Charlottesville radio show host Joe Thomas (WCHV 107.5) was recently honored by Convention of States for his "excellent reporting of the facts, and the history, and what it means to have Article V…worked on in your state."
Joe has decades of journalistic excellence to his credit. But like all of us, he is not immune from mistakes.
Last month, Joe conducted a phone interview with legal scholar and Convention of States proponent Professor Robert Natelson. In an aside, Joe commented that even had the General Assembly passed our Convention of States resolution this year, “I’m sure Governor Northam would have vetoed it.”
Although he said it when Professor Natelson was briefly disconnected, fortunately COS District Captain Nancy Koenig (HD58) was listening and heard Joe’s remark.
Nancy phoned in immediately and was soon on the air with Joe. She pointed out Joe’s mistake, which Professor Natelson then elaborated upon:
"This is a case where the Virginia legislature does not operate as a branch of the state government. It operates as an independent assembly representing the people—no need for the governor to sign…he’s not part of the process of calling a Convention of States."
Through the Constitution, the Framers established the citizenry as political sovereigns over the federal government. State legislators are the representatives closest to those sovereigns, and therefore Article V was written to ensure the amendment process is subject to their unadulterated influence.
Once a state legislature certifies it in the form of a simple resolution, its “application” for a Convention of States is transmitted directly to the U.S. Congress.
It’s an expression of the people’s sovereign will, not a law. There is no need for a governor to sign or otherwise endorse it.
Employ your sovereignty as citizen by signing our petition to let your state legislators know you want them to call a Convention of States.
