So help me god. So help me god. Congratulations, mr. Speaker. Thank you. [cheers and applause] the historic nature of my speakership is not lost on me. This will be the first time in the history of the commonwealth of virginia that we have had a speaker who is as intelligent as this and as handsome as this [laughter] what you are laughing at . Its true [laughter] [laughs] no, let me stop. But its an honor and a privilege to be elected by my peers as the first black speaker of the house of delegates, 405 years after the founding of the longest, continuous democratic elected body in the western hemisphere. Also, coincidentally, 405 years after the first enslaved people arrived here. Not far from where we stand, down the road in hampton roads. Host virginia speaker don scott, january 10, 2024, what was that they like for you . Speaker scott it was amazing. Exhilarating. It felt like the combination of a lifetime of working hard finally coming to fruition. It was a day of pride. I was prou
So help me god. So help me god. Congratulations, mr. Speaker. Thank you. [cheers and applause] the historic nature of my speakership is not lost on me. This will be the first time in the history of the commonwealth of virginia that we have had a speaker who is as intelligent as this and as handsome as this [laughter] what you are laughing at . Its true [laughter] [laughs] no, let me stop. But its an honor and a privilege to be elected by my peers as the first black speaker of the house of delegates, 405 years after the founding of the longest, continuous democratic elected body in the western hemisphere. Also, coincidentally, 405 years after the first enslaved people arrived here. Not far from where we stand, down the road in hampton roads. Host virginia speaker don scott, january 10, 2024, what was that they like for you . Speaker scott it was amazing. Exhilarating. It felt like the combination of a lifetime of working hard finally coming to fruition. It was a day of pride. I was prou
[ applause ] [ applause ] come on, here. Speaker of the house. My pleasure. To present to you the governor of virginia. Come on. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, my fellow virginiaens. Good evening. Good evening. Speaker cox, senator newman, justices of the supreme court. Ladies and gentlemen. Of the virginia General Assembly. I do once again appreciate the opportunity to address you one final time. [ applause ] todd gilbert i would be careful. Last yore every republican i gave a shout out theyre not back this year in the chamber. You guys have done just fine. Before i begin seriously, i would like to thank speaker bill howl for his many years of service to the commonwealth and tell him and his family that we are praying for his speedy recovery. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, mr. Speaker on your election to this historic office. Congratulations. Speaker cox. I am so proud to be joined this evening by so many people who h
[ applause ] come on, here. Speaker of the house. My pleasure. To present to you the governor of virginia. Come on. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, my fellow virginiaens. Good evening. Good evening. Speaker cox, senator newman, justices of the supreme court. Ladies and gentlemen. Of the virginia General Assembly. I do once again appreciate the opportunity to address you one final time. [ applause ] todd gilbert i would be careful. Last yore every republican i gave a shout out theyre not back this year in the chamber. You guys have done just fine. Before i begin seriously, i would like to thank speaker bill howl for his many years of service to the commonwealth and tell him and his family that we are praying for his speedy recovery. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, mr. Speaker on your election to this historic office. Congratulations. Speaker cox. I am so proud to be joined this evening by so many people who have worked ti
[applause] jew maall right. [applause] as speaker of the house of delegates and president of the joint assembly, its my pleasure to present to you his excellency, the governor of the commonwealth, the honorable terence mcauliffe. [cheers and applause] thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker howell, leader norment, ladies and gentlemen of the virginia General Assembly, thank you for inviting me to speak to you this evening. And to the people of virginia who are with us tonight or watching from home, thank you for the honor of serving you as this commonwealths 72nd governor. [applause] we are joined here this evening by Lieutenant Governor ralph northam. [applause] and attorney general mark herring. [applause] these two virginia leaders have been great partners as we work to build a stronger, more open, and more prosperous virginia. I thank them. And of course, our first lady is with us this evening. Dorothy. Your work expanding access to healthy nutrition, promoting National Service an