Virginia Tourism Office to Release New Photo of the Day

A photo released by the Virginia Tourism Department shows the state’s newest monument to the Virginian state’s first African-American governor, Robert F. McDonnell.

McDonnell, who has led the state since 2013, was the first governor of the Commonwealth to be elected by voters in the state.

McDonnell’s statue stands outside the state capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, March 8, 2019.

The statue depicts McDonnell with the inscription, “The only governor in the Commonwealth who did not abuse his office.”

McDonnell’s name has been removed from the statue, and the name of the governor’s son, John McDonnell, is also absent.

In 2017, the state legislature passed a bill that would remove the governor from the Virginia state seal and replace it with the image of Gov.

Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat.

The governor’s image would also replace the governor with a portrait of former President George W. Bush.

A Virginia state senator, Tom Ammiano, sponsored the bill, which passed the House in April 2019.

Ammio told The Virginian-Pilot that McDonnell’s removal was a necessary move to honor the former governor’s legacy and remove any lingering racial bias.

“I think that this was a decision that was made to honor his legacy,” Ammian said.

“This is a very important statue that represents Virginia.”

McDonnell became Virginia’s 43rd governor on Aug. 17, 2019, and was reelected in 2020.

His successor, Lt.

Gov.

Ralph Northam, is expected to seek a third term in 2018.

Northam won the Democratic primary in 2019, beating Republican Karen Handel, the attorney general of Virginia, by more than 20 percentage points.

On Wednesday, McDonnell announced his plans to run for re-election.

In an interview with The Associated Press, McDonnell said he planned to return to his old office after leaving the office in January 2018.

“It was a lot of fun.

I had a blast, I got to meet some great people, I met a lot,” McDonnell said.