INAUGURATION: On This Day, the Blues Are Smiling
Excitement builds as Richmond prepares for the inauguration of Abigail Spanberger.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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The streets around Capitol Square were quiet this morning, with police cordoning off access to traffic around the square. But around the wrought iron fencing that rings the Square’s perimeter, people were lined up, upbeat, and chattering along 9th Street as they waited to find their seats for the inauguration of Virginia’s 75th governor, and first female governor — Abigail Spanberger.
Among that crowd, a number of people from Stafford and Fredericksburg were in line awaiting entry.
While the governor doesn’t take the oath of office until noon, her face was already on the board in the lobby of the Patrick Henry Building, just behind the State House where many media are stationed for the event, welcoming people to the commonwealth.
Here are some other sights from the morning around Capitol Square. Stay with the Advance throughout the day for coverage of the inauguration.
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Amusing, to say the least. Virginia elected a governor who spent her entire time in Congress voting to make life more expensive and taxes higher, bribing the people with their own tax money and bragging about it. Now she's promising to make life more "affordable". After successfully voting to make it 25% more expensive, I can hardly wait to find out how much more that is going to cost. Anyone who says it won't, is a fool.
Historic moment for the Comonwealth! Seeing those familiar Stafford and Fredericksburg faces in line really drives home how localy invested people are in this transition. The photos capture the excitment well - that first image of the risers with the bare trees against the sky has an almost cinematic quality to it. Spanberger's got a tough road ahead especialy following Youngkin's tenure, but having Virginia's first female governor is a huge milestone regardless of political stripes.