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This all began during a long road trip with my wife, Jasmine, to Texas last May after the heinous murder of George Floyd. As the miles piled into the hundreds and the scenery changed again and again as we headed southwest, I racked my brain to think about what more I could do to take a stand for the policies that we need like ending cash bail, ending qualified immunity, and legalizing cannabis in an equitable way. I decided to go against the grain and run for the state legislature.
Almost one year later, after 15,000 doors were reached, after over 800 individual contributors reached into their pockets to chip in, after close to 20,000 phone calls were made to which hundreds of people responded that they’ve never even been asked about the state legislature, this year’s effort was decided not by the voters at the ballot box in June; it was decided by three people on a rainy day in March in direct contravention of common practice by the Department of Elections.
Since 2017 alone, 51 candidates, including 15 current incumbents were spared the electoral death penalty that was meted out to three Black candidates running campaigns that weren’t very popular among the Democratic Party establishment. I will spare you additional particulars because they have been thoroughly examined and written about much more eloquently than I am capable of by national reporter, Joan Walsh.
“State law provides for a 10-day ‘grace period’ at the board’s discretion. While exercising that discretion last year, chair Bob Brink called disqualifying candidates over paperwork errors a ‘draconian’ move. ‘Doing that would run counter to my personal belief that, as much as possible, we ought to permit access to the ballot and let the voters decide,’ Brink told The Roanoke Times.”
– April 8, 2021
“It looked rather like an incumbent-protection racket, but at least they were all being honest about it.”
– April 20, 2021
I’m writing today, not to rehash this discussion, but to thank you for the continued encouragement and support. For all of the disappointment, this effort continues to be invigorating and historic because – while running this race for the 47th District – I’ve also been recruiting candidates across the state to challenge Republicans along with the organization 90 For 90. We recruited 36 of them to be exact. As a result, we now have Democratic candidates running in every single House of Delegates district: 100 out of 100.
This year, I will be directing the funds I raise towards helping those candidates – many of whom are in “ruby red” districts that are perpetually ignored by the powers that be. Those are the people on the front lines of building the Democratic Party from the bottom up. Those are the people who can help us grow the Democratic majority in the House. Those are my people!
The inspiration for 90 For 90 and my oldest mentor, Dr. Fergie Reid, Sr., was not successful in his first pursuit of elected office in 1965 because of shenanigans. He ran again and won in 1967. As a result, he became the first Black person elected to the Virginia General Assembly since Civil War Reconstruction. Unlike Dr. Reid, Sr., candidates who became the highly-visible exceptions to the long-held practice of being provided extensions are in the position of having the opportunity to run next year and the year after that without much wait at all. This is because of the delay in Census data’s effect on redistricting (* cough * gerrymandering).
To be clear, the victims here are the voters of the overwhelmingly Democratic 47th, 52nd, and 69th Districts – who will have effectively no say in electing their state representatives this year.
As for me, I’ve frankly never been happier. Two days after deciding that I’d run for the House of Delegates last May, I found out that I was going to be a dad. Mandela Rogers was born on January 21st and over the last four weeks I’ve had the chance to spend more time than I have had during the rest of his short life combined. I’m getting my second COVID vaccination tomorrow – which gives me a higher level of confidence about getting back into coaching flag football this Fall. My beautiful wife, Jasmine, is back to having to hear my corny jokes and my over-indulgence in sports television at insanely loud volumes. And I’ve just begun a new job with a very well known, well respected, and powerful local government official.
The future is bright and opportunities are plentiful for me. However, the fights of our time remain. In those fights, you will find me. That’s just who I am. I hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Matt Rogers
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