Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, 2025

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Virginia
Virginia

In the open race to serve as the Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D-15th) faces John Reid (R). Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears (R) is not seeking reelection.

The office of lieutenant governor is established by the Constitution of Virginia, and the office holder’s primary duty is to serve as president of the Senate of Virginia. The lieutenant governor may vote only in case of a tie. The lieutenant governor would also become governor in the event of the governor’s death, resignation, or removal.

Lieutenant governors must be at least thirty years old, citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and have been a resident and registered voter in the commonwealth for five years preceding the date of the election. They are elected to four-year terms and there are no term limits.

There are forty seats in the Senate of Virginia. The Democratic Party currently holds a 21-19 majority.

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Attorney General of Virginia, 2025

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Virginia
Virginia

In the race to serve as the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia, one-term incumbent Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) is challenged by former Virginia Delegate Jay Jones (D-89th).

The attorney general has a constitutional responsibility to provide legal advice to the state government, including the governor and the General Assembly, to defend the state in lawsuits, and to defend the constitutionality of state laws. The attorney general is also second in the line of gubernatorial succession, after the lieutenant governor.

Traditionally, the attorney general’s office is used as a political stepping-stone for higher office and campaigns often become inappropriately politicized. In making the Off on a Tangent endorsement, I focus on issues that are germane to the role: understanding the duties of the office; respect for the fundamental human rights to life, liberty, and property; adherence to the plain text of the constitutions of Virginia and the United States; and a willingness to defend and enforce all duly-enacted state laws regardless of personal opinion.

Virginia attorney generals must be at least thirty years old, citizens of the United States, and hold the qualifications to be a “judge of court record.” They are elected to four-year terms and there are no term limits.

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Virginia House of Delegates, 2025

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House of Delegates
House of Delegates

The Virginia General Assembly was established by the British colonial governor in 1619 and is the oldest continuously operating legislature in the western hemisphere. It comprises two houses: the Senate is the upper house and the House of Delegates is the lower.

This year, all one hundred seats in the House of Delegates stand for election.

Delegates must be at least twenty-one years old and residents of the district they wish to represent. They serve two-year terms with no term limits. Currently, the Democratic Party holds a 51-48 majority and there is one vacant seat.

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Loudoun School Board, 2025

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LCPS
LCPS

Article VIII Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia vests authority for public school districts in a school board, which may be either elected or appointed in a manner defined by law. The Loudoun County School Board is an elective board composed of nine members. One at-large member is elected in a county-wide race, and the remaining eight members are elected by voters in each of the eight named county districts.

Previously, members served concurrent four-year terms on the same election schedule as the Virginia Senate. The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation in 2021 allowing for the board’s terms to be staggered, which the board approved.

Four seats, which were chosen in a random drawing by the Loudoun County Electoral Board, are now at the mid-point of a normal four-year term. Those will continue to hold elections every four years on the same schedule as the Virginia Senate. The other five seats are up for election this year following a one-time shortened two-year term. These will continue to hold elections every four years on the same schedule as the Governor of Virginia.

School board seats are legally nonpartisan offices. Candidates will not be labeled with a political party on the ballot, but political parties often endorse their preferred candidates.

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Loudoun Referendums, 2025

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Loudoun County
Loudoun County

Under Article VII, Section 10, of the Constitution of Virginia, local governments must obtain voter approval through referendums to issue general obligation bonds. On this November’s ballot, voters in Loudoun County, Virginia, will be asked to consider three such referendums.

Bonds are debt. The issuing government sells them to investors and receives an immediate influx of cash, but, like a bank loan, the funds must be repaid over time—at the taxpayers’ expense—with interest. Generally, I believe governments should only incur public debt when:

  1. a project is necessary for the public good,
  2. its benefits will far outlast the repayment period, and
  3. it cannot be reasonably funded through other means.

Read more . . .

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.