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Gov. Glenn Youngkin has removed Sen. Mamie Locke from the Southern Regional Advisory Board, a nonpartisan entity that works to improve public education.
Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter confirmed Locke’s removal on Monday.
“Similar to all previous administrations, this administration will exercise it’s ability to appoint qualified and dedicated legislators to this board,” she wrote in an email.
Porter did not respond to a question about who the governor is considering as a replacement.
She said Locke, a Hampton Democrat, could continue to serve on the board if she is “appointed in her capacity as a legislative appointment.”
The board provides data and recommendations to educators, institutions and policymakers to improve public education at all levels. It includes the governor and four gubernatorial appointees from 16 states including at least one state legislator and one educator.
Locke announced Friday that Youngkin had removed her from the board.
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“I have served on (the board) for 10 years and chaired the Legislative Advisory Council,” she wrote on Twitter. “Can’t wait to see who he appoints.”
Locke, who sits on the Senate Education and Health Committee, is a retired professor and dean from Hampton University.
Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Richmond, slammed the governor over her removal.
“She is one of the few elected officials who has true and decades-long experience as a faculty member, student advisor, and (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) leader,” Hashmi wrote on Twitter. “Youngkin’s removal of Senator Locke from SREB is vindictive politics.”
Locke has been among the legislators and organizations rebuking the governor in recent weeks for quietly implementing a new policy of evaluating voting rights restoration applications on an individual basis using unspecified criteria.
In addition to Virginia, the regional board comes from Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com