Brendan Philbin
Brendan Philbin is a Senior Counsel who brings over 15 years of diverse legal advisory and litigation experience to Liberty Justice Center.
(Portsmouth, VA)—Today, on November 4, on behalf of concerned Virginia taxpayers, the Liberty Justice Center formally requested that the Attorney General and the Commonwealth’s Attorney of Portsmouth, Virginia, investigate allegations of illegal electioneering and violation of public trust by a Virginia public school district and state election law violations committed by the Spanberger for Governor Campaign.
On August 8, 2025, at I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth, Democrat candidate for Governor, Abigail Spanberger, hosted a campaign event announcing her “Strengthening Virginia Schools Plan.” The event took place during business hours on the first day teachers returned to work for the school year. There were several other candidates in attendance as well, including Ghazala Hashmi, running for Lieutenant Governor; Jay Jones, running for Attorney General; Rodney Nickens, Jr., candidate for House District 90; Bonita Anthony, candidate for House District 92; Nadarius Clark candidate for House District 84; and Dave Rosado, candidate for Chesapeake Sheriff.
Email threads between Ms. Spanberger’s campaign, Portsmouth School District officials (including Chief Operating Officer Jerry Simmons), and the school’s principal, show coordinated efforts to encourage teacher attendance despite being a workday and to secure “one additional room where we can film content before and after the event.” School paperwork indicates the school library was booked for “Spanberger for Governor,” and photos show members of school district personnel posing with Ms. Spanberger and other candidates behind a podium reading “Parents and Education: Spanberger.” Documents obtained from the District show they allowed the campaign to use the school library free of charge. However, the Spanberger campaign failed to report its gratuitous use of the school in its October 15, 2025 Virginia State Board of Elections campaign finance report.
In its letters, the Liberty Justice Center calls for two parallel investigations. First, they push for an investigation into election law violations. The letters assert that Portsmouth Public Schools’ provision of school facilities and related services for the campaign event constitutes an in-kind contribution valued at more than $100. Under Virginia law, in-kind contributions must be itemized and reported by the receiving campaign. According to the campaign’s report covering July 1 through August 31, 2025, no such in-kind contribution from the District was disclosed. Because the Attorney General and Commonwealth Attorney have jurisdiction over election law violations, LJC urges both authorities to investigate the matter.
Additionally, LJC calls for a criminal investigation into Portsmouth School District personnel’s misuse of public assets. The letter to the Commonwealth’s Attorney alleges that District personnel misused public assets—namely school facilities, staff time, and taxpayer-funded labor—a potential felony in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a crime in Virginia to permit the use of public assets, like public schools, for purposes unrelated to their normal use or other legitimate government interest. If the value of such use exceeds $1,000 in any 12-month period, it is a felony. The letters allege that the value given to the Spanberger campaign includes the rental value of the library and classroom spaces and the public salaries of teachers who were encouraged to attend during their workday.
“The Portsmouth School District should use its facilities and teachers to educate students, not provide free resources and crowds to a partisan political campaign,” said Brendan Philbin, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. “The Portsmouth residents deserve to have their tax dollars spent on education, not handouts to gubernatorial candidates. What the District administrators did is unconstitutional, and very likely, criminal.”
In accordance with the statute, the Liberty Justice Center has requested written confirmation from the Attorney General and the Commonwealth’s Attorney that investigations have been initiated by mid-November.
Additional information regarding the Liberty Justice Center’s letters to the Attorney General and Commonwealth’s Attorney can be found below.
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Brendan Philbin is a Senior Counsel who brings over 15 years of diverse legal advisory and litigation experience to Liberty Justice Center.
Jessica Moeller is a Staff Attorney at Liberty Justice Center. She is committed to protecting the American people’s civil liberties and ensuring the government adheres to the Constitution.
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