Abigail Spanberger spent her first “National Night Out” as governor at two stops in the Valley. WMRA’s Omega Ilijevich reports.
On Tuesday evening, local kids picked up plastic firefighter hats and sheriff’s badges from stalls at the Augusta County Government Center as a part of National Night Out. Gov. Abigail Spanberger was right alongside them.
ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: I had one little kid, I said, “oh did you have some ice cream?” And she said “too much.” I just think when you have an event like this where you’re bringing people together, there’s such value in it.
Law enforcement and public safety organizations have hosted National Night Out events since the 1980s to build relationships in their local communities.
The governor, who also attended a Harrisonburg NNO event before coming to Verona, described the night’s broader impact in a conversation with WMRA.
SPANBERGER: To be able to understand what goes into keeping the community safe, whether it’s kids looking at the firetrucks or the water rescue. You know when all is going well, you never see it. To make sure that the community members understand the scope of the work that people are doing is really important.
Spanberger worked her way around booths displaying drone technology, K-9 tricks, and even a zip line. Along the way, she spoke with public safety personnel about their work and her own background in law enforcement.
District 12 Probation Officer Victoria Rayhill shared a lengthy conversation with the governor, where Rayhill described the passion she has for her work despite the stigma around it.
VICTORIA RAYHILL: The part that I appreciate the most is making sure we can integrate people into society, so bridging that gap from incarceration to being a successful member of society.
Rayhill and Spanberger also discussed the process of rights restoration. Virginia is one of three states whose constitution permanently disenfranchises people with any felony conviction, barring individual clemency from the governor. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin added a case-by-case review to the process, leading to even fewer people getting those rights back.
Last week, Spanberger’s office announced that the governor has restored voting rights to over 66,000 formerly incarcerated individuals since January. In a November referendum, Virginia voters will decide on a constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights upon release from incarceration.
