I have a standing offer to promote any blog entry that chronicles a trip to the General Assembly, and I’m very happy to see that Mary, of Raising Kaine, made a day of it yesterday. She actually drove down the night before to get to an 8:30am committee meeting — that’s commitment right there. She describes a floor debate between Del. Dave Albo and Del. Robert Hull, heard that people are angry with Del. Tim Hugo for his vote on the Metro, and ruled the day to be “pretty darn amusing,” and “quite inspiring.”
You’ve got a week left to visit the General Assembly in which things will actually be happening, so get on it. After that, I expect you’ll have weeks or months to visit, but there won’t be much going on.
Hi Waldo,
Thanks! What a way to feed my inner wonk! The General Assembly is approachable and visiting is a way to really get a sense of policy making in action.
I wished I had your guide before leaving (unfortunately, you posted it too late for me). You are utterly right–it is a bit confusing…from traffic directions (Mapquest had me heading down Broad Street in the wrong direction!) to figuring out the location of mysterious meeting rooms (I think it is impossible to find the way to the GAB 10th floor conference room without a secret decoder ring–or a willing guide). But a saving grace is that that the staff and police there are some of the nicest folks going and super helpful.
For those who simply can’t make it out there, check out the Senate live streams (http://sov.state.va.us/SenatorDB.nsf/SenateStreaming?OpenForm). Starting times vary, depending on the day of the week and the priority of issues at hand. I’ve actually attracted office mates to watching with me over lunch hours–though our repartee just can’t match the amusing commentary heard in the observation rooms.
I was looking out for you and your Apple notebook, too bad we missed each other! I hope you feel better soon. –Mary
Also, I was wrong about names. The–ahem–“spirited” debate involved Delegate Albo, not Englin.
Well, that does make more sense. I just can’t see an argument about alcohol in the General Assembly that didn’t feature Albo demanding more liquor for everybody.
Mary, I enjoyed your report; thanks for making the trip!
I was especially intrigued with your description of the big, yet oddly overlooked electronic scoreboard. It sounds to me as if there should be some way to have the board shown by the cameras that feed into the viewing areas. Otherwise, what’s the point of it?