Wednesday May 3, 2023
NEWS: Candidate Debate for SD-27 Set | NEWS: Leadership change at Montpelier |
NEWS: Candidate Debate Set for Griffin, Litchfield
F2S editor to serve as co-moderator
The two democratic candidates for the new 27th District Senate seat - Joel Griffin and Ben Litchfield - will square off in a debate on Thursday, May 25 from 7 - 9 pm at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library on Caroline Street in downtown Fredericksburg.
“I’m excited for the voters of the new 27th Virginia Senate District to hear Ben and Joel talk about a range of issues important to the region and the commonwealth,” said Ken Lecky, chair of the Fredericksburg Democratic Committee.
The event is being put on by the Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, and Stafford Democratic Committees.
The event is free to attend. Register today to reserve your seat. The event will also be live-streamed here.
Three local journalists will co-moderate the debate.
F2S Founder/Editor and former opinion page editor of the Free Lance-Star, Martin Davis, will team with another Free Lance-Star alum and current freelancer Lindley Estes, as well as Nora Walsh, a UMW student and an editor with the school’s paper, the Weekly Ringer, to ask questions.
NEWS: New Leadership at Montpelier
by: Martin Davis
Since early last year, Montpelier has gone through more than a little change in its leadership.
A power struggle that pitted senior leaders Roy Young (CEO) and Gene Hickok (Board Chair) against the members of the Montpelier Descendants Committee erupted early last year when a plan to share power equally between descendants of the enslaved and those not tied to the enslaved community fell apart. Senior staff was fired, before an agreement to quell the crisis was reached.
In May, Young and Hickok were out, and James French - a leader of the MDC - was name board chair. The senior staff were rehired, and Elizabeth Chew was elevated to acting CEO and President.
On Tuesday, Montpelier announced another change in leadership. Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, an associate professor of history at The Ohio State University, as the new board chair.
From the press release: “‘Dr. Jeffries brings a wealth of academic knowledge and expertise’,” shared Krista Costello, Montpelier’s Chief Operating Officer. “… Dr. Jeffries has long been involved at Montpelier and has instructed several of our Constitution-focused Educator Seminars.”
Outgoing board chair French “reinvigorat[ed] Montpelier’s commitment to the principles of Madisonian democracy. Under Mr. French, Montpelier applied for, and received, a $5.8 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to fund the construction of a memorial to enslaved people at Montpelier,” said the press release.
The construction of the memorial to the enslaved community is a highwater mark for Montpelier and will bring increased attention to the burial ground of the enslaved that holds an indeterminate number of their remains.
Against the innovative work being done at Montpelier to tell the story of everyone on the plantation - from the Madisons down to the enslaved - has come a withering attack from the political right that has accused leadership of pushing a socialist and/or Marxist agenda designed to denigrate Madison and his legacy. (See this recent piece in ifamnews, for example. For an opinion piece addressing this criticism, see the April 13, 2023, edition of F2S.)
As for Jeffries, he is optimistic. Again, from the press release:
“‘This is an exciting time,’ said Dr. Jeffries. ‘As chairperson, I very much look forward to engaging old and new friends of Montpelier in the ongoing effort to preserve this historic site, to explore the U.S. Constitution, and to tell the story of James and Dolley Madison, as well as the story of the hundreds of enslaved African Americans who also resided here.’”
GREAT news all! Thank you. What happened to the third candidate? Has he dropped out?