The museum was due in court June 6 for a hearing on its reorganization plan. But attorney Sandra Robinson filed for a change of date, saying she recently accepted a new job and the shift to the job and closing her own office has “substantially limited counsel’s availability to the Debtor to prepare” for the June 6 hearing.

In her request, Robinson said she has been consulting with the museum’s creditors about the reorganization plan, trying to ensure that the one creditor allowed to vote — Pei Partnership Architects — will support the plan, and that she didn’t think a delay would prejudice the vote.

Today Judge Douglas O. Tice Jr. agreed to push the hearing to June 27.

At the museum’s last hearing, Tice told Robinson she would need to prove her reorganization plan is feasible during the next hearing.

The slavery museum owes debts of about $7 million, including about $254,000 owed in back taxes to the city of Fredericksburg. Its reorganization plan relies on resuming fundraising and proposes to repay creditors over the next four years.

Conservative Republicans in the House, led by Del. Bob Marshall and the Family Foundation’s opposition to the appointment, said they objected to Thorne-Begland becoming a judge because of his activism for gay rights. They also objected to the fact that twenty years ago, as a naval officer, he came out on national television to object to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy.”

Democrats said the vote against Thorne-Begland was blatant bigotry and discrimination.

“Tracy Thorne-Begland is a highly qualified and exceptionally competent prosecutor, who also served our country with honor as a Navy pilot,” said Sen. Don McEachin, D-Henrico. “The blatant prejudice that Republicans displayed last night should have no place in our government. The GOP took Virginia back to the bigotry and mean-spirited prejudice of the 1960s. ”

You can read more on the arguments from Tuesday morning’s vote here: http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/on-politics/2012/05/15/house-of-delegates-votes-down-gay-judicial-nominee/

Gov. Bob McDonnell’s office released a statement in which he said lawmakers should not discriminate when selecting judges.

“I believe candidates for judicial vacancies must be considered solely on their merit, record, temperament, aptitude, skill and commitment to follow the law. I have long made clear that discrimination on the basis of such factors as race, religion or sexual orientation is not acceptable in any judicial appointment process,” McDonnell said. “In my consideration of judicial candidates I only consider the individual’s ability to do the job well. If anyone voted against Mr. Thorne-Begland because of his sexual orientation that would be very disappointing and unacceptable.”

The constitution requires a majority — 51 in the House — to elect a judge. Begland got 33 votes for, 31 against. Ten delegates abstained and 26 didn’t vote. Many of those who didn’t vote may not have been there; other votes indicated that by the time of the judicial votes (after 1 a.m.) only about 80 delegates remained in the chamber.

Among local delegates, only one voted for Thorne-Begland — Del. Peter Farrell, R-Henrico, whose district covers part of Spotsylvania. One — Del. Ed Scott, R-Madison — abstained.

Delegates Bobby Orrock, R-Caroline, and Margaret Ransone, R-Westmoreland, did not vote; neither did House Speaker Bill Howell, who was in England the day of the vote. According to an Internet post by Del. Jennifer McClellan, Ransone was absent from the Capitol all day.

Orrock said he, too, had left the House before the judge vote, because he had to be at work early in the morning.

But had he stayed, Orrock said, he’d have been the 32nd vote against Thorne-Begland — not because Thorne-Begland is gay but because of his activism.

“I was not going to vote for the gentleman for his political activism,” Orrock said. “(Judges) can have whatever beliefs they wish to have personally. When they become political activists… it makes me question their objectivity on the bench.”

Delegate Mark Dudenhefer, R-Stafford, and Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania, voted against Thorne-Begland’s appointment. Dudenhefer also spoke on the House floor against it, arguing that Thorne-Begland had violated military rules when he came out as being gay while still in the Navy.

The full vote count:

Yeas (33)
David B. Albo (R-Fairfax); Kenneth C. Alexander (D-Norfolk); Mamye E. BaCote (D-Newport News); David L. Bulova (D-Fairfax); Betsy B. Carr (D-Richmond); Barbara J. Comstock (R-Fairfax); Rosalyn R. Dance (D-Petersburg); Peter F. Farrell (R-Henrico); Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax); Charniele L. Herring (D-Alexandria); Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington); Algie T. Howell Jr. (D-Norfolk); Matthew James (D-Portsmouth); Mark L. Keam (D-Fairfax); Terry G. Kilgore (R-Scott); L. Kaye Kory (D-Fairfax); James M. LeMunyon (R-Fairfax); Lynwood W. Lewis Jr. (D-Accomack); Alfonso H. Lopez (D-Arlington); G. Manoli Loupassi (R-Richmond); Jennifer L. McClellan (D-Richmond); Delores L. McQuinn (D-Richmond); Joseph D. Morrissey (D-Henrico); Thomas Davis Rust (R-Fairfax); James M. Scott (D-Fairfax); Mark D. Sickles (D-Fairfax); Lionell Spruill Sr. (D-Chesapeake); Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax); Luke Torian (D-Prince William); David J. Toscano (D-Charlottesville); Jeion A. Ward (D-Hampton); Vivian E. Watts (D-Fairfax); Joseph A. Yost (R-Montgomery).

Nays (31)
Richard L. Anderson (R-Prince William); Richard P. “Dickie” Bell (R-Staunton); Robert B. Bell (R-Albemarle); Kathy J. Byron (R-Campbell); Benjamin L. Cline (R-Rockbridge);  Mark L. Cole (R-Spotsylvania); John A. Cosgrove (R-Chesapeake); John A. Cox (R-Hanover); L. Mark Dudenhefer (R-Stafford); James E. Edmunds II (R-Halifax); C. Matthew Fariss (R-Campbell); T. Scott Garrett (R-Lynchburg); Thomas A. “Tag” Greason (R-Loudoun); Gordon C. Helsel Jr. (R-Poquoson); M. Keith Hodges (R-Middlesex); Timothy D. Hugo (R-Fairfax); Salvatore R. Iaquinto (R-Virginia Beach); Barry D. Knight (R-Virginia Beach); L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William); Daniel W. Marshall III (R-Danville); Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William); Jimmie Massie (R-Henrico); Donald W. Merricks (R-Pittsylvania); James W. “Will” Morefield (R-Tazewell); Brenda L. Pogge (R-James City); Charles D. Poindexter (R-Franklin County); David I. Ramadan (R-Loudoun); Roxann L. Robinson (R-Chesterfield); Ron Villanueva (R-Virginia Beach); Michael B. Watson (R-Williamsburg); Tony O. Wilt (R-Rockingham).

Abstained (10)
M. Kirkland Cox (R-Colonial Heights); Anne B. Crockett-Stark, R-Wythe; Riley E. Ingram (R-Hopewell); R. Steven Landes (R-Augusta); Israel D. O’Quinn (R-Bristol); Lacey E. Putney (I-Bedford); Larry N. Rush (R-Montgomery); Edward T. Scott (R-Madison); Beverly J. Sherwood (R-Frederick); Chris Stolle (R-Virginia Beach).

Not voting (26)
Robert H. Brink (D-Arlington); David L. Englin (D-Alexandria); C. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah); Gregory D. Habeeb (R-Salem); Christopher T. Head (R-Roanoke); William J. Howell (R-Stafford); Johnny S. Joannou (D-Portsmouth); Joseph P. Johnson Jr. (D-Washington County); S. Chris Jones (R-Suffolk); Joe T. May (R-Loudoun); Jackson H. Miller (R-Manassas); J. Randall “Randy” Minchew (R-Leesburg); Richard L. Morris (R-Isle of Wight); John M. O’Bannon (R-Henrico); Robert D. Orrock Sr. (R-Caroline); Christopher K. Peace (R-Hanover); Kenneth R. Plum (D-Fairfax); Harry R. Purkey (R-Virginia Beach); Margaret B. Ransone (R-Westmoreland); Robert Tata (R-Virginia Beach); Roslyn C. Tyler (D-Sussex); Onzlee Ware (D-Roanoke); R. Lee Ware Jr. (R-Powhatan); Michael J. Webert (R-Fauquier); Thomas C. Wright Jr. (R-Lunenburg) David E. Yancey (R-Newport News).

The vote, taken in the early morning hours Tuesday, was 33 for Tracy Thorne-Begland, 31 against and ten abstentions. It was not enough to approve Thorne-Begland’s appointment.

Conservative Republicans in the House, led by Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William, said they objected to Thorne-Begland becoming a judge because of his activism for gay rights. They also objected to the fact that twenty years ago, as a naval officer, he came out on national television to object to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy.”

Marshall also questioned how Thorne-Begland could take an oath to uphold the constitution — which includes a provision barring same-sex marriage — when Thorne-Begland is in a relationship, has adopted children and has been active in working with gay-rights groups.

Marshall and several other Republican delegates, most of whom are current or former members of the military, spoke against Thorne-Begland’s appointment.

He was defended by several other delegates, including Del. Manoli Loupassi, R-Richmond, who had sponsored Thorne-Begland’s appointment.

In a press release from the state Democratic Party, Del. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, called the opposition to Thorne-Begland’s appointment “politics at its worst. … He deserves to be on the General District Court and we should all be ashamed of today’s decision to reject his appointment.”

Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, said the vote proves there is still discrimination against gays and lesbians.

“The rejection of Mr. Thorne-Begland shows that discrimination based on sexual orientation is alive and well in Virginia,” Sickles said. “And, it shows that legislators are more concerned about the Family Foundation scorecard than Richmond’s District Court.”

The Senate did not vote on Thorne-Begland’s appointment. Democrats objected to the Senate not voting, and to the House’s rejection.

Sen. Don McEachin, D-Henrico, said it “bears some comment” that lawmakers failed to elect someone who had been a fighter pilot and a respected prosecutor.

“It is simply because he is gay,” McEachin said. “We are on the wrong side of history.”

In a news release, Allen said the NRA cited his “stellar record of defending the Second Amendment and protecting our Constitutional right to bear arms.”

He also said he has consistently had an A or A+ rating from the group.

“I have always been proud to support the natural rights of law-abiding citizens to protect their families and themselves,” Allen said. “In the U.S. Senate I will remain committed to defending our rights enshrined in our Constitution.”

He also said he thinks the way to reduce crime is “to crack down on criminals, not disarm our law-abiding citizens.”

Allen, a former Senator and former governor, faces three other Republicans for the party’s nomination in a primary next month. All four — Allen, Jamie Radtke, Del. Bob Marshall and E.W. Jackson — are due to appear at a debate in Virginia Beach on Friday night, the second of three primary debates scheduled.

The ad, titled “Go”, says that since the recession’s worst job losses, the economy is starting to grow and 4.2 million jobs have been created. (See the ad here).

“We’re not there yet. It’s still too hard for too many,” the ad says. “But we’re coming back. Because America’s greatness comes from a strong middle class.”

Obama’s reelection message has had a strong focus on the middle class; in a campaign rally in Richmond on Saturday, Obama said “This isn’t just another election, this is a make or break moment for America’s middle class.”

In a conference call with reporters on Monday, Obama strategist David Axelrod and campaign manager Jim Messina said the campaign is spending about $25 million on this ad buy, and purposely made it a positive ad, rather than one that criticizes presumed opponent Republican Mitt Romney.

“I believe that by the end of this week, certainly by the end of next, we’ll have spent more money offering people positive vision for the future… than Governor Romney has in his entire campaign,” Axelrod said.

He said the ad is now running in swing states, but will run later around the country.

Romney’s campaign fired back in emailed press releases, saying American workers are not better off than they were when Obama was elected, and arguing that many of the jobs created in the past few quarters have been low-paying jobs.

“Americans will hear a lot from President Obama in the coming months, but what they won’t hear from him is the fact that his policies have wreaked havoc on the middle class,” said one release. “After a doubling of gas prices, declining incomes, millions of foreclosures, and record levels of unemployment, Americans know they’re not better off than they were four years ago.”

Under an agreement between McDonnell and lawmakers, he had only seven working days — rather than 30 — to propose his amendments, something both sides agreed to so as to speed up the process. The budget was already more than a month behind schedule when legislators finally voted to pass it, and local governments are writing their own budgets now.

He proposed 105 amendments in all — 17 to the “caboose” budget that finishes out this budget year, and 88 to the 2012-2014 budget.

McDonnell said in a news release Saturday that he restored $19 million in funding for economic development programs; the legislature had cut out $47 million in requests for those programs from McDonnell’s original proposed budget.

“I believe strongly that Virginia must invest in attracting and retaining private-sector job creators and capital,” McDonnell said in the release. “Therefore I have restored a significant amount of economic development funding stripped by the General Assembly. This strategic investment in attracting and supporting private-sector job creation is crucial to ensuring that the 250,000 Virginians who are still looking for good-paying jobs to feed their families secure employment in the years ahead.”

McDonnell has also proposed to eliminate a provision that exempted state lawmakers and the top state elected officials from paying their five percent employee contribution to the Virginia Retirement System. VRS reforms in the past couple of years have required all state workers to start paying their own five percent contribution — the state and local governments formerly paid it. But the budget specifically exempted most legislators, some judges, the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. That’s because constitutionally, the compensation of judges and the top three elected officials can’t be reduced during their term. Requiring them to pay the five percent contribution would count as a pay cut, and there was no proposal for an offsetting pay raise like state workers received.

McDonnell said several lawmakers had asked him to amend the budget so that legislators will be treated the same as other state employees, required to pay the five percent contribution (lawmakers elected for the first time last November are already paying their employee share). That will be offset by a pay raise “when constitutionally permitted,” said the press release. The constitution says that lawmakers can vote to raise their pay, but they won’t receive the raise until after the next election. You can read more on the background of the budget provision here:  blogs.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/2012/04/24/legislators-get-vrs-break/

McDonnell also proposes an amendment to add$2.7 million more to recruit teachers for science, technology and math subjects and to fully fund the third-grade reading program.

He also wants a two percent pay bonus for state workers this November, contingent on agency savings, and a pay raise for state employees in 2014.

To pay for his changes, McDonnell said he will claim unused debt allocations, year-end balances, revised lottery profits and “targeted spending reductions.” He said the total comes to $53.8 million, which will leave the state with an unappropriated balance of $22 million.

The detals of McDonnell’s amendments are not yet online on the state legislative services website. House Clerk Paul Nardo said staff are checking electronic versions of the amendments, and that they should be publicly available by Monday afternoon.

Legislators plan to return to Richmond May 14 to handle the governor’s budget proposals.

Romney will campaign in Chantilly on Wednesday and in Portsmouth on Thursday with Gov. Bob McDonnell. McDonnell endorsed Romney several months ago and is rumored to be one of several potential vice-presidential candidates.

The Chantilly stop is at a company called Exhibit Edge, which creates exhibits for trade shows and other events. In Portsmouth, Romney will visit Crofton Industries, a company that does commercial diving services, heavy marine construction and design, crane rentals and other services.

The Romney visit comes just days before President Barack Obama has scheduled a campaign rally in Richmond. The Saturday afternoon rally, to be held at VCU, was described by aides as a ramping-up of general election campaign activities.

Obama’s campaign also released a new television ad today, one that hits directly at Romney.

The ad defends Obama against Americans for Prosperity Ads that criticize Obama’s position on oil. The ad calls the AFP ads “erroneous” and “big oil’s new attack ad,” before shifting to Romney. It accuses Romney of sending jobs overseas when he was a corporate CEO and as governor of Massachusetts, and of helping to promote tax breaks for companies that do the same.

The ad ends with this final jab at Romney: “It’s just what you expect from a guy who had a Swiss Bank Account.”

The “Swiss Bank Account” ad will air in Virginia, Ohio and Iowa. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5e0QoUdPJM

The Romney campaign responded with a statement saying Obama is “trying to distract Americans from the real issues with a series of sideshows. Unable to defend his failed record of 23 million Americans struggling for work, wasteful boondoggles like Solyndra, skyrocketing national debt, and unacceptably high energy prices, President Obama has once again resorted to attacking Mitt Romney. The American people have suffered enough over the last three years and deserve better.”

The first will be in Montross this weekend — Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Westmoreland County Courthouse. He’s planning other events in Williamsburg and Stafford; Williamsburg’s event will be May 12, Stafford’s on May 20.

Wittman is running for a third full term in the House of Representatives. He was first elected in 2007 in a special election to replace the late Jo Ann Davis. Before that he served in the House of Delegates and in local government in Westmoreland County.

Democrat Adam Cook is seeking the nomination to run against Wittman this  year. Cook is a former JAG officer who’s now a reservist, which allows him to run for political office.

Democrats in the 1st District will hold a convention on May 12 to choose their nominee to run for the seat.

The 1st District runs from Fauquier County down through York.

The group bought $275,000 of air time to run the ad, which is critical of Kaine’s fiscal policies during his term as governor. (You can see the ad here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX-2EDVHRxY)

Called “Similarities,” the ad — like a previous Crossroads  GPS ad last year — links Kaine with President Barack Obama, saying they’re both “reckless” spenders. It accuses Kaine of turning a surplus into a budget deficit, and of pushing for $1 billion in new taxes.

“This spot intends to alert Virginians to the anti-job policies Tim Kaine supports when he should be pushing for real economic solutions to create Virginia jobs,” said the press release from Crossroads.

Kaine held a conference call with reporters today to debunk the ad as “completely false.”

He said Republican legislators favored spending the surplus money that the ad accuses him of spending, and that his last budget had less general fund spending than the budget he inherited when he came into office.

Kaine said that because Crossroads is the type of large PAC that doesn’t have to disclose its donors, it lacks the accountability to keep its ads honest.

“Secret money promotes falsehood,” Kaine told reporters.

He also took the opportunity to slam Republican rival Senate candidate George Allen, saying that Allen is more guilty of deficit spending than Kaine is.

Allen faces three other Republicans for the nomination in a June primary. The four Republican candidates will hold their first debate this Saturday in Roanoke.