A Democratic-led committee in the Virginia Senate voted Tuesday against confirming Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s selection of Patricia West to head the state’s parole board.
Without explanation, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and television station WRIC reported that the Privileges and Elections Committee removed West’s name from a resolution containing a long list of appointees that required General Assembly approval. It was decided that.
The resolution now moves to the full Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow majority and could try to reinstate West to the list of appointees.
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Youngkin announced West’s appointment to the position in September, after naming former Parole Board Chairman Chadwick Dotson to head the Virginia Department of Corrections. Mr. West previously served as a judge on the State Corporation Commission, where he held high-level positions in Republican Gov. George Allen’s administration and worked under former Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
When West was elected to the National Corporation Commission in 2019, Democrats raised concerns about some of her statements, including social media posts, according to news accounts at the time.
March 4, 2010, Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia. A Virginia Senate committee has voted not to approve Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s selections of Patricia West to head the state’s Parole Board and Galen Shipley to serve on the Blind and Visually Impaired Persons Protection Commission. Visual impairment on January 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Herber, File)
The Associated Press left a phone message seeking comment from West at the office of the parole board, which decides whether to grant, deny or revoke parole to inmates. Mr. Yonkin’s news organization did not respond to requests for comment.
The committee also voted to reject Mr. Youngkin’s nomination of Galen Shipley, communications director for House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert, to serve on the Blind and Visually Impaired Committee. The committee cited “caucus concerns” as the reason, the Times-Dispatch reported.
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Mr. Shipley said in an interview that he sought the board vacancy because of his experience helping his family treat his younger brother, who was born blind with a rare eye disease.
Mr. Shipley recalled that his parents struggled to find resources for his brother, who is now a lawyer in Tennessee, and the committee sought to help families in Virginia in similar situations. He said it exists.
“I just wanted to help and I thought this was the place to do it,” he said.
