Historic Display of Racial, Gender Diversity Marks the Start of 2024 General Assembly Session

After making history as the first Black person chosen to lead the 405-year-old Virginia House of Delegates, new Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said the weight of the moment wasn’t lost on him as he looked out over the chamber.

Del. Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, thanks supporters after being elected speaker of the House at the Virginia State Capitol on Jan. 10. (Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)

“Every time I look around this room, I see this: I see the ghosts of those people who worked here, those Black folks who were enslaved here, whose dignity and humanity was discounted right here in this room,” Scott said Wednesday. “I see those people. And I know we, not just I, we carry their hopes and dreams.”

Scott’s ascension to the top House job was one of several historic firsts as the Virginia General Assembly began its 2024 legislative session, with Democrats holding slim majorities in both chambers and Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin holding the veto pen.  Democratic victories in last year’s General Assembly elections have given the party a new chance to go on offense, but they’ll still have to work with Youngkin in order to push through any major legislation.

Over the next 59 days, the legislature will debate the state budget and taxes, the possibility of a new sports arena in Northern Virginia, legalizing marijuana sales, school funding, abortion, guns, crime, and voting rights. But the first day was mostly about swearing in new members, honoring new leaders, and getting organized.

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About a third of the legislature’s 140 members were sworn into office for the first time, bringing a new infusion of diversity most evident in the Virginia Senate.

The traditionally male-dominated Virginia Senate now includes a record 15 women among its 40 members, up from 10 in the 2023 session. With 11 women in its ranks, the 21-person Senate Democratic Caucus is now majority female.

In a speech re-upping longtime Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar for another four-year term, Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, recalled that when she arrived in the Senate in 1992, there was no women’s restroom, and the dress code prohibited women from wearing pantsuits.

Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, on the first day of the 2024 Virginia General Assembly Session. (Charlie Paullin/The Virginia Mercury)

“This looks like Virginia,” Lucas said in an interview when asked about the 2024 Senate. “And it’s the way it ought to be.”

When she was sworn into her new role, Sen. Danica Roem, D-Prince William, became the first transgender lawmaker to serve in the upper chamber, the latest indicator of the growing LGBTQ+ presence in the state legislature. During the welcoming of new senators, new Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim, D-Fairfax, was introduced as the first Bangladeshi-American to serve in the Senate.

In an interview, Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, said she believes policy changes at the federal level, including the fall of Roe v. Wade and the end of affirmative action in college admissions, inspired more people to run for office as “change makers.”

“I think it’s good for the commonwealth because it means that there will be diverse voices,” Locke said. “Women and minorities bring a different point of view to issues. And we need that in terms of better policy.”

The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus saw its ranks swell to a record 32 members, many of whom hold top legislative positions. With Scott taking power in the House and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears presiding over the state Senate, Black leaders — one Democrat and one Republican — are now overseeing daily business on both ends of the state Capitol.

“It is my hope that all of us as Virginians will have an appreciation for history,” Del. Luke Torian, D-Prince William, said as he nominated Scott for the speakership. “For over 400 years ago, people who looked like Delegate Scott gave their sweat, blood, and tears to help build this Capitol.”

A Portsmouth attorney and U.S. Navy veteran, Scott, 58, was joined by his wife, teenage daughter, and 88-year-old mother as he took the oath of office. He credited his mother for his “toughness” and tearfully thanked his wife for believing in him when he was “at his lowest,” a reference to the nearly 8-year federal prison sentence he once served for a drug-related offense.

“There are those who would tell you that you should be defined forever by a mistake,” Scott said. “I’m here to tell you: Do not believe them.”

The House elected Scott as speaker in the usual bipartisan, unanimous vote. Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt, seconded the motion for Scott, saying he’s confident the new speaker can “bring us together.”

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“I thank you for the opportunity to be part of this moment,” Austin said. “Relationships will always overshadow partisan differences.”

Scott also praised former Republican Speaker Todd Gilbert, calling the now-minority leader a “tenacious fighter” who has helped make the speakership transition “very easy.”

“I know folks don’t believe that civility and cordiality can exist across the aisle,” Scott said. “But I’m telling you it can.”

The growth in Black representation this year, which came after a tumultuous redistricting process that forced many incumbents into retirement, was fueled partly by more Black candidates winning in whiter parts of the state without majority-Black voting populations.

The Richmond region and Hampton Roads have traditionally been Virginia’s centers of Black political power. But Northern Virginia’s delegation now includes several Black representatives such as Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William, whose victory last year made her the first Black person to represent the region in the Senate.

“That has, I think, been the real game-changer and the thing that I think is most promising,” said Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, the chairman of the Black Caucus. “We’ve been able to illustrate that Black folks can run in majority-majority districts and win.”

At a press conference laying out Black Caucus priorities Wednesday morning, Bagby noted that the caucus now has “dynamic duos” running key committees in both chambers. On the budget-writing front, Lucas will chair the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, and Torian is again chairing the House Appropriations Committee.

“We’re pretty proud of that,” Bagby said. “Gov. [Doug] Wilder always said start with the money and follow it. Doesn’t matter what the issue is. Follow the money.”

In a state that once intentionally sought to disenfranchise Black voters, Black lawmakers now run both committees dealing with voting and election issues. Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, is leading the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee. On the House side, Del. Marcia Price, D-Newport News, who has championed a state-level voting rights law, is chairing the elections committee.

“On this historic day, as we will witness many firsts in leadership in both chambers, it reminds us how far we have come and what we have to celebrate,” Price said. “The House and the Senate will look more like Virginia this year. And we all know that representation matters.”

Mercury reporter Charlie Paullin contributed to this story.

by Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury

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