some material in its final report, Levine said.

The investigator should determine whether OSIG substantiated the allegations in the longer Martin report that were not included in the final report, he said.

A report is supposed to be completed by June 15.

The parole board and marijuana dominated Wednesday’s debates, but the assembly also approved all of Northam’s 18 proposed amendments to the two-year state budget.

Several of the amendments addressed potential uses of federal COVID-19 emergency aid — primarily for Medicaid and child care — until the General Assembly meets in special session later this year to determine how Virginia will spend billions of dollars in funding under the American Rescue Plan Act enacted on March 11.

[email protected]

(804) 649-6061

Twitter: @patrickmwilson

Staff writer Michael Martz contributed to this report.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Connor Smith

PHONE: (904) 235-3562

EMAIL:  c[email protected]

Obenshain Says Governor’s Call for Investigation of OSIG’s Parole Board Inquiry is a “Pure Partisan Whitewash”

HARRISONBURG – Today, Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Rockingham) released the following statement about Governor Northam’s announcement of a budget amendment to pay for a so-called independent investigation of the Office of the Inspector General.

“Today the Governor released many of his proposed amendments to the budget, including one to add $250,000 for an ‘independent’ investigation of the Office of the Inspector General (OSIG) and its investigation into Vincent Martin’s parole case,” said Obenshain.

He continued, “To be clear, while the Governor and his clique have seemingly been promising an investigation of the Parole Board and its actions, this is not such an investigation. The amendment clearly states that it will be an investigation of the OSIG investigators who had the temerity to reveal pervasive misconduct by the Parole Board.”

The amendment states that the “investigator” (law firm) is going to be hired by the Attorney General in consultation with the Governor’s office, the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate.

“There is nothing independent about the investigation,” said Obenshain. “It is nothing more than a partisan whitewash of a scandal that has dogged this Administration for the past year. It is pure partisan damage control. There appear to be nearly a dozen official inquiries into misconduct by the Governor’s Parole Board and this will address none of that. It is carefully cabined to inquire into the OSIG’s actions in looking into a single complaint.”

Obenshain concluded, “If the Governor were serious, he would have called for an investigation into the Parole Board misconduct as well as the allegations of an organized cover-up. If he were really serious, he would fire the whole Parole Board.”

Senator Obenshain represents the twenty-sixth district in the Virginia Senate. The district includes the city of Harrisonburg and the counties of Warren, Shenandoah, Page, Rappahannock and Rockingham (part).  He is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is the former Chairman of the Virginia State Crime Commission.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Jennifer Aulgur

PHONE: (540) 437-1451

EMAIL:  [email protected]

Senator Mark Obenshain Comments on Democrats’ Campaign to Block Parole Board Transparency 

RICHMOND, VA, February 26, 2021 – Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Rockingham) commented today on the General Assembly Democrats to water down legislation (HB2167 and SB1104) requiring accountability and transparency from Governor Northam’s Parole Board.

“Today, Democrats passed a conference report on so-called parole transparency legislation that does little but give the illusion of reform. The Northam Administration is desperate to look like it is doing something to address the growing Parole Board scandal and it urged Democrats to pass a bill that won’t provide any additional transparency until long after Northam and his Parole Board are but tiny specks in the rearview mirror.

House Bill 2167 contains a provision that will delay the implementation of any additional transparency until July 1, 2022. I could have lived with any of the other changes proposed to the bill, but I will not be complicit in a cynical effort to give the Governor the ability to claim that he supports more transparency when we all know that he does not.

This Governor and his administration have consistently endeavored to shield his Parole Board from criticism for its pattern of improper actions. The executive branch has circled the wagons, hidden reports from the state’s watchdog, engaged in efforts to silence dissent and now has enlisted his allies in the legislature in efforts to advance a “transparency” bill that is anything but transparent.

This is part of an effort by the Governor and his accomplices to block any legislation that remotely resembles any meaningful reform that would expose the actions of the Parole Board to any additional sunlight or accountability. I will not be a party to this effort.

Revelations about the Parole Board – both from last May and October, as well as the recent allegations that surfaced this week – point to the need for Governor Northam to clean house and immediately fire the Parole Board members.  Additionally, these repeated transgressions necessitate we act now to impose measures that will ensure accountability and transparency for the Board moving forward.

This is what I attempted to accomplish by filing legislation in the 2020 Special Session, and again this year with my SB 1104.  This legislation received unanimous bipartisan approval in the Senate last year and again this year.  However, the House of Delegates amended the bill to make the provisions within it little but window dressing with phony transparency. SB 1104 has died because I would not agree to these amendments.

The Democrats’ amendments to the bills, would no longer require the Parole Board to confirm or certify to anyone that it has complied with its obligations to notify victims and Commonwealth Attorneys of the impending release of felons convicted of serious crimes. These are the very laws that the Parole Board has been accused of consistently violating and this is the one provision in the legislation that could have prevented further releases of criminals without providing notice to crime victims.

I declined to sign the conference report and asked that it be rejected so that we could get a new conference that would strip the delayed enactment clause. That effort failed on a 20-18 vote*,” Obenshain said.

*One Senator failed to vote on the conference report, but filed a statement that his intention was to vote against the conference report, which would have resulted in a 20-19 vote.

Senator Obenshain represents the twenty-sixth district in the Virginia Senate. The district includes the city of Harrisonburg and the counties of Warren, Shenandoah, Page, Rappahannock and Rockingham (part).  He is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is the former Chairman of the Virginia State Crime Commission.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Jennifer Aulgur

PHONE: (540) 437-1451

EMAIL:  [email protected]

Senator Mark Obenshain Comments on New Parole Board Revelations 

HARRISONBURG, VA, January 24, 2021 – Today, Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Rockingham) commented on WTVR Channel 6 reporter John Burkett’s explosive story detailing more wrongdoings by the Virginia Parole Board, the Office of Inspector General (OSIG), and the apparent attempts to cover up these wrongdoings:

John Burkett’s story revealed that the Virginia Inspector General excised seven pages from a report detailing the Parole Board’s wrongdoings with respect to the parole case of convicted killer Vincent Martin. The first version has been reported to contain shocking findings of lies, unethical behavior, and violations of law.

Obenshain said, “There are three main issues here: misconduct by the Parole Board, violations of the duty of the OSIG to maintain independence, and a clearly coordinated effort to cover up the misconduct to avoid political damage and embarrassment.”

Tuesday night’s story details charges that former Parole Board Chair Adrienne Bennett, now a Northam-appointed judge, asked at least two employees to falsify a report. It also suggests that the OSIG concluded she lied to Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran. Further, the story refers to another finding that Bennett told at least one Parole Board employee she was purposely going to secure the release Martin and certain other inmates near the end of her term because of the backlash those decisions would bring.

The OSIG is statutorily obligated to study and report to the Governor’s Chief of Staff, the Speaker, Majority and Minority Leaders of the House, and the President Pro Tempore, Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate problems related to the mismanagement or operation of a state agency.

“In direct contradiction to its statutory responsibilities, the Inspector General appears to have deliberately withheld highly relevant information and damning findings about its investigation of the Parole Board,” said Obenshain. “We should be demanding answers about how that report came to be sanitized. Was it at the instigation of the Governor’s office? Was it ordered by the Attorney General’s office?”

“An Inspector General is supposed to be an independent watchdog, free from political influence.  When an Inspector General is persuaded to whitewash his investigation report or to give a sanitized version to the opposition, nobody knows or learns about the fraud, waste, abuse or corruption.  That is certainly what seems to have happened here.  It smells like a deliberate and coordinated effort to keep the public from learning about corruption in the Parole Board.

“The Governor, the Inspector General and perhaps the Attorney General have a lot of explaining to do. So do Judge Bennett, current Parole Board Chair Chapman, and any other member of the Parole Board who has been complicit in this growing web of misconduct and deceit.”

Senator Obenshain represents the twenty-sixth district in the Virginia Senate. The district includes the city of Harrisonburg and the counties of Warren, Shenandoah, Page, Rappahannock and Rockingham (part).  He is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is the former Chairman of the Virginia State Crime Commission

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Friends,

This Friday marks crossover in the General Assembly.  This is the traditional midpoint of Session, marking the day that the House and Senate each begin addressing legislation originating from the other Chamber. 

The first half of Session this year has been dominated by more Democrat initiatives geared towards so called “social and environmental justice.”  These include the repeal of the death penalty, efforts to restore Virginia’s liberal and lenient system of parole, and eliminating all mandatory minimum sentences for crimes.  Over the past 20 years, Virginia has successfully reversed disturbing increases in the rate of violent crime and recidivism.  Virginia Democrats seem determined to reverse all of the policies that led to that success.  

The marijuana legalization efforts demonstrate Virginia Democrats’ detachment from the concerns of most Virginians, who are worried about getting the economy back on track, getting schools fully reopened, and getting the Covid-19 vaccine.  Instead, the Democrats have rolled out a premature and unworkable marijuana legalization plan. A plan rife with racial preferences, quotas and inconsistencies.  Incongruously, the plan would make it legal to possess marijuana but illegal to grow.  It provides for dispensary licenses, but preferences for those licenses will be given to persons convicted of drug offenses, who will also be receiving taxpayer funded grants and government loans.  While I know that many of my Libertarian-minded friends take a different view towards marijuana legalization than I, most of us will agree that if this is going to happen, this is not the way to do it.

Conspicuously absent from the Governor’s legislative agenda is any meaningful legislation addressing the COVID pandemic, vaccinations or the reopening of schools.  Virginians have been reminded at every turn that we are the only state in the nation with a physician as Governor.  Shamefully, however, Virginia’s rollout of the vaccine has been dismal at best.  The Commonwealth consistently has been in the back of the pack in the administration of vaccines.  In an article just published on realclearpolitics.com, it was pointed out that our Doctor/Governor has willfully injected an overdose of politics and social justice into his vaccination program to the detriment of those most at risk of infection, hospitalization and death.

As for education, there is an increasing drumbeat from parents across Virginia to reopen schools; however, the Administration consistently has demonstrated slavish devotion to teachers unions, who seemingly come up with new excuses at every turn for keeping schools closed.  In Fairfax County, school employees were catapulted to the front of the vaccine line, irrespective of age or the absence of any underlying health problems.  This prioritization was presumably for the purpose of reopening schools, but since the administration of those vaccines, the teachers union has announced that it won’t support a return to school until after next fall!  We cannot allow Virginia’s schools to remain closed to in-person instruction for the better part of two years.  

On the COVID vaccine front, I was pleased to co-patron was SB 1445 which passed the Senate and House unanimously.  This bill would mandate VDH to use an “all hands on deck” approach to get Virginians vaccinated faster.  All qualified healthcare professionals would get training and could  begin to vaccinate citizens.  It would also make it easier for private sector entities to volunteer their open areas to be used as vaccination sites.  The bill now goes to the Governor’s desk for his signature.  I’ll have more about my thoughts on the vaccine rollout in a separate email later this week.

SB 1303, patroned by Senator Siobhan Dunnavant, would make in-person learning available to Virginia students by choice of the student’s parent or guardian.  The CDC has stated that schools can reopen safely if precautions are taken. This is a step in the right direction to get children back in school.  I voted for this bill which passed the Senate yesterday on a vote of 26-13 and now moves onto the House. 

It’s these priorities that make our elections this year so important. I was honored to start work this week as the Co-Chair for my good friend Pete Snyder’s Gubernatorial Campaign. Pete’s a rock solid Republican who’s ready to disrupt the liberal establishment in Richmond. I hope you’ll take a few minutes and check out his website and learn more about why he’s running for Governor. As you may know, we have 100 House of Delegates elections this year as well as the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General races this fall. 

With the second half of Session approaching, the legislature is going to be working on fine tuning bills that have passed and weeding out the bad ideas.  As always, I am grateful for input from friends and constituents.  Do not hesitate to contact my office with comments, concerns or suggestions about pending legislation.  My legislative aides Jenni Aulgur and Connor Smith can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected] or by calling my district office in Harrisonburg at 540-437-1451.

Until my next update, stay safe and healthy!

Best regards,

Mark Obenshain

Friends,

It seems like the 2020 Session of the General Assembly just ended and here it is January and today the 2021 Session convenes in Richmond.  Last year we were supposed to meet for 45 days in a regular session that ended just as the COVID-19 pandemic was heating up.  As we left Richmond in March, it was clear that we would have to return to address COVID related budget issues, but just before the Governor called us back to Richmond, George Floyd died at the hands of rogue police officers in Minneapolis and riots rocked the nation.  Seizing upon that as a political opportunity, the Governor convened the Special Session to address “social justice and criminal justice reform.”  This gave Democrats in Richmond, who now control both Chambers of the General Assembly as well as the Governor’s Mansion, a blank check to pursue all manner of liberal priorities. 

Between the regular Session in 2020, and the Special Session, Democrats in Richmond rolled back many of the criminal justice reforms of the past 20 years that have successfully reduced the violent crime and recidivism.  Similarly, apparently not satisfied with Virginia’s consistent ranking as one of the top five states in America in which to do business, they imposed all manner of new regulations, sought to repeal our right to work laws and allow public employee collective bargaining.  Finally, seeking to emulate Bernie Sanders and AOC, they passed Virginia’s version of the Green New Deal, which set us on a pace to see electric bills for households and businesses to increase by as much as one third.

Needless to say, they accomplished a whole lot in 2020.  Here we are back in Richmond meeting in temporary quarters that are off-limits to constituents.  The Governor has already said that there’s so much on his progressive agenda that we can’t possibly accomplish it all during the 30 days constitutionally allocated for the regular Session and he’s already promised to call a special session that will begin immediately upon adjournment that he wants to use to continue his efforts to turn Virginia into a northeastern state. 

Sadly, we are going to be missing one Republican Senate colleague during this Session.  Senator Ben Chafin, my friend who represented a large portion of Southwest Virginia, died on New Year’s Day.  He was an outstanding representative who cared deeply for the people of Southwest Virginia and tirelessly fought to protect their interest in Richmond.  Inexplicably, the Governor waited until yesterday to announce that he’s calling a special election to fill Senator Chafin’s seat, however, the election isn’t going to take place until March, after the regular Session and perhaps the Special Session as well, are over.  The timing leaves a large portion of Southwest Virginia completely unrepresented in the Senate and the Republicans down one critical vote.  The timing of the special election to fill Senator Chafin’s seat stands in contrast to how the Governor handled the resignation of former Delegate Jennifer Carrol Foy, who resigned in December in order to launch her campaign for Governor.  The Governor announced the special election the same day Delegate Jennifer Carrol Foy resigned and the election was held less than 30 days later.

Notwithstanding these challenges, I remain committed to fighting for common sense Virginia values in Richmond.  I will continue to stand for the protection of our 2^nd Amendment rights against renewed efforts to ban most semi-automatic firearms and so-called “high capacity” magazines.  I will fight the announced efforts of Democrats to raise Virginia’s income tax rate.  I will fight for economic freedom and to resist efforts to roll back hard won laws that protect innocent human life. 

Even though I can’t host visitors in Richmond, my office is going to be open for business.  We need to hear from you about legislation that is important to you.  I count on constituents to alert me to their concerns about legislation that may impact their businesses, communities or families.  While you may not be able to knock on my door during session, my legislative team is experienced and they will be answering the phones and your emails.  Jenni Aulgur and Connor Smith have worked in my office for several years.  Jenni will be working out of my district office in Harrisonburg and Connor will be working in Richmond.  You can contact them at [email protected] and [email protected].  As always, I value your input, thoughts and concerns.  Please call 540-437-1451 or email me at [email protected]. 

It is a continuing privilege for me to be allowed to represent the citizens of the 26^th District in the Senate of Virginia!

Best regards,

Mark Obenshain

Dear Friend,

Last week, the Governor unveiled his partial plan for reopening Virginia as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially Northam’s Health Commissioner was quoted as saying that the first phase of this plan would last two years with measures such as continued use of face coverings, teleworking and only some businesses reopening.

I wanted to see what Virginians’ opinions were of that so I ran a poll on my Facebook page asking people to react to the claim that we would be in phase one for potentially two years. In 48 hours, over 5,700 people responded with 95% saying they thought two years was too long.

Apparently, the Governor’s office received feedback. Since then, they walked back their two-year projection and have announced that as of today, the ban on non-emergency/elective medical procedures will be lifted.

Earlier this week, I along with the rest of the Republican Senate Caucus leadership team sent a letter to Governor Northam demanding further answers and clarity on his plan to reopen Virginia. You can read that HERE. Stay tuned on if he responds and what his answer will be.

Election Update

I’ve sent emails in the past regarding the Governor’s attempts to completely circumvent local autonomy by moving all May local elections to line up with Presidential, U.S. Senate and Congressional elections in November. Thankfully, in last week’s reconvened session, the Senate defeated that measure on a strong bipartisan vote.

Integrity of local elections saved.

The Governor has since used his executive authority to move the date of the elections back to weeks from May 5 to May 19 and those with health concerns can safely cast absentee ballots.

Parole

A few weeks ago, I wrote on Facebook about the Virginia Parole Board’s decision to release Vincent Martin, a convicted murderer who killed a Richmond police officer in 1979. You can read the article covering the Parole Board’s decision by clicking HERE.

I wish I could say that this was the only decision by the Virginia Parole Board in recent weeks that caught my eye. Sadly, this is not the case.

In 2012, Debra Scribner was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a murder in connection with the shooting death of her son-in-law in Halifax County. She had barely served a third of her sentence and the parole board did not even follow proper procedures in coming to the decision to release her. Read more coverage of the Scribner release by clicking HERE.

Thirdly, it was recently reported that Tyson Xavier Golden was granted release in January with certification coming March 30. He was one of three men charged after a string of violent home invasions in Roanoke that culminated in the beating to death of 91-year-old Larry White. Three blows from the butt of a pistol fractured White’s skull. Read more about that case by clicking HERE.

Finally, there is inmate Robert Clark who is serving multiple life sentences for capital murder, robbery and two counts of use of a firearm from a 1994 conviction in Halifax County.  The Parole Board granted him parole on April 10 and his release back into the community is scheduled for May 4.

There was reporting in three of the aforementioned instances of the Parole Board not following proper procedures in notifying the Commonwealth’s Attorney in the county or city in which the crime occurred (required by VA Code section 53.1-136).

Further, the Governor is reportedly now trying to give people the impression that the only prisoners being released these days are nonviolent offenders. That could not be farther from the truth. The Governor proposed language purportedly aimed at reducing prison populations to address the COVID-19 crisis. That language,  granted authority to the Department of Corrections to immediately release to any prisoner with less than one year remaining on his sentence prisoners, except those convicted of a class 1 felony or a sexually violent offense, .  The only class 1 felony in Virginia is capital murder. On a party line vote in the Senate, Democrats approved this language amendment. That means that people convicted of first degree or second-degree murder, armed robbery, drug distribution and malicious wounding, among many others are immediately eligible for release.

The policy implications of the Governor’s budget amendments coupled with the decisions by his parole board to release dangerous murderers back onto Virginia’s streets is appalling. I will be doing everything in my power to prevent the parole or early release of violent and dangerous felons.

Since the abolition of Virginia’s liberal and lenient system of parole in the 1990s, communities across Virginia have been safer. When juries have given a convicted murderer a life sentence, they have done so with confidence that life means life. We can’t return to that old and broken system.

Best,

Mark Obenshain

AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) — As small businesses continue struggling because of COVID-19 restrictions, the Virginia 30 Day Fund is hoping to help them get through the pandemic by offering financial assistance.

As small businesses are still struggling because of COVID-19 restrictions, the Virginia 30 Day Fund is hoping to help them get through the pandemic by offering financial assistance. | Credit: WHSV

Pete Snyder is the co-founder of the organization. As a business owner himself, Snyder said he knew what needed to be done to help out businesses in need during this time.

“We knew that so many would be dying on the vine if they didn’t have help, so this is our way of providing a lifeline out there,” Snyder said.

Virginian-owned small businesses are able to apply for money, which is funded by donations. Businesses don’t have to re-pay the loans if they get one. Senator Mark Obenshain is on the advisory board for the Virginia 30 Day Fund, which he said is a huge help for local businesses.

“If those businesses die and go away, it’s going to be irreparable harm to our economy,” Obenshain said. “So we’ve got to take important steps to make sure they are protected.”

So far, Snyder said the fund has helped over 100 Virginia businesses, including several here in the Shenandoah Valley. If you’d like more information about how to apply or how to donate, you can find that on their website.