Va. Democrat Threatens to Quit Party Over Appointment

RICHMOND, Feb. 22 -- A former state delegate threatened to leave the Democratic Party this week because of a dispute over who should fill a vacancy on the powerful State Corporation Commission.

In an e-mail, former delegate Barnie K. Day of Patrick County called Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) "gutless" because Saslaw and other Senate Democrats might give up on appointing a Democrat to the three-member commission.

The Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate have been in a stalemate for weeks over who should join the commission, which has oversight of various industries, including utilities, insurance, state-chartered financial institutions, securities, retail franchising and railroads.

Some Democrats initially favored appointing Day, who served in the House from 1997 to 2001. But House Republicans were leaning toward Bernie McNamee, a lawyer and lobbyist from Richmond.

In an effort to break the deadlock, House Republicans and Senate Democrats are considering a consensus candidate, Catherine C. Hammond, a Circuit Court judge in Henrico County, in suburban Richmond.

Hammond was appointed to the court in May 1999 by then-Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R), a big selling point with House Republicans. And if she leaves the bench to join the commission, Sen. A. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) could play a key role in naming her replacement because he represents parts of Henrico.

McEachin, who is black, helped fashion the compromise and would probably push to appoint an African American to the bench, said a source involved in the negotiations.

McEachin declined to comment.

When Day found out about the deal Wednesday, he sent an e-mail to Saslaw and McEachin, which he copied to 18 other Democratic senators.

"You're gutless . . . " Day wrote in the e-mail, which was provided to The Washington Post by one of the recipients. "Trade me for a Gilmore-appointed judge? Pick up a black judge in Henrico? . . . I refuse to be a part of it. I withdraw and I resign from the Democratic Party of Virginia."

Day went on to say, "Only decorum prevents me from telling you what I really think."

Day sent another e-mail the next morning to all 21 Democrats in the Senate.