Afternoon Read: Chap Petersen Will Not Run for Virginia Governor

Blue Virginia is reporting that Democratic State Sen. Chap Petersen will not run for governor as was previously believed.

“I also understand that Chap had actually started the process to run statewide in 2013, had been lining up donors (including, from what I hear, some heavy hitters). Then, suddenly (and sadly), Chap's dad passed away, and understandably Chap lost interest in a statewide run for office in 2013 (including everything he'd have to do in 2012, aka "now," to run and win).”
This means that Terry McAuliffe will be the likely Democratic nominee for governor in 2013, unless Sen. Mark Warner decides to unexpectedly jumps in the race.
 
* Harry Thomas Jr. will soon be in jail, but the question of how much money he owes the city still remains.
 
The Washington Post reports that he will be paying either $353,500 or $446,000—a discrepancy that reflects a dispute over how much he should be responsible for paying back.
 
He pleaded guilt to embezzling $353,500 from the District into his own bank account and siphoned an additional $92,500 to fund an inaugural ball in 2009.
 
In a 14-page argument filed Thursday, Thomas’ lawyers argued that he should pay $353,000—the amount they had first agreed for him to pay in the plea agreement, according to The Post.
 
But a judge had previously said that the larger sum might be more appropriate. 
 
The U.S. District Judge said he would rule on the restitution fee by Aug. 1, according to The Post.
 
* Delegate Bob Marshall isn’t staying quiet after the controversial, yet successful, campaign he headed to make sure an openly gay man was rejected for a judicial nomination.
 
In a CNN interview Thursday, Marshall said that “sodomy is not a civil right.”
 
According to the RTD, Marshall said he did not lobby against Tracy Thorne Begland because he is because, but because he was an “activist” who "displayed a pattern of behavior inconsistent with what we have come to expect in Virginia judges."
 
* Gov. Martin O’Malley is booked at the “special guest” at the New Hampshire Democratic Party Convention on June 2 in Manchester, a move that will likely only heighten speculation about his 2016 presidential ambitions, according to The Washington Post.
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