Governor Glenn Youngkin already holds the record for most vetoes. And as Michael Pope reports, he's about to bump up that total with dozens of new vetoes expected in the next few weeks.
When Mark Warner was governor in the early 2000s, he vetoed fewer than 20 bills during his four-year term.
"When I was governor, I had a two-to-one Republican legislature," he says. But I found ways to work together."
Warner, a Democrat, worked with Republicans who controlled the General Assembly at the time on everything from addressing a budget shortfall to setting the stage to be named the best state for business in the country.
"I will stand on the bipartisan record I created as governor of Virginia," says Warner. "I think it put us in economic good standing, and obviously other governors take a different approach."
One governor taking a different approach is the current governor – Glenn Youngkin. He already has more than 200 vetoes, and dozens more are expected in the coming weeks as he reviews hundreds of bills sent to him by Democrats who control the General Assembly.
"In terms of the number of vetoes, I think it's reflective of the large amount of liberal social policies and budgetary policies being offered by the Democratic legislature, and you would expect the Republican governor to be a check on that," says former Republican Governor Jim Gilmore. "The Constitution allows him to be a check on that."
Democrats who control the legislature will have an opportunity to be a check on the governor, potentially overriding his vetoes, although they'll need a supermajority vote to do that when they reconvene in April.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
