Thread by @GovernorVA

My 2021 State of the Commonwealth address is starting—watch live: twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

During these challenging times, kindness, and calmness must prevail. So many things are different, in all parts of our lives right now.

We are social people, and we are meant to be together. The separation and the absence remind us of what has been lost. #VASOTC

More than 5,000 Virginians have died from #COVID19, including Senator Ben Chafin, from Russell County in Southwest Virginia. He was my friend, and I miss him.

I ask you to join me in a moment of silence to honor Ben, and everyone who has lost their lives to #COVID19. #VASOTC

I want you to know that my heart is filled with optimism and hope. Because while we have just come through a tough year that brought everyone pain and sacrifice, I have seen something remarkable.

Over and over again, I have seen Virginians taking care of one another. #VASOTC

Here’s my favorite example: @VSPPIO and @VaNationalGuard members who protected the U.S. Capitol last week.

@timkaine told me that when all 100 senators were evacuated to a secure location, they saw TV footage of our troopers heading to the Capitol—and they cheered. #VASOTC

Many were injured because of the coup attempt, and two Virginians died. They were United States Capitol Police officers.

Please join me in a moment of silence for Officer Brian Sicknick and Officer Howard Liebengood. #VASOTC

When we met a year ago, before anyone had even heard of #COVID19, we met in a spirit of celebration. Together, we embarked on a path that was more progressive and forward looking than ever before. #VASOTC

We took these steps because voters sent us here to take action.

So we did.

We passed landmark clean energy legislation.
We passed common-sense gun safety measures.
We raised the minimum wage.
We advanced important criminal justice reforms.

#VASOTC

We became the first Southern state to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, and requiring schools to develop plans for transgender students.

We repealed nearly 100 instances of racist and discriminatory language from our law books.

#VASOTC

We were just finishing this historic session when the #COVID19 pandemic hit us.

Over the months that followed, we all took a lot of hard actions, to protect ourselves, our families, and each other. Nothing about this has been easy. #VASOTC

The vaccines are our way out of this pandemic. I appreciate the hospitals, the local health departments, and everyone working to get vaccines into arms as quickly as possible.

I have set a goal of getting to 25,000 vaccinations per day, as soon as supply allows. #VASOTC

This is how we reopen our schools and rebuild our economy. It is the light at the end of a long and dark tunnel.

And while it is a massive undertaking, and it will take some months to get to everyone, I promise: your turn is coming, and soon. #VASOTC

When we expanded Medicaid three years ago, we could not have foreseen the pandemic. But I am so grateful that when that crisis came, this safety net was in place.

Just a few weeks ago, we marked 500,000 Virginians who are covered through the expansion program. #VASOTC

We have made record investments in affordable housing, and our Rent and Mortgage Relief Program has put almost $54 million into helping Virginians keep a roof over their heads—I am proposing another $25 million to do even more. #VASOTC

We all know our small businesses need a lot of help to make it through the pandemic.

So, I am proposing to use revenue from the so-called “gray machines,” which could double the number of small businesses who get help through #RebuildVA. #VASOTC

Broadband is as critical now as electricity was in the last century. Making sure more Virginians can get access to it has been a priority since I took office. And the pandemic has highlighted how urgent this is—for workers, for businesses, for students, for telehealth. #VASOTC

My budget provides $50 million in each year to maintain our historic level of funding for broadband. We need to get it done. #VASOTC

Investing in education includes investing in our teachers.

And tonight I have good news: because of improved revenues, I want to make my proposed teacher bonus a permanent raise—and let's make it more than two percent. #VASOTC

Every child deserves to enter kindergarten ready to learn. That's why I am proposing a pilot program to provide three-year-olds access to early childhood education programs, and grants to address pay equity for early childhood educators. #VASOTC

To help Virginians get the training or education they need, particularly those who are out of work because of the pandemic, my budget invests in the G3 program—Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back. #VASOTC

We have also proposed additional assistance for our public historically black colleges and universities, @VSU_1882 and @Norfolkstate, which have long been underfunded. #VASOTC

Virginia is one of just a few states where if you have a felony conviction, someone has to act to restore your right to vote or run for office.

It’s not automatic, but it should be. #VASOTC

I have made it a priority, restoring civil rights for more than 40,000 people, and I have pardoned more Virginians than any governor in our Commonwealth’s history.

But that shouldn’t be up to one person, and you shouldn’t have to ask for your civil rights to be restored. #VASOTC

I am proposing to change Virginia’s constitution to make that process automatic.

If we want people to return to their communities and participate in society, we need to welcome them back fully.

This is the right thing to do. #VASOTC

We know that while White people and Black people use marijuana at similar rates, Black people are more than three times more likely to be charged with a crime for it.

That happens because that’s how the system was set up generations ago. Now, we can change it. #VASOTC

It’s time to join 16 other states and make marijuana legal, and end the current system rooted in inequity.

By legalizing and taxing it, we can use the revenue to help communities most disproportionately impacted by the inequities in our laws. #VASOTC

When we all agree that a crime deserves the strongest punishment we can give, it’ s still vital to make sure our system operates fairly and punishes people equitably. We know the death penalty does not do that.

It’s time to end the death penalty in Virginia. #VASOTC

No accounting of the state of our Commonwealth in 2021 would be complete without examining how we are moving away from the burden of our past.

Virginia’s history is deeply complicated, and progress has not come without struggle. #VASOTC

For 150 years, the Confederate insurrection against the United States has been celebrated in Virginia.

But we started changing that last year. #VASOTC

We ended holidays that celebrate Confederate leaders, gave cities and counties the right to remove monuments, and changed the way that Virginia represents itself in the halls of the U.S. Capitol. #VASOTC

It was important progress, and throughout the year, we heard the call to move faster.

We saw that most clearly in our capital city, and Virginia’s largest monument to the Confederate insurrection will soon come down. But that was just a first step. #VASOTC

I have proposed a plan to help our capital city reimagine what the famous Monument Avenue should look like, as Virginia consigns the Confederate cause to the dustbin of history. @vmfa is one of the world’s leading museums, and is an ideal partner in this work. #VASOTC

Just one week ago, a mob of domestic terrorists stormed our nation’s capital. They were egged on by conspiracy theories and lies from a president who could not accept losing.

Their goal was simple: overturn a legal and fair election. #VASOTC

We never expected to see scenes like that in our lifetimes. But none of it was an accident, and none of it was spontaneous.

Those who want a government that serves only themselves do not care about democracy. And they will always come with violence to try to end it. #VASOTC

I say to every elected official in Virginia, you can be part of our democratic institutions, or you can use falsehoods to destroy them, but you can’t do both.

We have a duty to tell the truth, even when it’s hard to hear. Lies do not quell outrage—they encourage it. #VASOTC

People are hurting, and they sent us here to help them.

We can do a great deal of good this session—and I am excited to continue our work so we can keep making progress in, and for, this Commonwealth. #VASOTC

We are poised and ready to rebound.

We are moving past the burden of our history, taking action to shape a Virginia that reflects who we are and what we value. #VASOTC

We step into this new year with a lot of hope—that the vaccines will end this pandemic, that we can get back to normal life, and that we can return to a time when government was just part of the background noise of daily life, not the top headlines. #VASOTC

But I hope we don’t just move back to those times when this crisis is over. I hope we move forward with a new understanding of what’s important.

We are one Virginia, and we need to keep taking care of each other. #VASOTC

I am proud of the state of our Commonwealth, and the foundation we have built to get through this pandemic and recover in a way that is equitable and fair.

Together, we are shaping a Virginia that once again leads the nation—let’s get to work! #VASOTC