The events in Richmond have created a new focus on the lieutenant governor, typically a low-profile job that has suddenly been cast into the spotlight.
Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax’s last name is a window into who he is and how he views the world. His ancestors were slaves owned by the Fairfax family — as in Fairfax County. The lieutenant governor keeps the manumission papers freeing his great-great-great grandfather handy because he likes to put them in his coat pocket when he walks off the dais of the Senate rather than preside over a chamber honoring Confederates. That’s happened a number of times.
Here’s Fairfax explaining that decision last year.
“I want to be clear that my children and my grandchildren will not see me on videotape presiding over a motion honoring people who fought for a set of laws and a society that would have enslaved members of their family.”
A former federal prosecutor who is seen as a rising star of the party, Fairfax became the first head of the newly formed Democratic Lieutenant Governor’s Association last year. Here’s the lieutenant governor on election night.
“Everywhere I’ve gone people have said thank you Virginia for giving us hope. We felt like this country was going to go down a dark political road, but you showed us what was possible — that we could reclaim our democracy and reclaim hope in this nation.”
If the governor were to resign, Fairfax would become acting governor. Senate president pro temp Steve Newman would preside over the Senate, just like he does when Fairfax stepped off the dais to avoid honoring Confederate generals.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
