Elections
GOP Takes Back Virginia and Winsome Sears Makes History as First Lieutenant Governor Woman of Color
Virginia has spoken at the polls and elected Republican candidate Winsome Sears as Lieutenant Governor and Glenn Youngkin as Governor
Virginia has spoken at the polls and elected Republican candidate Winsome Sears as Lieutenant Governor and Republican Glenn Youngkin as Governor. Sears, 57, will become the first Black woman to win a statewide office in Virginia.
Sears beat Democratic candidate Hala Ayala with over 51% of the vote as of late Tuesday. Ayala is a native Virginian in the House of Delegates, and identifies as Afro-Latina, with roots in North Africa, El Salvador, Lebanon, and Ireland. Sears ran her campaign on creating more jobs, lowering taxes and strengthening state schools. Ayala focused on affordable healthcare.
A former Marine, Sears emigrated to the United States when she was a child from Jamaica. Her resume includes being the director of a Salvation Army homeless shelter, served a single term in Virginia’s House of Delegates from 2002 to 2004, was vice president of the Virginia Board of Education, and owns an appliance and plumbing repair store in Virginia.
Sears was the first Black Republican, first female military veteran, and the first naturalized US citizen to serve in the legislative body. She also beat out the 20-year Democratic incumbent of Virginia’s 90th District, William Robinson. Instead of seeking re-election in her seat, she unsuccessfully ran for Virginia’s 3rd congressional district in Congress against longtime Democratic representative Bobby Scott.
Sears also served as the national chairperson for the Black Americans to Re-Elect President Trump; a position that may have helped her in her win as she touted it often on the campaign trail.
Business Insider reports “Sears ran alongside Glenn Youngkin, Virginia’s new governor-elect, and Republican Del. Jason Miyares, the state’s new attorney general-elect. Ayala was on a ticket with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe and Attorney General Mark Herring.”
“These three statewide races posed the most significant electoral test yet of the Democratic party’s strength in the commonwealth since President Joe Biden took office in January.”
Elections
IRS Whistleblower Receives Retaliation After Speaking Out on Hunter Biden Tax Case
A whistleblower in the Hunter Biden tax investigation, IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, is facing harsh repercussions from the IRS after revealing alleged misconduct within the agency. Shapley, who gained widespread attention following an interview with investigative journalist Catherine Herridge, claims to be under intense pressure to accept a demotion or resign after publicly disclosing his concerns.
National Review reports on the recent developments, shared by Shapley’s attorney, Tristan Leavitt, reveal that the IRS had apparently been withholding a punitive decision until after Herridge’s interview went viral. “Less than an hour after @C__Herridge posted this story yesterday about the retaliation against the IRS whistleblowers, the IRS sent SSA Shapley this notice telling him he had 15 days to choose whether to be demoted or to resign,” Leavitt tweeted, noting that the agency appeared to have delayed this decision by at least two weeks.
On October 15, the IRS officially informed Shapley of a planned reassignment, notifying him he would be moved from his role as a Supervisory Special Agent in the criminal division to a Senior Analyst position—a demotion. Shapley was given the option to either accept the downgrade or, if he chose not to, request a lower-level special agent role or leave the agency entirely.
In response to the alleged retaliation, Shapley’s attorney sent a formal letter to Congress on Thursday. Addressed to House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and House Ways and Means Committee chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.), Leavitt’s letter highlights a history of punitive treatment Shapley claims to have faced since he first disclosed his findings.
“From the moment USA Weiss received access to SSA Shapley’s protected whistleblower disclosures and contacted IRS leadership, the IRS has treated SSA Shapley differently,” Leavitt wrote in the letter. He also added that “the illegal reprisal increased after SSA Shapley made clear he intended to blow the whistle to Congress and others. And it continues to this day, when the IRS knows it can retaliate against SSA Shapley simply by waiting out the clock for him to be forced into the position of resigning or being demoted.”
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is currently investigating the allegations of retaliation, not only against Shapley but also against another IRS whistleblower, Joseph Ziegler, who had similarly come forward regarding the Hunter Biden case. Leavitt has requested that the OSC intervene to prevent what he calls an apparent case of retaliation and has urged congressional Republicans to ask for a briefing on the progress of the OSC’s 17-month-long investigation.
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Laurence
November 4, 2021 at 12:05 am
“Ayala is a native Virginian in the House of Delegates, and identifies as Afro-Latina.”
It would be nice if she’d identify as “American”.
Mark Richardson
November 4, 2021 at 2:56 am
Awesome!!!
Ragnar Bruno
November 7, 2021 at 3:52 pm
Enough of the first back woman stuff.
Anyone can see she is an incredibly substantial woman.
If she performs, she’s destined for bigger things.