Political officials in Virginia are required to submit Statement of Economic Interest forms that are posted to the state’s ethics advisory council website. As a part-time legislature, delegates and senators have lives and other work outside of representing constituents and must disclose publicly what might be an economic interest to them.
Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, who is running to be the next chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, initially failed to disclose his wife and various businesses on recent SOEI forms. Though the document has been amended to include those details, one of his opponents in the race questions why they weren’t revealed in the first place and if it’s something Republicans could target Bagby for should he become the leader of the state’s Democratic party.
Bagby told The Mercury that the omission was an “oversight.”
Potential liability for state Democrats?
The form includes the question “Do you or a member of your immediate family own, separately or together, a business that has a value in excess of $5,000?” Bagby had at first answered “no,” despite his wife’s salon and event space businesses. On the updated form, amended on March 10, he answered yes to that question.
Josh Stanfield, who is also running for DPVA chair, has tried to ask Bagby about potential conflicts of interest in candidate forums.
In an interview with the Mercury and on his blog, Stanfield noted that when former Democratic governor L. Douglas Wilder was a candidate in 1989, he came under scrutiny from Republicans for failing to disclose his real estate and stock holdings on forms. At the time, Wilder called on then-Democratic Attorney General Mary Sue Terry to investigate the matter.
“(She) was able to put that to rest,” Stanfield said. “But the point is, when it comes to these forms, any sort of omission or anything of serious question gives the Republicans a route of attack, whether founded or unfounded.”
Stanfield also points to Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares’ run for re-election and how former DPVA spokesperson Liam Watson was subject to a probe from Miyares’ office. Watson, who left DPVA in 2023 after being elected to Blacksburg town council, now faces trial for election fraud charges.
DPVA’s central committee members will vote between Zach Pruckowski, Bagby and Stanfield on March 22 to pick the party’s new chair. That person will then be the new face and voice of the political party in Virginia and can play a key role in boosting Democrats ahead of this year’s House of Delegates and executive branch elections.
When reached for comment, Pruckowski did not wish to weigh in on Bagby’s forms.
“I’m just staying focused on making the case to members of (DPVA’s Central Committee) that I’m the best guy for the job,” he said.
As candidates for an inner-party race rather than a state-run election, neither Stanfield and Pruckowski are subject to the SOEI.
“To qualify for the ballot in a state-run election, you have to fill out to SOEI,” DPVA’s executive director Shyam Raman said.
Meanwhile, as a former state candidate and current state lawmaker, Bagby fills out SOEI forms each year. Issues with Bagby’s paperwork were first discovered by independent journalist Christa Motley and when she questioned Bagby about them, his lawyer responded.
“The omission that you shared has been addressed and was a result of an oversight,” Bagby’s lawyer Joe Massie wrote to Motley on March 11 after the forms had been updated.
Motley, who has spent years reporting on how Virginia’s substance use recovery homes are managed in the state, uncovered Bagby’s connections to the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences and began looking into his finances more closely when he announced his run for DPVA chair.
Her reporting on recovery homes revealed Bagby’s role in state funds that VARR has received in recent years — a role Bagby has downplayed.
“All I have done was give money to the recovery community,” he said in a recent interview with The Mercury.
Emails that Motley received through a Freedom of Information Act request showed VARR officials referring to Bagby as a “champion” in the legislature. He also joined a limited liability company called Imagine The Freedom LLC with members of VARR, which owned a property, as well. Though the LLC was on Bagby’s previous SOEI forms, it is absent in recent years. This is because his association with Imagine The Freedom has ended, he told The Mercury.
Virginia’s Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council website is where SOEI forms are publicly viewable. The database indicates that Bagby recently amended his filing, but previous versions of the forms are not publicly available. The Mercury confirmed the omissions through a records request to the council.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
SUBSCRIBE
Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.
www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-04-21 14:50:00
SUMMARY: The weather on Monday, April 21, is warm with temperatures reaching near 80°F. A front approaching from the west will bring unsettled weather, including showers and thunderstorms, throughout the week. A cold front will move through on Tuesday, with a few scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms, especially in North Carolina. Temperatures will drop into the 60s by Wednesday. Another cold front late in the week could bring more rain and cooler temperatures. By Friday, highs will reach 77°F, with more chances of showers and thunderstorms over the weekend, followed by a drop in temperatures to around 70°F on Sunday.
There is a chance for showers almost every day this coming week. But at least the weather is warm!
www.thecentersquare.com – By Sarah Roderick-Fitch | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-21 11:26:00
(The Center Square) – Taking video footage of military bases using a drone could land some in hot legal water if proposed bipartisan legislation becomes law.
The Drone Espionage Act, introduced by Reps. Jen Kiggans, R-Va. and Don Davis, D-N.C., in the U.S. House of Representatives would update the Espionage Act of 1917, criminalizing drone video footage of “sensitive national defense sites” punishable by fine, 10 years of imprisonment or both.
By law, it is illegal to take photos of national defense sites; however, it fails to mention video, leaving sites vulnerable to foreign adversaries. The representatives say there has been a rise in drones being used by countries like China to “capture” video footage of sensitive sites.
The lawmakers say “federal prosecutors have successfully prosecuted several foreign agents” under the existing Espionage Act, and that passing the legislation would provide prosecutors the ability to prosecute “foreign agents” for using drone videography over sensitive sites.
While the legislation directly identifies the potential restrictions of “drone videography” over national defense sites, it doesn’t specify a complete restriction of drone usage over the sites. The Federal Aviation Administration says drones are restricted over “designated national security sensitive facilities; and certain military bases.”
The congresswoman, a Navy veteran, represents one of the largest “military-heavy” districts in the nation, and says it is essential to national security to “safeguard” national defense infrastructure and national security. Davis is a veteran of the Air Force and comes from a state with six major military installations.
“A key step in achieving those protections is to ensure individuals cannot use drone videography to spy on our national defense sites,” Kiggans said. “I am proud to introduce the bipartisan Drone Espionage Act to hold these bad actors accountable, impose serious repercussions, and protect our national security. As China and other adversaries ramp up threats and increase their drone usage, we must send a clear message that we will not toleration unlawful surveillance on American soil.”
Last fall, “mysterious” drone sightings up and down the East Coast highlighted concerns they were being used by foreign adversaries to spy on Americans, especially near military bases. The Pentagon and the White House later confirmed the drone sightings flew with government authorization, quashing the notion that the sightings were attributed to foreign adversaries.
www.youtube.com – 13News Now – 2025-04-19 06:29:35
SUMMARY: This Saturday morning brings a beautiful weekend, especially for Easter celebrations, with highs in the upper 80s. Southwest breezes, gusting to 25 miles per hour, push temperatures well above average, starting in the upper 50s to middle 60s. Expect mostly sunny skies and warm conditions, ideal for beach outings, despite chilly water temperatures. Easter Sunday will start mild, but a backdoor cold front will cause temperatures to drop in the afternoon with increasing cloud cover and potential rain. Multiple rounds of rain are forecasted for the upcoming week, with temperatures returning to seasonal averages by the latter part of the week.
Despite a front dropping through the area Sunday, it will be a nice weekend in Hampton Roads.
