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EGACY Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.
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Northam speaks of post-rally unity at C’Ville church MICHAEL BRAGG
Gov.-elect Ralph Northam visited First Baptist Church in Charlottesville on Sunday to deliver a message of unity to the congregation just days before his inauguration. The last time he visited the church was Aug. 13, when he and Gov. Terry McAuliffe and others from Richmond delivered messages of hope and of moving forward together one day after the deadly Unite the Right white supremacist rally. During Sunday’s visit, the first church service of the new year, Northam briefly outlined his vision as governor and reflected on the rallies that put Charlottesville in the national spotlight last summer. The next governor of Virginia was accompanied by his wife, Pam Northam. Two fellow Democratic politicians, Charlottesville City Councilor Wes Bellamy and Del. David J. Toscano, sat next to them during the service. “I think it is excellent that the governor is a man of faith and committed to loving God, and to doing the best job that he can do for the citizens of Virginia,” the Rev. Troy Savage, pastor of First Baptist Church, said after the service. Northam kept his comments at the beginning of the service short, and said he came to the church that morning for the same reason as everyone else — to worship. “But this is the beginning of our week of inauguration here in Virginia, and I wanted to be here to bring you a message of unity, because that is the way we want to move forward,” he said. “We have a lot of challenges in Virginia right now, and the way that we’re going address those challenges is by working together.” He first reflected on the reason for his last visit to the historic church, and said the events of Aug. 11 and 12
Virginia Gov.-elect Ralph Northam (left) speaks with Deacon Lewis Warren during a visit to First Baptist Church. were a “horrific tragedy” when white supremacists came to the University of Virginia and the city with their torches, “spewing their hatred and bigotry.” “And we were here in August ... to make sure that people understand we don’t condone hatred and bigotry in the commonwealth, we don’t condone it in Charlottesville, and we asked those people to go away and never come back,” he said, followed by several “amens” from the congregation. In addressing inequities and challenges in Virginia, Northam talked about access to high-quality education for all. “There is power in every child, and we want to make sure that every child has access to a world-class education,” he said. Northam said that achieving worldclass education means making higher
education affordable, addressing the Standards of Learning tests and making sure students are not just taught to take multiple-choice tests. “And then something that Pam and I are very encouraged about and excited about is early-childhood education,” he said. “And that’s a tremendous learning potential in our children before they ever get to kindergarten, and we want to make sure that all of our children in Virginia have access to pre-K education.” Northam, a pediatrician, followed up his comments on education by telling the congregation that health care is a right. “No individual, no family should be one medical illness away from financial demise,” he said. “So, it is important now that we all come together and expand Medicaid to make sure that we give up to 400,000
working Virginians access to health care, so this is something that is a top priority of our administration.” Northam closed his comments with a reflection on diversity in Virginia — as well as a promise to return to Charlottesville again soon. “We want to make sure that we promote inclusivity, that we welcome people to the commonwealth of Virginia, that our doors are open, our lights are on,” he said. After the service, Bellamy, who has been a longtime and vocal supporter of Northam, said he appreciates the next governor’s willingness to come worship with the community in Charlottesville. “Northam is an absolutely fine man and I believe that he’s going to represent the commonwealth of Virginia in a phenomenal way,” he said. Northam will be inaugurated Saturday. - CP