Welcome to my online constituent office. We hope you will find this website to be a useful one-stop portal for any needs you might have from the Virginia state government. We have included information to help you better understand how our government works.
You can also keep up with the policy-making process in the General Assembly during the weeks that I am working in Richmond by reading my blogs and Twitter updates.
As your State Delegate, I’m here to serve you so please contact me with any questions or services you need. I am particularly interested in hearing about ways to make our laws work better for all of us so please do not hesitate to send me policy ideas that I may be able to propose in Richmond. I am honored to represent you and I look forward to meeting you in person.
Thank you,
- DelegateKeam: Presented another Richmond report to civic group: Sully District Council. 35th Dist has only 1 precinct in Sully - called Vale - out of 18.
- DelegateKeam: Witnessing the investiture of new Fairfax Couny Circuit Court Judge Brett Kassabian whom we voted in this session. Congrats, Your Honor!
- DelegateKeam: At NoVA Asian American community town hall hosted by Virginia Asian American Advisory Board. I served on this Governor's board in 2001-09.
- DelegateKeam: Attending "Unlock Gridlock" forum in Tysons hosted by www.TeleworkVA.org and www.TeleworkExchange.com to find solutions for NoVA traffic.
- DelegateKeam: Providing another Richmond report to constituents; this time Providence District Council in Dunn Loring. Most active civic leaders I know.
Posts Tagged ‘Mistake’
Rookie Mistake!
I guess it was only a matter of time… I made a mistake today on a vote on the House floor by voting “Yes” instead of “No” as I intended.
House Bill 393, sponsored by Delegate Matthew Lohr, requires all abortion clinics to be licensed and regulated by the Board of Health. This is one of those controversial social “wedge” issues that comes up in almost every session of the General Assembly. Because this issue has become so routine, there was little debate on the floor and everyone knew the vote outcome even before the roll was called: Pro-life legislators were expected to support the measure while those who are pro-choice would oppose it.
As someone who believes in a woman’s right to choose, I oppose this bill. Unfortunately, because it came up for a vote immediately after a series of noncontroversial bills were voted on unanimously, I inadvertently cast a “Yes” vote when I meant to vote “No.” In other words, I automatically pushed the green button as I was used to doing so when I should have shifted to the red button.
As soon as I realized my mistake, I filed a “vote statement” with the House Clerk explaining that I voted incorrectly. However, because the House of Delegates does not allow a member to change his vote officially after the roll is closed, my recorded vote for this bill will continue to show that I supported it.
I regret the mistake and hope that my recorded vote will not cause confusion for anyone who follows this issue. I have since learned that many Delegates have made similar mistakes (and continue to do so!) on various bills. We cast about 3,000 votes per session, so I guess it’s inevitable that a few wrong votes will be cast by mistake.
As a Freshman Delegate, I’m still learning the ropes around the Capitol and hope constituents will forgive me if I make a few more rookie mistakes in my early days down here in Richmond! Thank you, Mark