Politics & Government

Virginia Elections 2013: Northam Touts Gift, Ethics Reform

State Sen. Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk), Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in the 2013 election. Patch File Photo by Jason Spencer

By William Callahan

State Sen. Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk), the Democratic hopeful for Virginia's lieutenant governor seat, is joining fellow Democrat and gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe in the call for reform to Virginia’s ethics laws.

This week, Northam announced a proposal that would ban gifts valued over $100 for elected officials and their immediate families. But he also wants to go one step further and establish an ethics board to review financial disclosures.

Northam’s proposal is the latest in a string of ethics and gift policy announcements from candidates in the November election.

McAuliffe (D) and GOP gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli have already unveiled gift reform proposals after Gov. Bob McDonnell and family members came under investigation for gifts from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams. McAuliffe’s plan also supports a ban on gifts, while Cuccinelli’s would create a 10-day reporting period for gifts over $500 and eliminate the loophole for gifts to family.

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Northam called Virginia’s current laws on gifts for politicians “woefully inadequate.”

“We must restore confidence that ethical misconduct will not be tolerated,” he said in a statement. “When there is a conflict of interest, the public has a right to know about it immediately.”

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The Commonwealth allows elected officials to accept unlimited gifts as long as they disclose the ones over $50.

Local legislators have asked McDonnell to disclose the gifts or resign, but McDonnell has said he followed the laws, and that gifts were given to members of his family, not him.

Northam introduced similar legislation in 2010, but it was unsuccessful. Along with the gift cap and the ethics board, the proposal would also cut the threshold for elected officials to have to disclose an investment in half, to $5,000.




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