RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia General Assembly’s first day of session in the new year marked a historic first: Del. Don Scott (D–Portsmouth) became the first African-American to become Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates.
Del. Scott was officially confirmed as the new Speaker on Wednesday.
Scott's path to the Speakership included being raised by a single mom and a stint in prison when he was in law school for a drug conspiracy conviction.
During a speech, he thanked his family and wife for supporting him on his journey.
"Thank you. When I was at my lowest, you looked at me and you saw me exactly where I'm standing now," he said.
The historical significance of him becoming Speaker wasn't lost on him or his supporters who traveled from Hampton Roads to be there.
"I know I stand on those who came before me. There's something about being the first to do things. I look at folks who I look up to personally who never got the opportunity," said Scott.
Scott will oversee a slim 51-49 majority in the House and pledged to work together with Republicans.
"Newsflash: every great idea ain't on the Democratic side and every great idea ain't on the Republican side. Great ideas come together," he said.
On the Senate side, Democrats also have a narrow 21-19 majority there.
New State Sen. Danny Diggs (R-York County) said he was taking office with an open mind.
"Only like five percent of the stuff is controversial, divisive issues. Let's get past all that. Instead of having a brick wall between us, let's build a nice little picket fence with a gate so we can talk to each other," said Diggs.
Both sides are coming in with priorities to work out over the 60-day session.
"We're really focused on fixing our funding formulas for public schools. We have been nickel and diming our kids, despite the fact that we're a wealthy state," said Del. Shelly Simonds (D-Newport News).
"Education is one of the key priorities. The other is working to push back inflation a little bit. Our families are hurting right now with inflation," said Sen. Bill DeSteph (R-Virgina Beach).
Gov. Youngkin is now entering his third year in office with Democrats in more power than they were in during his first two years.
"Virginians are counting on us to deliver for them and there's a lot of common ground we can find, so I'm optimistic," he told News 3 as he walked through the Capitol.
