My city has a problem with municipal candidates being arrested and this, the third, is the biggest one yet.
As many news stations have reported, not only was Jared Miller present at the January 6th Insurrection, he was an active and forceful participant. According to the report by the Justice Department, “Miller is seen on body-worn cameras dragging a bike rack away from the northern side of the police lines. Miller then re-engaged with police, striking both USCP and MPD officers and driving barricades back into the police lines.”
While we know this as just one of the thousands of stories of these folks across the country who participated in an active attempt to subvert the peaceful transition of power, this one is especially daunting to those of us in Chesapeake. I ran for School Board in Chesapeake last year and this man was one of the candidates.
He was running for office to influence over 40,000 Chesapeake school children *knowing* that he had participated in this attack and just hadn’t been caught yet. This says a lot about the caliber of people that run for office in my city.
Ironically, Miller was one of the most fervent “anti-maskers” during the COVID-19 pandemic so when one looks at pictures of him in a gas mask at the capitol on January 6th, it makes one think.
As I’ve previously reported, Chesapeake City Council also has a City Council member who ran (and won) last year who is currently under indictment for an elder abuse and financial crimes accusation. It is important to note that my current opponent for the House of Delegates in District 90, Jay Leftwich, is an active and continued supporter of Ms. Newins even while she sits on our council under this indictment.
And last, we also had another candidate for school board who was arrested and charged with sexual assault last year. He continued to receive the support of the local Democratic Committee even after this, however. It also didn’t stop him from being elected president of one of the most prominent Civic Leagues in the city after he failed to gain a seat on the school board.
Local elections are extremely important. Statewide elections are extremely important.
I am running for the House of Delegates in a district entirely contained within the City of Chesapeake and am working to clean up the corruption and chaos that has enveloped candidates and both parties in my city. Please consider supporting me in my race for the House of Delegates as I try to raise the caliber of political discourse and, hopefully, the quality of our candidates too.