Virginia Senate Democrats voted Tuesday to reject several appointees of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, including the state’s health commissioner.
The chamber passed resolutions containing dozens of Youngkin appointees following the names of those they objected to were redacted: health commissioner Dr. Colin Greene, Parole Board member Steven Buck, and member of the the Board of Education, Suparna Dutta.
Another Youngkin appointee to the University of Virginia Board of Visitors, Bert Ellis, survived a removal attempt following two Democrats joined Republicans in keeping him.
The resolutions now go to the GOP-controlled House, which might try to restore the appointees, who have already been performing their duties.
Youngking claimed that the senators were attacking the integrity of “three highly-qualified members of my administration” in “a terrible display of partisanship.”
“Democrats are loudly repeating their clear beliefs: parents don’t matter, criminals are the first victims last, and petty politics trump Virginia’s best interests. It’s shameful, Virginians deserve so much better,” Youngkin said in a statement.
Greene, the health commissioner, was reprimanded by the Board of Health last year for comments in an interview with The Washington Post in which he called gun violence “a Democratic talking point” and questioned the role of structural racism in health outcomes, including maternal and infant mortality rates.
Youngkin previously expressed disappointment in those comments, saying they did not represent the views of his administration. They were the focus of much of the debate Tuesday, though Democratic Sen. Jennifer McClellan also said concerns regarding Greene also extend to his impact on health department staff.
“His leadership is having a chilling effect on the work that the Legislative Black Caucus has done to address racism as a public health crisis,” McClellan said.
Republican Senator Steve Newman defended Greene as a “remarkable” leader with an impressive resume that included 30 years in the US Army.
Republican Sen. Amanda Chase, who raised objections to Greene’s refusal to adopt the use of the anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin for COVID-19, joined Democrats in voting to block it.
Maria Reppas, a spokeswoman for the health department, forwarded a request for comment to the governor’s office, which said Greene had cleverly led Virginia out of the coronavirus pandemic.
Buck, a former state and federal prosecutor, was nominated by Youngkin to the Virginia Board of Parole in April.
Senate Democrats noted that they had reviewed the Parole Board votes and found that Buck voted to grant parole in only seven of the roughly 1,500 cases it had heard so far.
That caused members to worry that he apparently “doesn’t believe” the inmates deserve parole, according to Sen. Scott Surovell.
There was no immediate response to an AP request for comment sent to Buck via the parole board’s website.
Democrats voted to remove Dutta in part over what they said were concerns that she was unqualified due to a lack of work history in education.
Dutta chaired a coalition called Educators for Youngkin during the governor’s 2021 campaign and spoke at his inauguration. She was a lead parent for the Coalition for TJ, an advocacy group that sued over a controversial new admissions policy at the highly selective Thomas Jefferson Science and Technology High School in Fairfax County.
Newman championed Dutta as a successful woman of color with experience teaching others regarding IT software development.
Senate Democrats also reported receiving emails from Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and wife of US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, urging them to support Dutta.
In an email response to the Senate vote, Dutta wrote that she was honored to be appointed to the board and thought she had succeeded in “challenging the status quo.”
“However, it is disappointing that smears and outright lies won today,” he wrote.
Ellis is a businessman and graduate of the University of Virginia living in South Carolina, according to an appointment notice from the governor’s office. He is also involved with The Jefferson Council, a conservative alumni group.
He was the subject of media coverage following, by his own account, he said he was “prepared to use a little razor” to remove an obscenity sign from the door of a residence hall on the esteemed Lawn of the University of Virginia.
“This single act of a man in his 60s going to a college campus with a razor blade to remove something he found offensive from the student’s door, alone, is enough to deny this man a seat on the Board of Visitors. ”said Democrat Creigh Deeds, who represents Charlottesville.
Republican Sen. Mark Obenshain spoke on Ellis’s behalf, saying he withdrew when asked to do so by two student ambassadors, a demonstration Obenshain called “thoughtful and reasonable.”
Ellis did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Democrats Lynwood Lewis and Chap Petersen joined Republicans in blocking the attempt.
