Virginia General Assembly

Stories

Alexandria committee rules out 2027 school board election changes, targets 2030 or later

Must approve any charter amendment

Alexandria voters will not see a change in how their School Board is elected until at least 2030. The four-member reform committee ruled out asking the Virginia General Assembly to act for 2027, after determining the emergency clause required for that timeline was too risky to pursue.

Updated Sep 17

Virginia swears in its first woman governor after 250 years

Rule Changes

Democratic majority in both chambers

For 250 years and 74 governors, Virginia had never elected a woman to its highest office, but Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA case officer, changed that on January 17, 2026. She took the oath on the Capitol steps in Richmond alongside Ghazala Hashmi, the first Muslim woman to hold statewide office in the U.S., and Jay Jones, Virginia's first Black attorney general. Within hours, she signed 10 executive orders and appointed 27 new members to public university boards, including vacancies at UVA from recent board resignations.

Updated May 21