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EGACY Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

WEDNESDAYS • May 27, 2015

INSIDE Medicare gets overbilled - 3 White House honors VCU student - 5 Human trafficking: Scott votes NO - 6 The life and times of Dr. Hooker - 14

Richmond & Hampton Roads

LEGACYNEWSPAPER.COM • FREE

‘Whoop! There it is’

Former lawmaker and teenage girlfriend take relationship public he embattled Joe Morrissey has finally publicly admitted that he is the father of his teenaged girlfriend’s son. In a press conference at his law office, the two sat side-by-side as they explained their relationship and introduced their son, Chase, to a media-filled room. “I absolutely love being a mom,” said Morrissey’s girlfriend Myrna Pride, 19 — nearly 40 years Morrissey’s junior. They describe their relationship as any other. They started off friends first. Then as they grew to know each other, feelings developed.

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Pride. Last December, Morrissey was sentenced to 12 months in jail, with six months suspended after he entered an Alford plea to a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, now identified as Pride. Almost a year ago, in June, a grand jury had indicted Morrissey on felony charges connected to his relationship with Pride, whom prosecutors identified as a 17-year-old girl who worked as a part time receptionist at Morrissey’s Richmond law firm, Morrissey & Goldman. Following his plea and backlash,

“Morrissey’s fathering of black children outside of marriage is disturbingly reminiscence of the days of African-American enslavement.” - Former Richmond councilman, Sa’ad El-Amin The two currently live together and appear to be happy as they occasionally stole peeks at one another during the press conference. “We’re two consenting adults who had a child,” Morrissey, 57, said. “I love Myrna. We have a great life. She makes me laugh.” The two want to share a life that’s not as focused in the media as it is now. That may be difficult, a fact that Pride realizes. “It took a long time to come to terms with sharing my personal life,” Pride said. “Whether I like it or not my life was made public.” Also public was the time Morrissey spent in jail for his relationship with

from his fellow Democrats and from Republicans, Morrissey resigned his Virginia House of Delegates seat but, to the chagrin of many, ran for election in a special election, winning his seat back. Now, Morrissey says that he wants to clear his name of any wrongdoing and set the record straight about his relationship with Pride. “We got pregnant when she was 18 and I was thrilled she was going to have a baby,” he said.” While the two may want a normal life, that may not be in the cards. Morrissey has been accused in public as being a “hit it and quit it” type of man, who spends little

Joe Morrissey and his girlfriend answered questions from the media about their relationship. PHOTO: PAULETTE SHIPMAN-SINGLETON time with his children. He has four children by four different women. Morrissey described that accusation as completely false and “hurtful.” He said that he is very engaged in his children’s life and offended that anyone would say otherwise. He’s so engaged that he, along with Pride, admits that he gets up with Chase the most. When asked about marriage, Morrissey didn’t evade the question. He pronounced that the two are going to get married and possibly more children are on the way. Morrissey is no stranger to getting in trouble due to his own actions. As a prosecutor and lawyer, he had been involved in courthouse fisticuffs, berating judges and also been accused of fraud. He lost his law license for several years and worked hard to get it reinstated. He

previously spent five days in jail for a 1991 courthouse fight. Still, he is largely popular in his district, which covers parts of Richmond and Henrico County, and has a large black population. He is expected to announce his candidacy for the Virginia Senate, as an independent. “I am a fighter for the people,” Morrissey has said, explaining his success. Still, in the black community, opinions about him are varied. Former Richmond city councilman, Sa’ad El-Amin, has been one of Morrissey’s harshest critics. Last week, El-Amin penned a piece dissecting “the Yin and Yang” of Morrissey. “Morrissey looks to his AfricanAmerican constituents as his power base,” noted El-Amin. On the positive (continued on page 2)


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