VISUALIZATION: AN UNUSUALLY RAPID RISE TO POWER

When she is picked to be the first woman to lead the Virginia House of Delegates in its 400-year history, Del. Eileen Filler-Corn also can claim the most rapid assent to power in modern times. Since 1950, the path to House Speaker has been a slow rise -- usually over two decades -- to master the body's arcane rules and gain seniority necessary to accumulate power. Filler-Corn will get there in just under a decade.

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS' SPEAKER PICK WOULD BE FIRST WOMAN IN JOB

Virginia's House of Delegates is expected to soon have its first female speaker in its 400-year history, as the chamber's incoming Democrats chose a veteran legislator for the post Saturday. Democratic delegates for the upcoming session picked Del. Eileen Filler-Corn of Fairfax County as their nominee.

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS MAKE HISTORIC CHOICES FOR HOUSE SPEAKER, MAJORITY LEADER

Virginia Democrats on Saturday chose Eileen Filler-Corn to become speaker of the House of Delegates, a pick that managed to be both historic and conventional for a party that flipped both chambers of the General Assembly in elections Tuesday. The Fairfax Democrat will be the first woman and the first Jew in the House’s 400-year history to serve in that post, one of the most powerful in state politics.

FILLER-CORN WILL RECUSE HERSELF ON CERTAIN LOBBYING FIRM MATTERS IF ELECTED SPEAKER, SPOKESWOMAN SAYS

If elected House speaker, Del. Eileen Filler-Corn — the government relations director at a firm that lobbies the legislature, state agencies and the governor — would continue to recuse herself on certain issues to avoid the appearance of anything improper, her spokeswoman said Friday.

AIRD LOSES BID FOR HOUSE SPEAKER

Even though she was not successful in securing the House of Delegates speakership, Del. Lashrecse D. Aird emerged from Saturday’s caucus voting excited about being part of the first Democratic majority in the House in two decades. “I am so proud to serve in the oldest legislative body in America, and I am especially proud for the first time in 400 years, that body will be led by a woman,” Aird, D-Petersburg, said Saturday afternoon. She was referring to Democratic floor leader Eileen Filler-Corn of Springfield,

NEW MAPS WERE SUPPOSED TO GIVE VIRGINIA’S BLACK VOTERS MORE POWER. TUESDAY’S ELECTIONS SUGGEST IT WORKED.

The redrawn House of Delegates districts that resulted in four Democrats being elected in previously Republican-held seats on Tuesday were supposed to be about more than partisanship. The new legislative map was drawn earlier this year to equalize votes so that African Americans would be able to elect who they wanted, rather than be stuck in a district originally drawn to dilute their votes,

BLACK LAWMAKERS IN VIRGINIA SET TO BE KEY POWERBROKERS

In Virginia, where the Confederacy once had its capital and where political power has historically eluded black people, African Americans have just won unprecedented levels of clout. Black officials there give ironic credit for the change to President Donald Trump and the voter animosity he’s engendered.

SKILLS MACHINES POPPING UP THROUGHOUT VIRGINIA, PROMPTING A STATEWIDE DEBATE

A small hand-lettered yellow-and-green sign on the window of Farmer and Odell Market on Gate City Highway promotes “New Virginia Skills Games.” Just inside the door are four consoles with touch screen interaction offering an array of games with names like “High Roller” and “Bomb Shell.” Players can wager from 25 cents to $2,

VIRGINIA GOP CANCELS MEETING ON GUN LAWS, CITING REPUBLICAN ELECTION LOSSES AND GOVERNOR’S COMMENTS

Saying it would be “impractical” to reconvene members of a group tasked with studying gun laws given how a newly elected Democratic majority in the legislature is expected to handle the issue, the senator who leads that group has canceled its next meeting.

VA. REPUBLICANS CANCEL COMMISSION MEETING THAT WAS TO REVIEW GUN CONTROL BILLS, DEFERRING TO NEXT YEAR

Republicans have canceled next week’s meeting of the State Crime Commission at which they were to discuss recommendations to address gun violence, saying there’s no point because Gov. Ralph Northam (D) wants to take up the issue in January when the next General Assembly convenes.

CAMPBELL SUPERVISORS APPROVE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS AMONG PRIORITIES

In the wake of a landmark election that has cemented a Democratic majority in the statehouse for the first time in more than 20 years, the Campbell County Board of Supervisors has adopted a legislative agenda that pushes back against priorities of the new majority.

NANCY GUY DECLARES NARROW VICTORY IN 83RD DISTRICT. CHRIS STOLLE CONSIDERING A RECOUNT

A one-time School Board member is now calling herself delegate-elect. Democrat Nancy Guy declared victory Friday night over her Republican incumbent opponent, Del. Chris Stolle, in the 83rd District. The victory announcement came after a “long and precise ballot counting process” that brought Guy’s edge over Stolle to 26 votes, up from 18, according to a news release from the House Democratic Caucus.

ROBINSON CLAIMS VICTORY IN CHESTERFIELD HOUSE RACE; BARNETT WILL NOT SEEK RECOUNT

Del. Roxann Robinson, R-Chesterfield, has claimed victory in the race for the 27th House District against two-time challenger Larry Barnett, a Democrat. Robinson’s victory gives House Republicans one more seat in the lower chamber, where they’ve lost their majority and now hold 44 seats to Democrats’ 54. Two races remain unresolved.

GHAZALA HASHMI ON BECOMING VIRGINIA'S FIRST FEMALE MUSLIM STATE SENATOR: "PEOPLE SEE IT AS A SIGN OF HOPE"

Democrats took control of all three branches of government in Virginia this week for the first time in a generation, winning majorities in the House and Senate. One of those winning leaders was Ghazala Hashmi, who unseated an incumbent Republican to become the first Muslim-American woman elected to Virginia's state Senate.

RECORD NUMBER OF WOMEN ELECTED TO THE VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

This week’s election resulted in a Democratic takeover of both the House and Senate — and for the first time in Virginia history, there are more women in the General Assembly than ever before. They now hold 41 out of 140 seats. Women gained four seats in the House of Representatives. Republican Carrie Coyner of District 62, and Democrats Nancy Guy, District 83, Martha Mugler, District 91 and Shelly Simonds in District 94. In 2017, Simonds against Del. David Yancey (R-Newport News) in a race that resulted in a tie, and Simonds losing the seat in a random. This time around, she defeated Yancey by almost 3500 votes.

IN VIRGINIA, REPUBLICANS CONFRONT A FEARFUL ELECTORAL FUTURE

As Virginia election returns rolled in Tuesday night, Republican campaign manager Daniella Propati quickly realized two things: Her candidate for the House of Delegates, GayDonna Vandergriff, would lose, and calling their opponent a “socialist” hadn’t worked. North Richmond and the tony suburbs of Henrico County had once been a dependable backstop for the GOP, a place where statewide candidates found votes to offset Arlington and Alexandria. But the suburbs have undergone a metamorphosis in recent years — growing more socially liberal, more diverse, less interested in the red meat of the tea party and Donald Trump.

HOW VOTERS TURNED VIRGINIA FROM DEEP RED TO SOLID BLUE

Not long ago, this rolling green stretch of Northern Virginia (South Riding) was farmland. Most people who could vote had grown up here. And when they did, they usually chose Republicans.

SUBURBAN VOTERS WERE KEY TO DEMOCRATIC TAKEOVER

On the campaign trail to help fellow Democrats in Tuesday’s election, College of William and Mary political scientist John McGlennon kept hearing a line he thinks will have a lot to do with how the General Assembly tackles issues next year. “I knocked on a lot of doors of people who I think usually vote Republican and what I was hearing was: ‘For now, I’m only voting for Democrats,’” McGlennon said.

IN VIRGINIA POLITICS, ‘IT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY NOW JUST TO LOSE’

Virginia’s General Assembly elections were dramatic this time around — and expensive. Thanks to strong national interest and lenient campaign finance rules, several races attracted more funding than contests for U.S. Congress, with one ranking as the most expensive House of Delegates race in Virginia history. While out-of-state organizations and private donors poured in millions of dollars–mostly to Democratic candidates– some hopefuls made deep investments in their own campaigns. Many of those self-funded campaigns ended in disappointment.

REPUBLICAN CHOOSE CONVENTION, SETTING UP NOMINATION CONTEST FOR REP. DENVER RIGGLEMAN

Republicans in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District chose a convention to pick their party nominee next year, setting up a competition between Rep. Denver Riggleman and at least one other opponent. The 5th Congressional District Republican Committee — composed of local party leaders in central Virginia — chose the method after a few hours of public discussion at a meeting Saturday in Fauquier County.

BON SECOURS MERCY HEALTH WILL BUY 3 HOSPITALS IN SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA

Bon Secours Mercy Health plans to buy three hospitals before the end of this year, a move to expand its footprint in the Southeastern region of Virginia by nearly 500 beds. The system said it would purchase Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg, Southampton Memorial Hospital in Franklin and Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center in Emporia. All three are affiliates of Community Health Systems Inc., a large publicly traded hospital company based in Franklin, Tenn., that has been selling off facilities amid recent financial struggles.

AS STRIKE AGAINST CONTRACTOR GOES ON, METROBUS RIDERS LOSE TIME, MONEY AND FAITH IN TRANSIT

The rerouting of Chris Townsend’s life begins each day at 7:20 a.m. “Have a good day, everyone,” he tells his wife and 6-year-old son. “Ethan, remember to be a good listener.” He slings a blue messenger bag over his shoulder and heads out the door of his suburban Fairfax County home to “Sunny,” the family’s 2003 yellow Dodge Neon that until last month had been relegated to weekend errands and short trips.

TRUCKERS SAY FINDING PLACE TO SLEEP ALONG I-81 A CHALLENGE

It was past 1:30 a.m. as a tired William Corbin, a trucker from Fayetteville, Tenn., pulled his rig into an overflowing rest stop south of Roanoke in the winter of 2018 while on the way to New Jersey. He could safely drive no further, but there was no room at the inn. With trucks already lining the highway exit and entrance ramps surrounding the rest area, and blocking the “no parking” signs, Corbin thought there was safety in numbers.

RADFORD UNIVERSITY WORKER BLAMED FOR EMPTIED STUDENT NEWSPAPER RACKS

A Radford University worker was responsible for at least some of the abrupt disappearance in September of the student-run Tartan newspaper from racks around campus, university officials announced Friday. The worker was not named by the university and will not be charged criminally, but was disciplined within the state employee system,

CONTENTIOUS STATE NAACP ELECTION GIVES BARNETTE 2-YEAR TERM

Robert N. Barnette Jr., who has led the Virginia State Conference NAACP since August when the previous presi- dent was removed, will hold the top post in the civil rights organization for the next two years after emerging victorious in a controversial election....Two other candidates for president were disqualified at the last minute — along with 48 convention delegates who sought to cast ballots — under rules that had not been announced in advance and that conference veterans said had never applied before.

FAIRFAX SCHOOL BOARD SEES BLUE SURGE

School board races are often predictable affairs, pivoting on long-standing issues in education — boosting teacher pay, closing achievement gaps and reducing overcrowding. But, this being 2019, the campaigns for school board in Fairfax County took on another dimension. The usually low-profile contests — which are nominally nonpartisan — became bitterly partisan

LOUDOUN COUNTY SHERIFF CALLS POLICE DEPARTMENT PROPOSAL 'A MATTER OF EXERCISING POWER AND CONTROL’

Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman (R) says a suggestion to create a county police department is merely a way to “change the law enforcement agenda” following his re-election on Tuesday. A day after the General Election, the newly re-elected county chair Phyllis Randall (D) raised the idea for a county police department during a joint media session with incoming supervisors and members of the School Board.

HOW JULI BRISKMAN WENT FROM GIVING TRUMP THE FINGER TO WINNING AN ELECTION

Two years ago, Juli Briskman made headlines when she gave the finger to Trump as she cycled alongside the president’s motorcade in Virginia. The marketing company she worked for swiftly fired her. (She sued them.) She couldn’t have imagined it at the time but Briskman, 52, has just won a local election – and she credits the incident for motivating her to run for office.

18 VOTES DOWN, JACK CAVALIER IS PLANNING HIS NEXT MOVE IN COURT

The longtime Griffis-Widewater District representative on the Stafford Board of Supervisors is waiting until next week for the county voter registrar to certify the results of Tuesday’s General Election. According to the unofficial numbers, the Republican lost the vote to Democratic challenger Tinesha Allen by 18 votes.

UNDER PRESSURE FROM TENANT ADVOCATES, RRHA ANNOUNCES EVICTION FREEZE

Under pressure from tenant advocates, the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority announced Friday that it will not evict any tenants for the rest of the year. “Effective immediately, the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority has implemented an agency-wide freeze on lease enforcement for nonpayment of rent,” according to a news release.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING A STICKING POINT IN $1.5 BILLION DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT PLAN

What developers behind the $1.5 billion plan to redevelop downtown have touted as a “community benefit” has turned into a sticking point for some on the Richmond City Council. The number of affordable housing units in the footprint of the mixed-use development NH District Corp. proposed does not comply with a council policy established earlier this year. The policy requires developers seeking deals with the city to reserve at least 15% of any housing planned for families earning less than the area’s median income.

MORE QUESTIONS OVER HOPEWELL HIRE

A city councilor and a former city employee are disputing Mayor Jasmine E. Gore’s claim that she was unaware of pending criminal charges against a woman she publicly endorsed for a newly created part-time assistant position with City Council. In separate interviews with The Progress-Index, Councilor John B. Partin Jr. and assistant city clerk Debra McKnight said that the mayor did, in fact, know about Patrice Shelton’s upcoming court case.

PETERSBURG CLERK OF COURT ANNOUNCED

One of the most interesting races for a constitutional office in the city’s history came to an end Friday with the announcement of Maytee Romero de Parham to be the next Petersburg Circuit Court clerk. According to results released by the Petersburg registrar’s office late Friday, Parham received 32% of the vote to emerge victorious in the five-way write-in race for clerk.

FREDERICKSBURG RANKS FIFTH STATEWIDE IN RATE OF DRUG DEATHS

In the last 12 years, there were only four localities in the state—and they’re all in the economically depressed region of Southwestern Virginia—where drug death rates were higher than in Fredericksburg. The city ranked fifth statewide in the rate of fatal overdoses per 100,000 people between 2007 and 2018, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

GREENE COUNTY OFFICIAL AND SON FACING FEDERAL INDICTMENTS

Federal charges of identity theft and conspiracy to commit identity theft have been filed against the recently re-elected Greene County Commissioner of Revenue and his son. The charges were handed down in an Oct. 23 sealed indictment. They were unsealed on Thursday, which led Orange County prosecutors to drop more than a dozen similar charges filed in state courts on Friday.

PRECINCTS WITH LOWER TURNOUT HAD HIGHEST SUPPORT FOR PARI-MUTUEL BETTING IN DANVILLE

Pari-mutuel betting had some of the strongest support in Danville’s precincts with lower voter turnout Tuesday, while areas that opposed it had the highest percentage of voter participation, according to unofficial numbers from the Virginia Department of Elections.

LCS OFFICIALS DISCUSS FUTURE OF DIVISION WITH LEGISLATORS

Officials with Lynchburg City Schools on Friday discussed ways local, state and federal legislators can help schools and students in Lynchburg to succeed. “We are making great strides here in Lynchburg,” LCS Superintendent Edwards said during a legislative breakfast Friday morning at E.C. Glass High School. “However, we still have work to do and we need your help to get there.”

NEW GENERAL ASSEMBLY MAJORITY MUST KEEP CAMPAIGN PROMISES

Gov. Ralph Northam took pride Wednesday declaring Virginia “is a blue state” just hours after Democrats took control in the General Assembly the prior evening. It will be up to the governor – who was pressured to resign only nine months ago – to help guide the new majority into a productive 2020 legislative session to address issues Republicans would not touch during their two decades in power.

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS FINALLY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO STRIKE DOWN GERRYMANDERING

With control of both houses of the state legislature in their grasp starting in January, along with the governor’s office, Virginia Democrats will have agenda-setting power in Richmond for the first time in a generation.

THE DEMOGRAPHIC TIDE WASHES OVER VIRGINIA

On Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of Virginians went to the polls to elect 140 members of the General Assembly, in the process completing a rapid period of political change in the Old Dominion.

WHAT TUESDAY’S ELECTION RESULTS TELL US ABOUT 2020

It would be wrong to overinterpret the results of Tuesday’s elections, especially with regard to what they might portend for 2020. There’s no reason to underinterpret them, either. The vote counts from Kentucky, Virginia and elsewhere represent the latest hard data about voter tendencies and, on the whole, they imply that, even in longtime Southern bastions of Republican conservatism, people support a pragmatic, progressive direction in policy — and a decent, inclusive style of leadership.

THE INTEGRITY OF OUR DEMOCRACY IS AT STAKE

More than half of Virginians did not vote in Tuesday’s elections. Whether or not you made it to the polls, we all know what’s at stake. When we leave the polls and receive that simple “I Voted” sticker, we recognize the right we have as citizens to shape our democracy. It’s our say in the policies that govern our country — the laws that shape our schools, our taxes, our health care and more.

GOOD GOVERNANCE GOES BY THE WAYSIDE FOR CASINO DEVELOPERS

Hampton Roads leaders have gone mad lately with the promises of easy money made casino gambling ventures being proposed throughout the region. In September, Norfolk pushed through a proposal with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe to sell waterfront land for a casino complex — including a hotel and restaurants — before the public had ample opportunity to study the proposal’s feasibility. It has cast doubt on the project and those who pushed it through.

SCHAPIRO: VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS' BIGGEST THREAT — THEMSELVES

This is Virginia Democrats’ Pogo moment. “We have met the enemy and he is us,” said the title character of the old Walt Kelly comic strip. At the time — it was the 1960s — Pogo, an innocent-looking possum in a striped coat, was referring to political upheaval from the Vietnam War; that internal divisions at home made it harder to solve America’s big problem overseas.

SCHAPIRO: IN WITH THE NEW, BUT MAYBE NOT OUT WITH THE OLD

Redistricting — make that, re-redistricting — shaped Tuesday’s outcome. Had a federal court not redrawn House districts to upend Republican hyperpartisan gerrymandering, Democrats might be holding — maybe — 51 seats rather than 55.

BULOVA: WE ALL NEED TO ADOPT THE SAME SHARED GOAL ON HOME AFFORDABILITY

Home affordability is a critical subject of discussion among residents, families, businesses and leadership throughout the region, and justifiably so. It’s hard to point to any asset that plays a more vital role in nearly every aspect of our lives — child development, health and wellness, academic and professional success, self-sufficiency and upward economic mobility.

Sharon Bulova, a Democrat, is chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

DURRETTE: PERSONAL FRIENDSHIP TRANSCENDED POLITICAL RIVALRY

Recent days have chronicled the passing of two political leaders from a different era in Virginia’s history — former Gov. Jerry Baliles and former Del. Alan Diamonstein. Both left their mark on the commonwealth, especially our former governor. I knew him well. I was Jerry’s Republican opponent for attorney general in 1981 and governor in 1985.

Wyatt B. Durrette Jr. is a lawyer in Richmond.

MORSE: FOR VA. DEMOCRATS, THE CHALLENGE BEGINS NOW

“In the course of human events,” famed diplomat George Kennan once wrote, “One thing tends to lead to another.” And so it is in Virginia, America’s ancient repository of democratic glory, democratic catastrophe and lasting democratic hope.

Gordon C. Morse wrote editorials for the Daily Press and The Pilot in the 1980s. He later wrote speeches for Gov. Gerald L. Baliles, then worked for corporate and philanthropic organizations