Meet Creigh

Senator Creigh Deeds represents the 25th Senate District, which includes the counties of Albemarle (part), Alleghany, Bath, Highland, Nelson, and Rockbridge, and the cities of Buena Vista, Covington, Charlottesville, and Lexington. He serves on three Senate standing committees:

Courts of Justice
Privileges and Elections
Transportation

Senator Deeds’ public service career began in 1987 when he was elected to serve as the Commonwealth’s Attorney of Bath County. In 1991 he ran against an incumbent and won in the 18th District in the House of Delegates. After serving 10 years in the House, Sen. Deeds was elected to the Senate in a special election in 2001. Senator Deeds was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General in 2005 and for Governor in 2009.

Senator Deeds chairs the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the Twenty-First Century. He also serves on the Small Business Commission, the Joint Commission on Transportation Accountability, and the Joint Committee to Study Interstate 73.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness honored Sen. Deeds with the Richard T. Greer Advocacy Award for his efforts to reform mental health, and the American Psychological Association Practice Organization named him the 2015 State Legislator of the Year Award. His advocacy work has also been acknowledged by NAMI – Virginia and the Psychiatric Society of Virginia. For his work on behalf of crime victims, he was awarded the Warren Stambaugh Award from Virginians United Against Crime. He also has received the Leadership in Public Policy Award from The Nature Conservancy, the Preservation Alliance of Virginia Delegate of the Year, and the Virginia Association for Parks Legislator of the Year. His legislative work and accomplishments have also been recognized by the Fairfax Coalition of Police, the Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors, Virginia Education Association, BikeWalk Virginia, the Virginia Professional Fire Fighters, and the Virginia Community Healthcare Association.

Senator Deeds attended Virginia’s public schools and graduated from Bath County High School in 1976. After completing undergraduate work at Concord College, he received his law degree from Wake Forest University in 1984. Senator Deeds is a lawyer in private practice and lives in Bath County with his wife, Siobhan. He has four children.

2019 Session is Underway

The 2019 Session of the General Assembly is underway. This is a short session, set to adjourn on the 23^rd of February. The Session began with a committee meeting and a speech from the Governor.

Usually it takes several days of preliminary work before the real action begins. This year, however, on the first day of session, the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections met to consider certain constitutional amendments. Most constitutional amendments simply aim to put a matter on the ballot to let the people decide. Typically I have had no problem putting things on the ballot so the people could have their voices heard. The one notable exception to the rule this year was the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA legislation does not require a ballot initiative rather it only requires ratification by the Virginia General Assembly to make the ERA part of the U.S. Constitution.

[Read More…]

Summer Update

August 23, 2018 By Creigh Deeds

The 2019 legislative session is just around the corner, which is hard to believe since it feels like the 2018 Session just ended. In fact, the General Assembly has yet to adjourn the special session. A couple of issues remain unresolved.

The Governor initially called for a special session because the General Assembly did not reach a budget agreement. After months of wrangling, the legislature adopted a budget on May 30 that included Medicaid expansion. It was a huge bipartisan accomplishment. Nevertheless, the Senate and House of Delegates did not adjourn sine die because the party in the majority has not agreed on the selection of certain judges. Periodically I’ve heard rumors that the General Assembly will be called back to Richmond for a vote, but those rumors have thus far proven to be untrue. In the meantime, another critical issue has arisen. [Read More…]

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