League Congratulates Newly Elected General Assembly Members

The General Assembly convenes today, with winners of yesterday’s special elections making the trek to Richmond to be sworn in.

The closest race: Democrat Aaron Rouse, a former NFL player and a member of the Virginia Beach City Council, appears to have edged Republican Kevin Adams, a retired Navy lieutenant commander, in a special election for the seat of Republican Jen Kiggans, who is now serving in Congress. With all precincts reporting, Rouse led by 348 votes, less than 1 percentage point. If the tally holds, Democrats will expand their edge in the Senate to 22-18.

Democrat Holly Seibold won the 35^th House District seat. The special election was held after former Del. Mark Keam resigned to take a deputy assistant secretary position in the International Trade Administration. Seibold is a former public school teacher who also founded an educational firm and a nonprofit.

Republican Ellen Campbell, who has had a long career in banking, won in the 24^th House District, filling the seat of her late husband, Ronnie Campbell, who passed away in December after a battle with cancer.

“We congratulate the winners of each of these special elections and salute them for their willingness to represent their constituents and serve the Commonwealth,” said League President/CEO Carrie Hunt. “We look forward to working with each new member to educate them about credit unions and our legislative priorities.”

Among our top priorities: legislation that would permit any credit union in the Commonwealth to engage in virtual currency custody services to the same extent as any bank. Banks won this authority last session. HB1727 would allow credit unions to secure private keys for their members’ digital assets in a manner similar to a safe deposit box, with the member retaining control of the asset and the credit union simply securing it. We also remain firmly focused on our other state-level legislative priorities, including municipal deposits, field-of-membership enhancements, and bank acquisition authority.