Spanberger Making Enemies All Over Virginia
Last week, after it was announced that Gov. Abigail Spanberger was meddling in Virginia Tech governance by summarily firing the beloved rector of Virginia Tech, former Rep. Scott Taylor posed a question on X:
Is there any group that the new governor of Virginia hasn't pissed off?
“Furries,” I replied.
“The NOVA Wine Mom Club,” another chimed in.
“Criminal illegal aliens,” added another.
It appears that the latest group of Virginians Spanberger has infuriated is a big one: the 167,799 Virginia Tech alums living in Virginia.
Without warning, and many are saying without cause, the governor announced that Tech’s rector, John G. Rocovich, was sacked for violating that board of visitor’s code of ethics.
“Your conduct has violated the Code of Conduct for Commonwealth Appointees to Boards, Authorities, & Commissions, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors’ Code of Ethics, and the governing statues requiring board members to act in accordance with the best interests of Virginia Tech,” Spanberger wrote in a brief letter - three sentences long - that did not elaborate.
Madam, you’ll have to do better than that. Rocovich is not going down without a fight. On Friday, he announced that he was not resigning and would stay in his position, although his name has been removed from the Tech Board of Visitor’s website.
In a four-page letter to the secretary of the Commonwealth, Rocovich was defiant.
According to Rocovich, Spanberger had the secretary of the commonwealth phone to ask for his resignation. When he didn’t resign, Spanberger sent her snotty three-sentence missive sacking him.
Our governor is a coward.
If she wanted Rocovich’s resignation, why didn’t SHE demand it? Why have an intermediary make the phone call?
“I found that call (from the Secretary’s office) and the subsequent letter deeply offensive, legally unsupported, and wholly inconsistent with the Governor’s own publicly-stated principles regarding the proper relationship between the executive branch and the governance of Virginia’s public universities.”
“I never have served for personal gain, for partisan advantage, or for any purpose other than the betterment of Virginia Tech and the students it educates. I challenge anyone to identify a single action I have taken on this Board that was inconsistent with the university’s mission or the interests of the Commonwealth.”
Please read Rocovich’s letter in its entirety. The man has spent his entire adult life in service to Virginia and his alma mater.
It’s worth noting that Rocovich contributed $32,500 to the Winsome Ssers for Governor campaign. Perhaps that ticked off our highly partisan governor. Oh, and Rocovich’s daughter is married to GOP Rep.Ben Cline.
Spanberger is attempting to replace Rocovich with Edward Baine, executive vice president of Dominion Power, who contributed $5,000 to HER campaign.
If the unpopular governor didn’t have her hands full feuding with Democrat leaders in Richmond, she’s now taking on Hokie Nation.
My money’s on the Hokies.
