BY JIM NOLAN Richmond Times-Dispatch
Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones is expected to step aside this weekend as chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia.
Sources said Jones, who was appointed chairman by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, will formally step aside at a meeting of the DPVA this weekend in Henrico County.
“There is not any information the mayor is ready to put out,” said Tammy Hawley, a spokeswoman for Jones.
Morgan Finkelstein, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of Virginia, also declined comment, deferring to Jones.
An immediate successor to Jones has not been chosen, according to one Democratic Party source familiar with the pending change.
But Susan Swecker, a longtime state Democratic operative, is said to be among those who could be under consideration for the post, which will play a pivotal role in the upcoming state legislative elections later this year.
Swecker is a former board chairman of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Democrats are seeking to regain control of the Virginia Senate, where they have 19 seats to 21 for Republicans.
And with Virginia firmly established as a pivotal swing state in the 2016 presidential election, McAuliffe will want to have the party ready to maximize the candidacy of its likely nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Swecker was a key backer of Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid before she lost the Democratic nomination to President Barack Obama.
McAuliffe was the chairman of Clinton’s 2008 bid for the Democratic nomination.