COVA Coalition’s monthly membership meeting on Thursday February 12 at Smartmouth Brewing Company in Virginia Beach was packed. An estimated 70 to 75 attendees listened as committee leaders discussed their activities, but the first speaker co-founder Carrie Short introduced was Patricia Bracknell, founder and CEO of the Chamber for Hispanic Progress, an organization based in Norfolk, VA.
“We are an organization that protects and promotes the civil rights of the Latino population in Virginia,” Bracknell said.
The Chamber’s initiatives are designed to address critical needs and foster growth and development in key areas. From helping individuals obtain driver’s licenses and ITINs to offering educational workshops and legal assistance, their programs provide the essential resources and support necessary for personal and professional success.
One of their current issues is finding housing for Latino families, especially those who have lost family members to ICE raids. To offer assistance or make a donation, visit https://www.hispanicprogress.org/.
Following Bracknell’s moving conversation with us, Heidi Dragneff, COVA’s other co-founder introduced COVA’s highest priority in the coming weeks — a yes vote on the redistricting referendum. The statewide special election is now scheduled for April 21 in Virginia.
The question on the ballot is: “Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia’s standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?”
A yes vote counters the coordinated national strategy, driven by Trump, to redraw district maps in Republican-controlled states. Republicans have already moved aggressively in states such as Texas, North Carolina, Missouri, and Ohio to redraw congressional lines ahead of the 2026 elections, forcing Democrats in Virginia to respond.
“Look, Donald Trump knows he’s going to lose the midterms. He knows it,” Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, said Thursday. “That’s why he started this mess in the first place. … These are not ordinary times, and Virginia will not sit on the sidelines while it happens.”
“Listen, I worked hard on One Virginia 2021, so I know that some people are hesitant,” Short said. “But a yes vote is so important. It helps to level the playing field. Plus, it’s temporary.”
Some of the upcoming actions supporting a Yes Vote include distributing stickers and handouts at events, leafletting every door in Democratic communities, a postcard campaign, poll greeters, town halls, and displaying messages on overpasses by the Visibility Brigade.
The chair of COVA’s Protest and Rallies Committee is Pete Woodhead. He’s also head of the Visibility Brigade. He reported that the Brigade is continuing events on bridges and overpasses over I-264. Their most recent action occurred Feb. 11 on the Cleveland Street Bridge with the message: KIGGANS IS MIA. They displayed this same message at the meeting. They are also conducting a weekly protest rally from 7:30-10 am every Wednesday morning at the intersection of Virginia Beach Blvd. and Independence Blvd. in Virginia Beach.
Their next major event is NO KINGS III, scheduled for March 28. There will be three actions in our area: one in Chesapeake from 10 am to 12 pm, one in Norfolk from 11 am to 1 pm, and ours in Virginia Beach from 1-3 pm. They do need volunteers to serve as safety marshals and provide medical first aid.
Alison Carlsmith is the chair of COVA’s Postcard Committee. She reported that her volunteers mailed about 21,000 postcards in 2025, helping secure the blue victory in Virginia.
“A lot of people can’t do the walking or standing required for protests or canvassing, so gathering with other volunteers and writing postcards is one way they can make a difference,” Carlsmith said. “Although, for some, our postcard events have become like a gateway drug leading them to now attend protests and rallies.”
So far in 2026, the Postcard Committee has mailed 1,500, and another 1,000 are scheduled to go out on April 2. To get involved, check out our Action Connection page on this website.