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Dance wins Democratic primary in bid to replace Marsh
Graham Moomaw at the RTD is reporting that Del. Rosalyn R. Dance, D-Petersburg has won the Democratic primary today to replace retired State Senator Henry Marsh:
Dance, a former Petersburg mayor, won roughly 45.4 percent of the vote. A total of 3,800 ballots were cast, which does not include 156 provisional ballots also filed, but not counted because they cannot change the outcome.
Del. Delores L. McQuinn, D-Richmond, came in second, with about 36.2 percent of the vote.
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Mike Valerio of nbc12 has the specific (unofficial) vote tally:
The unofficial results are as follows:
1,725 for Roslyn Dance;
1,375 for Delores McQuinn;
592 for Rudy McCollum;
108 for Gerry Rawlinson
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Businessman and restaurateur Preston Brown has announced that he will run as an independent candidate in the November general election. Brown garnered 21% of the vote in a 2011 challenge to Marsh for the same seat.
How about some “diversity”?
The election of either Dance or Brown will maintain the little diversity in the Virginia Senate.
According to Richmond Sunlight: Of the 39 occupied seats (including Marsh), only 5 of the Senators are black. Of the 39, only 5 are women. Of the 39, only 2 are black women. Of the 39, 29 are white men.
Those 29 white men are making decisions about my reproductive rights, as well as many CH residents’ access to health care and other issues about which they have no personal understanding. Diversity in all its possibilities (gender, race, age, economic background, sexual orientation) leads to a more robust discussion covering ALL perspectives.
I agree that more diversity in the legislature is needed because it would bring a wider range of experiences and points of view to the table, which ultimately benefits everyone. However, No. 3’s statement that all 29 “white men” in the legislature have no “personal understanding” of the issues she lists is a losing position. It suggests that people who are not white men would have no “personal understanding” of certain other issues due solely to their race, age, gender, sexual orientation, or economic background. The broad brush works both ways, so I think we have to be careful with generalizations.
Okay, I’m not going to join in on the diversity discussion (for now) but I have to say, I’m really glad that Dance got the nomination – because I’m hopeful that she will not continue the Marsh Machine politics that so afflict the 7th Richmond City council district. Unfortunately, we still have McQuinn in the General Assembly, so maybe we still have something to contend with….until we can break that Machine’s hold on the 7th….
There is very little diversity in the legislature, period. If the shoe were on the other foot and the balance were reversed, with 29 women of one particular race, I would feel similarly (though how cool would it be to finally see a shift of any sort?). A jury of one’s peers, a governing body of one’s peers…no chance of that occurring any time soon if we look at our not-so-distant history. A balance would simply be appropriate and more effective.
@6 the 19th amendment was passed in 1920 allowing women to vote. According to wikipedia, Virginia didn’t ratify that until 1952, so apparently they need a little time to catch up with things like diversity….just sayin’, Virginia seems a little behind the times. You keep on agitating, I’m with ya.
I agree. The numbers are striking. We are way behind.