For the first time in Virgina's more than 400 year history, a governor was addressed as "Her Excellency."
"It is my pleasure to present to you Her Excellency, the governor of the commonwealth of Virginia, the honorable Abigail Davis Spanberger," House Speaker Don Scott said as she stepped up to the dais.
Newly inaugurated Governor Abigail Spanberger spoke for about an hour to a joint assembly of the House and Senate Monday afternoon. She outlined her affordability agenda, focusing on drug prices, housing costs and energy bills.
"Nearly half of college students who graduate from Virginia universities leave the Commonwealth within five years — above the national average. Prescription drug costs have risen," Spanberger said. "Energy bills are high. My fellow Virginians, this is not a hoax. This is real life."
She said she was elected as a moderate and that's how she plans to govern.
"Virginians did not elect me to pursue a particular ideological agenda. Nor did they elect me to settle scores or add to the noise in our politics today," Spanberger asserted. "They did not elect me to grandstand. My mandate is simple: to get things done for Virginia families, Virginia schools, and Virginia businesses. Period."
Republican Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle says if the governor really cared about affordability, she would repeal the Clean Economy Act and stay out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, also known as RGGI.
"RGGI is a tax on energy bills. It has already cost Virginians over $800 million and it will continue to cost more. We are not in the business of redistributing wealth," McDougle said after the speech. "That's what happens in Venezuela, not in Virginia."
Many of Spanberger’s lines had Democrats standing and cheering while Republicans sat silent, except one. Republicans leapt to their feat and applauded when she reiterated her opposition to overturning Virginia's Right to Work Law.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
