Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is a doctor, veteran and American politician who served as Virginia's 73rd Governor and now from 13 January 2018. He served as Virginia's 4th Lieutenant Governor from 2014 until 2018 before winning the governor against Republican candidate Ed Gillespie in 2017.
Video Ralph Northam
Early life and education
Northam was born in Nassawadox, Virginia, on September 13, 1959. His mother, Nancy B. Shearer, was a part-time nurse at the Northampton-Accomack Memorial Hospital. Shearer was the daughter of a surgeon and originally from Washington DC He died in 2009. Northam's father, Wescott B. Northam, was a lawyer and veteran of World War II - he entered politics in the 1960s, serving three terms as Commonwealth Lawyer for Accomack County, Virginia. After losing the election for a fourth term, Wescott Northam was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court for Accomack and Northampton County. Wescott Northam's own father, Thomas Long Northam, has served as a judge in the same court. Thomas Northam died when Wescott Northam was only fourteen years old, and a few years later, the family farm at Modes Town, Virginia, the birthplace of Wescott, was sold. The ranch first came to the family through Ralph Northam's great-grandfather James, who with his son Levi Jacob had slaves - one of them, Raymond Northam, was released to enroll in the 9th Colonies of the Colonies. Ralph Northam was unaware of the history of his slave family until his father conducted research on their ancestors during the Northam governor's campaign.
Together with Thomas, his two-year-old brother, Northam grew up on a farm on the water side just outside of Onancock, Virginia. The family planted various crops and took care of livestock in the fields (property of 70 hectares). As a teenager, Northam works on the ferry to Tangier Island and as a sailor on fishing charters; he also worked on his neighbor's farm and as a "stock boy" at the Meatland grocery store. She and Thomas attend a public school that is remote. Northam graduated from Onancock High School, where his class is predominantly African American. As a member of the school basketball and baseball teams, he was voted "Very Possible Success" and graduated as a salutatorian.
Northam graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1981, receiving a bachelor's degree in biology. He served as VMI honorary court president. He went on to Eastern Virginia Medical School, earning his M.D. in 1984.
Maps Ralph Northam
Army and medical career
From 1984 to 1992 he served as a US Army medical officer. During the Army service, he completed a pediatric residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, followed by a childhood neurology scholarship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and Johns Hopkins Hospital. During Operation Desert Storm, he treated victims who were evacuated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
Northam left the US Army in 1992 at the rank of mayor, having completed his eight-year term. Since 1992, Northam has been a pediatric neurologist at the Children's Youth Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia.
Political career
Before entering politics, Northam chose Republican George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, a fact opposed by opponents in the Democratic primaries. Northam said he was apolitical at the time and regretted the voices, saying: "Politically, no question, I'm not informed."
Virginia State Senate
Northam first ran for office in 2007 in Virginia's 6th Senate district, which includes the East Coast of Virginia; Mathews County, in the Middle Peninsula; and parts of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. He is not affected for Democratic nominations. On November 6, 2007, he defeated Nick Rerras, a long-term presidential candidate, 17,307 votes to 14,499 votes.
He was re-elected in November 2011, defeating Ben Loyola Jr., a defense contractor, 16,606 votes to 12,622 votes.
One of Northam's first major activities as state lawmakers is to lead the effort to pass a smoking ban on a restaurant in Virginia. The bill was first failed, but was passed the following year and signed into law by Governor Tim Kaine.
In 2009, Northam - "conservative on fiscal and liberal issues on social issues" as described by himself - was the subject of an attempt by the Republican Senate to make it switched parties. This action will give the Republican control of the State Senate, but after news of the impending switch broke out on Twitter, Democrats held a closed-door meeting, and Northam insisted that he did not leave the party. He then said, "I think it's good to be desired, but I'm a Democrat, and that's where I live."
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
Northam ran for Virginia Lieutenant Governor in the 2013 election. Northam competed against US Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra for Democratic nominations. On June 11, 2013, Northam won the Democratic primary over Chopra with 54% of the votes to Chopra's 46%.
On November 5, 2013, Northam was elected Virginia Lt. 40 Governor of the Republic E. W. Jackson by 10%, receiving 55% of the vote for Jackson 45%. Northam was the first Democrat since Tim Kaine in 2001 to be elected Virginia Lieutenant Governor.
2017 gubernatorial election
In February 2015, more than a year into his term as lieutenant governor, Northam affirmed his interest to run for governor of Virginia in 2017. He made this intention officially on November 17, 2015, by email to supporters.
Northam faces former congressman Tom Perriello in the Democratic primary. The main campaign is often described as a proxy battle between Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren of the Democratic wing, represented by Perriello, and Hillary Clinton's wing, represented by Northam. On June 13, 2017, Northam won a Democratic nomination with 56% of votes to Perriello 44%. He faces Republican candidate Ed Gillespie in the general election.
Northam's campaign funds were severely depleted at the end of the main race. He remained with about $ 1.75 million, which amounts to about half of Gillespie's remaining funds. Northam quickly gained an advantage - by the end of the summer, the available funds had grown twice as big as Gillespie, with two months left in the campaign. Northam led Gillespie among a small donor, as well: "5,900 donations under $ 100 to Gillespie 2,100."
In October 2017, the Northam campaign released a small number of flyers that ignored Northam's co-workers for Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. It was released at the request of the North American International Trade Union, which has endorsed Northam (as well as the Northam pair for Attorney General, Mark Herring, who is also included in the leaflet), but not Fairfax. LIUNA explained that Fairfax opposes the construction of natural gas pipelines favored by the organization. Because Fairfax is black, while Northam and Herring are both white, some activists have criticized the decision to accommodate LIUNA's request. All houses receiving LIUNA flyers also received standard campaign leaflets including Fairfax.
During the campaign, Gillespie and President Donald Trump accused Northam of being responsible for the increased activity of MS-13 groups and "supporting holy cities that allow dangerous illegal immigrants to return to the streets." Gillespie and Trump say that Northam has been voting to stop a Republican bill in the state Senate that will ban asylum cities and that this contributes to MS-13's spike in violence; The idea FactCheck.org found was "misleading". The Washington Post and CNN noted that there is no actual sanctuary city in Virginia. Gillespie himself admits that Virginia has no city of refuge. The Washington Post further notes that there is no evidence that the sanctuary city increases crime or gang activity, and that the Virginia community with higher immigrant populations has lower crime rates.
Later that month, the Latino Victory Fund, which supports Northam, released an ad in which a pickup truck, emblazoned with a Gillespie bumper sticker, a "Do not step on me" plate, and a Confederate flag, drove the minority children and cornered them in the hallway - one the child in the ad then wakes up, revealing that scene is a nightmare. Although Northam and his campaign were not involved with the advertisement, Northam initially defended it, saying Gillespie's own ads "have promoted fear, hatred, bigotry, racial divisions," and added, "I mean it irritates many communities, and they have the right to express their views as well. "The ad was withdrawn the next day within hours of a terrorist attack in New York City, where a man killed several people by bumping into them with a truck. Northam then distance himself from the ad, reiterating that it was not released by his campaign and saying that it was not the one he would choose to run. A campaign spokesman said that Latino Victory's decision to withdraw the ad was "appropriate and appropriate to do." FOX 5 DC reports that the Northam campaign has received $ 62,000 as a media donation in the form of goods from the Latin Victory Fund.
In the final week of the campaign, Northam stated that he would as governor sign a bill to ban the sanctuary cities in Virginia similar to the bill he chose in the state Senate earlier in 2017. In response, the progressive group of Democracy for Americans stated that it was stopping direct assistance from the Northam campaign. Howard Dean, who founded Democracy for America, but left the organization in 2016, wrote on Twitter that the organization has discredited himself and called his decision to stop helping Northam's "stupidly" campaign. Democracy for America has stopped collecting data for Northam and has stopped mentioning him in an out-vote call due to his campaign decision to remove Justin Fairfax from a particular campaign leaflet.
Northam held a campaign with former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden during the election campaign.
According to Washington Post , Northam has shares in several companies "doing extensive work in Virginia". Northam has stated that if elected as governor, he will put his financial investment into blind faith, so as to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, as of 3 November 2017, Northam has raised $ 33.8 million for Gillespie $ 24.5 million.
Northam was elected Virginia Governor of the 73rd on November 7, 2017, beating Ed Gillespie in an election with a margin of greater than expected nine points.
Governor of Virginia
Northam was sworn in as Governor of Virginia at midday on January 13, 2018 at the State Capitol. He became a native of the second East Coast to serve as Governor of Virginia, after Henry A. Wise (elected in 1855) and second alumnus from the Virginia Military Institute to serve as governor, after Westmoreland Davis (elected in 1917). The majority of Northam's cabinet secretaries are women, the first in the history of Virginia. Residents from every region in Virginia attended the Northam inauguration (which reportedly marked the other first for the state) and twenty-six groups participated in the inaugural parade, which has been called the largest and most diverse in the country's history.
Political position
The Washington Post describes Northam as a moderate state senator who moved to the left on some issues during the 2017 Prime Ministerial election, such as support for a $ 15 minimum wage and opposition to state constitutional amendments that perpetuate work-legislation.
Abortion
Northam supports abortion rights. At the Virginia General Assembly, he opposed the bill for a vaginal ultrasound mandate for women seeking abortion, and voted against the bill when revised to mandate only abdominal ultrasound. He was supported in 2017 by the governor of the primary governor by the NARAL abortion rights group and his Virginia affiliation. Northam has argued for reducing rates of abortion through education and expanding access to contraception. Planned Parenthood pledged to spend $ 3 million to support Northam in the 2017 election campaign for governors. Northam opposes the ban on abortion after 20 weeks via the state version of the Unpreptible Child Protection Act.
Confederate Monument
On the controversy of a public monument to the Confederacy, in June 2017 Northam declared that the statues in the Capitol state that the General Assembly had jurisdiction over "should be lowered and transferred to museums", and that decisions on other sculptures "belonged to the surrounding community." He has said that there should be more public warnings for Virginia's civil rights leaders such as Barbara Rose Johns, Oliver Hill, and Samuel Wilbert Tucker. In August 2017, Northam took a more assertive stance, saying, "I believe these statues should be relegated and transferred to the museum." As governor, I will be a vocal advisor to that approach and work with locality on this issue. " According to the Washington Post, Northam then returned to its original position that decisions on monuments should be made locally.
Death penalty
Ralph Northam opposes the death penalty. As governor, there is no execution in the Commonwealth.
Economy
Northam has proposed a minimum wage increase in Virginia from current levels, $ 7.25 per hour, to $ 15 per hour. During the 2017 campaign for governors, Northam was supported by the North American International Workers Union; the union praised Northam for its opposition to the "right to work" amendment to the Virginia state constitution. Northam criticized the car tax revocation under former Governor Jim Gilmore because of its impact on both K-12 and higher education, saying Virginia has still not recovered.
Northam "has called for the abolition of taxes on spending for low-income people and ending business taxes in rural areas of distress." He called for a bipartisan reform commission to make recommendations on state tax policies.
Education
Northam has proposed that it be free for students to pursue higher education or apprenticeship internships (such as cybersecurity and early childhood education) under the conditions that they are committed to a year of paid public service.
Northam opposes public funding for private schools.
Environment and energy
Northam received a scientific consensus on climate change and as a governor candidate pledged to lead efforts to combat climate change. He has promised, if elected, to bring Virginia into the United States Climate Alliance, a multi-state agreement to enforce greenhouse gas emissions standards. Northam has emphasized the negative effects of sea level rise due to climate change in the Virginia Tidewater region.
During the 2017 campaign for governors, Northam promised if it was elected to continue to impose a maximum total daily load limit for the disposal of nitrogen and phosphorus to Chesapeake Bay, a policy that has reduced harmful algae. Northam said it would continue this policy even if the federal government under Donald Trump cut or abolished funds for the program. During his campaign, Northam was supported by the Virginia League of Conservation Voters and Virginia Sierra Club.
Northam has offered conditional support for the proposed Atlantic Coast Coast, provided the pipeline construction is considered safe for the environment. He avoided a firm stance on other pipelines like Mountain Valley Pipeline. He opposes drilling and fracking offshore.
Weapon
According to Washington Post , Northam supports "one-per-month 'legal remedies that limit purchases in Virginia, as well as bans on high-capacity magazines and attacking weapons."
Health care
Northam supports the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), although he argues that it needs improvement. He also supports the federal Medicaid expansion in Virginia. After the Republic attempts to revoke the law, it asks members of Congress to "stop the uncertainty and work to stabilize and build progress on the Affordable Care Act."
He opposed the single-payer health system in Virginia, preferring that such a plan would be run by the federal government, but supporting the creation of state-run public health insurance options.
Immigration
In a 2007 campaign for the state Senate, Northam "advocated Virginia to be" even tighter than we are now in the fight against illegal immigration, "and said the state should act as a 'strong partner' with federal law enforcement." Northam's rhetoric shifted in his governor's campaign in 2017. By 2017 Northam promised to "stand up against ICE" so that "people, especially immigrants, in Virginia do not live in fear," said: "Something we are so proud of in Virginia is that we inclusive." He went on to say "We will do everything to make sure the immigrants feel comfortable staying here." Northam opposes the decision of President Trump to cancel the Suspended Action for the Arrival of Children (DACA), which offers temporary residence for illegal immigrants who come to the United States as minors. Northam said "Trump's decision has no mercy, no moral sense, and no economic sense." Northam supports the licensing of state drivers and state school fees for immigrants who violate the law.
In February 2017, Northam voted dotted in the state Senate against the bill to ban the city of refuge in Virginia. Northam said he "proudly broke the ties when Republicans tried to scapegoize immigrants for political gain" and that he was "happy to stop" the bill. In a October 2017 debate, Northam said he did not support the holy cities, stating that currently is not in Virginia, but Northam refused to say whether he would sign the bill as a governor similar to the one he elected in the Senate. In November 2017, Northam said that he would indeed sign a bill similar to his chosen one. As Governor, Ralph Northam vetoed a law prohibiting cities asylum.
Ganja
Northam supports the decriminalization of marijuana.
Redistricting
During the 2017 campaign for governors, Northam said that if elected, he would only approve the new legislative and congressional Virginia map in a post-2020 redistricting drawn by a non-partisan commission.
Donald Trump
In a political advertisement called "Listening," run during the Virginia Democrats, Northam described the importance of listening - as a doctor, to his patients and as lieutenant governor, to his constituents. He concludes with, "I have listened to Donald Trump carefully, and I think he is a narcissistic maniac." When the election approached Northam said, "[I] Donald Trump helped Virginia, I will work with him." Northam explained the "soft tone": "I think people already know [their opinion about Trump] and they judge for themselves.What we are talking about as we move forward is a policy out of Washington that is very detrimental to Virginia".
Personal life
Northam lives in the Executive Mansion in Richmond. He and his wife Pam have two children, Wes and Aubrey. His brother, Thomas Northam, is a lawyer and legal partner of Virginia State Senate Lynwood Lewis, who was elected to the State Senate to replace Northam when he resigned from his state Senate seat to take up his position as lieutenant governor. His father, Wescott Northam, was a retired judge of Accomack County, former Commonwealth Lawyer, and veteran of the Navy.
Northam serves as deputy chairman of the Fort Monroe Authority, who oversees Fort Monroe, a historic Civil War site where Union General Benjamin Butler protects freed slaves. In his spare time, Northam likes to work on classic cars. He has the 1953 Oldsmobile and the 1971 Corvette.
Northam is a leisure runner and competitor in the race including First Day 5k from Richmond Road Runners and Monument Avenue 10K race.
Electoral history
Note
References
- "The Virginia Senate - Ralph S. Northam". Archived from the original on August 5, 2008 . Retrieved October 25, 2008 .
- "State Council of Virginia Election, Election Information, Election Results". Archived from the original on June 17, 2010 . Retrieved October 25, 2008 .
External links
- The official governor of Virginia
- Ralph Northam in Curlie (based on DMOZ)
- Ralph Northam in Virginia Public Access Project
- Senator Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk) at Sunlight Richmond
- Appearance in C-SPAN
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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