RICHMOND, Va. (AP) One of busiest days on the Virginia legislatures calendar began under a cloud of suspense today as Gov. Ralph Northam weighed whether he can continue in the job amid the fallout over a racist photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook.
With tension running high, lawmakers began arriving for crossover day when the House and Senate must finish bills to send to the other chamber after days of turmoil set off by the picture that surfaced late last week of someone in blackface next to another person in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe.
Amid a barrage of calls for his resignation from his own party, the 59-year-old Democratic governor gave no public indication of which way he was leaning. He spent Monday in conversations with top advisers about whether he can still govern.
The uncertainty comes at a time when Northams office is in the middle of negotiations with the Republican-controlled legislature over a major tax overhaul and changes to the state budget.
Nearly all of the states Democratic establishment has turned against Northam, as have many of the partys national figures , but no one from his Cabinet has resigned.
The political crisis deepened when the man next in line to be governor, Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, was confronted with an uncorroborated allegation of sexual misconduct first reported by a conservative website. Fairfax denied the allegation Monday and called it a political smear, telling reporters the 2004 encounter with a woman was consensual.
The woman has retained Washington law firm Katz Marshall & Banks and is consulting with it about her next steps, said a person close to the legal team who was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
One of the firms founding partners, Debra Katz, represented Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her decades ago when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh denied the allegation and later was confirmed to the court.
The Associated Press is not reporting the details of the Fairfax accusation because AP has not been able to corroborate it.
Northam, a pediatric neurologist who graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School and came to politics late in life, is one year into his four-year term. If Northam resigns, Fairfax will become the second black governor in Virginia history.
Northam stayed out of sight Monday as he met with his Cabinet and senior staff to hear their assessment of whether it was feasible for him to stay in office, according to a top administration official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Calls from lawmakers for Northams resignation seemed to ease. State Del. Lamont Bagby, head of the Legislative Black Caucus, said Monday that there was little left to say: Im going to let him breathe a little bit, give him space to make the right decision.
Finance Secretary Aubrey Layne said he told Northam the state cannot afford a prolonged period of uncertainty over his future due to factors including the budget and tax negotiations.
One way or the other, it needs to be resolved, Layne said.
The furor over the photo erupted Friday, when Northam first admitted he was in the picture without saying which costume he was wearing, and apologized. But a day later, he denied he was in the photo, while also acknowledging he once put on blackface to imitate Michael Jackson at a dance contest in Texas decades ago.
