Scott Surovell | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Majority Leader of the Virginia Senate | |
Assumed office January 10, 2024 | |
Preceded by | Dick Saslaw |
Member of the Virginia Senate | |
Assumed office January 13,2016 | |
Preceded by | Toddy Puller |
Constituency | 36th district (2016–2024) 34th district (2024–present) |
Member of the VirginiaHouseofDelegates from the 44th district | |
In office January 13,2010 –January 13,2016 | |
Preceded by | Kristen Amundson |
Succeeded by | Paul Krizek |
Personal details | |
Born | Scott Anthony Surovell August 21,1971 Washington,D.C.,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Erinn Madden |
Education | James Madison University (BA) University of Virginia (JD) |
Scott Anthony Surovell (born August 21,1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a member of the Virginia Senate,representing the 34th district,which encompasses portions of Fairfax roughly following U.S. Route 1,Kingstowne and Lorton. He previously represented the 36th district which also included portions of Prince William and Stafford counties until the 2023 redistricting and the 44th district in the Virginia House of Delegates. [1] He is a Democrat.
Surovell grew up in the Tauxemont,Virginia area where he attended preschool,elementary school and intermediate school. In 1989,he graduated from West Potomac High School and went to college at James Madison University,where he was student body vice-president. He graduated in 1993,with a major in Political Science.
In 1993,he served as a Governor's Fellow in the administration of Governor L. Douglas Wilder. Surovell worked for DMV Deputy Commissioner Bill Leighty,who later served as chief of staff under governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. He also interned in Washington,D.C.,for Representative Jim Moran of Virginia and then-congressman Ron Wyden of Oregon. [2]
Surovell earned a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1996,where he served as executive editor of the Virginia Journal of Environmental Law. [3]
Surovell is a trial lawyer specializing in criminal and traffic defense,domestic relations,personal injury,consumer class action and commercial litigation. In 2002,Surovell founded Surovell Markle Isaacs and Levy PLC,a firm which specialized in representing individuals and small businesses throughout Northern Virginia with four other attorneys. Former state delegate and now Senator Chap Petersen was a member of the firm from 2005 through 2017. The firm is now known as Surovell Isaacs &Levy PLC. [4]
Surovell argued his first case before the Supreme Court of Virginia at age 28 involving a fraud claim involving the sale of a used car. [5] In 2007,Surovell successfully blocked an insurance company from paying a man convicted of killing his wife $300,000 of life insurance proceeds from his wife's policy. [6] The case ultimately resulted in modifications [7] to the Virginia Slayer Statute [8] in the 2008 General Assembly Session. In 2010,Surovell also won a $4.80-million jury verdict [9] in favor of a Vienna family who was permanently injured in a fireworks accident in the Town of Vienna.
In 2003,Surovell was elected Chairman of the Mount Vernon District Democratic Committee of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. In 2008,he was elected Chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee where he organized and led local grassroots campaign activities for the Obama-Biden,Warner,Moran,Connolly and Feder campaigns.
In 2009,Surovell resigned as Chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee in order to run for the House of Delegates.
Surovell has served on the Counties,Cities and Towns Committee (2010-2015),the Science &Technology Committee (2010-2015),and the Militia,Police &Public Safety Committee (2012-2015). In 2014,the Speaker appointed Delegate Surovell to the Virginia Broadband Commission. In 2014,Surovell was elected Caucus Chairman by the Virginia House Democratic Caucus. [10]
For several years Surovell has written a blog,entitled The Dixie Pig,named after a now-defunct restaurant on U.S. Route 1 in his district that was his grandmother’s favorite. [11]
In January 2015 Surovell announced a run for the Virginia Senate,District 36,hoping to fill the seat of retiring Senator Toddy Puller. [12] [11] He won election to the State Senate by a margin of 60.52% to 39.28%.
Surovell was appointed to the General Laws and Technology Committee,Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee and Local Government Committee. In 2016,Surovell was also appointed to the Virginia High Speed Rail Commission. [13] In 2018,Surovell was elected Senate Democratic Caucus Whip. [14] In 2019,Surovell was elected Vice Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. [15]
Surovell has been a leader in the Virginia General Assembly on government transparency,criminal justice reform,consumer protection and environmental protection. In 2016,Surovell passed legislation requiring government officials to redact public documents instead of withholding entire records [16] and passed similar legislation applying to homeowner,condo and cooperative associations the following year. He also passed legislation creating civil penalties for destroying public records to avoid Freedom of Information Act requests. [17]
Starting in 2016,Surovell has pushed and passed various legislative initiatives to clean up coal ash ponds in Virginia,one of which is in Dumfries,Virginia. [18] In 2019,he was the Chief Sponsor of legislation that prohibited coal ash in the Chesapeake Bay watershed from being stored in existing partially-lined ponds,required at least 25% to be recycled into products,and the remainder stored in modern lined landfills in excess of Environmental Protection Agency minimum requirements. The ultimate cost will exceed $3.2 billion or approximately $1.5 billion more than Dominion Power's original proposal. [19]
In 2018,Surovell carried legislation that authorized $3.4 million of payments from the Commonwealth of Virginia to pay for the wrongful incarceration of the Norfolk Four if the monies were matched by the City of Norfolk. That same year he also carried legislation he had introduced nine times which raised Virginia's threshold between misdemeanors and felonies to $500. [20]
In 2020,Surovell carried legislation that allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain driving privileges making Virginia the 17th state to allow such privileges. [21] He also was Chief Sponsor of successful legislation to make Virginia the first Southern state to ban conversion therapy, [22] passed legislation banning driving with a handheld mobile phone, [23] and fracking for natural gas anywhere east of Interstate 95 in the Commonwealth of Virginia. [24] He also led efforts to reform Virginia's criminal justice system in the 2021 Special Session that led to the end of Virginia's 200 year-old jury sentencing law and passage of legislation attacking racial profiling,policing reforms,restoring sentencing alternatives for rehabilitation,and expanding Virginia's credits for early release from prison.
In the 2021 Session,Surovell was chief sponsor of legislation to repeal Virginia's death penalty after four centuries of it being legal. [25] He also led the efforts to reform Virginia's restrictive law prohibiting expungement or sealing of misdemeanor and felony convictions, [26] and led the study and legislation that expanded the Court of Appeals of Virginia from 11 to 17 judges and provided of right of appeal in every civil and criminal case like every other state. [27]
In the 2022 Session,Surovell worked through divided government to pass legislation that allows for methane capture. [28]
On November 15,2023,Surovell was elected Majority Leader of the Virginia Senate - beating out Hampton State Senator Mamie Locke. [29]
Surovell first ran for the Virginia House of Delegates during the 2009 elections to replace retiring Democratic incumbent Kristen J. Amundson. He defeated his Republican challenger 53% to 44%,and was sworn into office the following January in Richmond,Virginia. [30]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Scott Surovell | 9,960 | 54.3 | |
Republican | Jay McConville | 8,384 | 45.7 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Scott Surovell | 8,738 | 59.38 | |
Republican | John Barsa | 5,742 | 39.02 | |
Independent | Joe Glean | 223 | 1.52 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Scott Surovell | 13,177 | 71.66 | |
Independent | Joe Glean | 5,210 | 28.34 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Scott Surovell | 18,320 | 60.52 | |
Republican | Gerard M. Foreman II | 11,890 | 39.28 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Scott Surovell | 37,518 | 91.72 | |
None | Write-In | 3,382 | 8.28 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Scott Surovell | 38,140 | 69.75 | |
Republican | Mark A. Springman | 16,389 | 29.97 |
The Maryland Senate,sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate,is the upper house of the General Assembly,the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single-member districts,the Senate is responsible,along with the Maryland House of Delegates,for passage of laws in Maryland,and for confirming executive appointments made by the Governor of Maryland.
Adam Paul Ebbin is an American politician who is the senator from the 39th District of the Virginia Senate since January 2024. A member of the Democratic Party,he previously represented the 39th Senate District from 2012 to 2024 and served in the Virginia House of Delegates from the 49th District from 2004 to 2012.
John Chapman "Chap" Petersen is an American politician. A Democrat,he served in the Virginia House of Delegates 2002–06,was elected to the Virginia State Senate in November 2007,and was reelected in 2011. He represented the state's 34th district,made up of the city of Fairfax and large parts of Fairfax County. In June 2023,Petersen lost the Democratic primary for District 37 to Saddam Azlan Salim. Salim won the general election,and assumed office on January 10,2024.
The Democratic Party of Virginia is the Virginia affiliate of the Democratic Party based in Richmond,Virginia.
Richard Lawrence Saslaw is an American politician who served as Majority Leader of the Senate of Virginia between 2020 –2024,when he declined to run for reelection. A member of the Democratic Party,he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1976–80,then was elected to the Senate of Virginia. He represented the 35th district,made up of the city of Falls Church and portions of Fairfax County and the city of Alexandria.
Jennifer Leigh McClellan is an American politician and attorney who has served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 4th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party,she represented the 9th district in the Virginia State Senate from 2017 to 2023 and the 71st district in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2009 to 2017. She ran in the Democratic primary for governor of Virginia in the 2021 election,losing to former governor Terry McAuliffe.
Ariana Brannigan Kelly is an American politician who is the executive director of the Maryland Commission for Women. She was a member of the Maryland Senate from District 16,which is located in Montgomery County,from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party,she previously represented the same district in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2011 to 2023.
Alonzo T. Washington is an American politician,appointed to the Maryland Senate in 2023 to represent District 22,which covers Prince George's County. He previously represented the district in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2012 to 2023 after being appointed to the seat by Governor Martin O'Malley.
David V. Fraser-Hidalgo is an Ecuadorian-born American politician and a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 15 in Montgomery County,Maryland. He was appointed to complete the term of Delegate Brian J. Feldman following Feldman's appointment to a Senate seat and has since been elected to his own full term.
Cannabis in Virginia is legal for medical use and recreational use. The first medical marijuana dispensary opened in August 2020,and adult recreational use became legalized in July 2021.
Cory V. McCray is an American politician who serves as a member of the Maryland Senate for Maryland's 45th district,located in northeast Baltimore City. Previously,McCray served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates and acting Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party.
Michael P. Mullin,known as Mike Mullin,is a former assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Hampton and an American politician of the Democratic Party. From 2016 to 2023 he represented (part-time) the 93rd district in the Virginia House of Delegates. He resigned on November 7,2023.
Jesse Tyler Pippy is an American politician who was elected on November 6,2018,to serve a 4-year term in the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 4,which encompasses parts of Frederick and Carroll Counties.
Vaughn Morton Stewart III is an American attorney and politician. He is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates,representing District 19 in Montgomery County since 2019.
Malcolm L. Augustine is a Democratic member of the Maryland Senate from the 47th district.
The 161st Virginia General Assembly,consisting of members who were elected in both the House election and Senate election in 2019,convened on January 8,2020. It was the first time Democrats held both houses of the General Assembly and the governorship since the 147th General Assembly in 1993.
Stephanie M. Smith is an American politician who currently serves in the Maryland House of Delegates. Smith represents the 45th Legislative District of the state of Maryland which is located in east Baltimore City.
Emily Khoury Shetty is an American politician and attorney who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 18 since 2019.
Jared Solomon is an American politician from the Democratic Party and is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 18.
The 163rd Virginia General Assembly,consisting of members who were elected in both the House and Senate elections in 2023,convened on January 10,2024. Both elections were the first to be held under maps for both houses of the Virginia General Assembly which were approved by the Virginia Redistricting Commission and the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2021,which were the first in Virginia history to not be drawn and approved by the legislature. Both elections resulted in Democrats winning majorities in both houses for the first time since 2021,with one-seat majorities in both chambers;it was the first time that Democrats won both houses of the legislature against an incumbent Republican governor since 1995.