House candidate hopeful slams Cline on vote

Madison Heights businessman Jeff Price lifted the curtain on his campaign for the House of Delegates on Monday with a news release criticizing Del. Ben Cline’s vote against an unemployment insurance bill last week.

It was the first time Price, a Democrat who filed candidacy papers in August, has said publicly that he would seek the 24th District seat that Cline, R-Rockbridge, has held since 2002.

“I look forward to a positive campaign focused on the issues,” Cline said.

Price said he still plans to have a formal campaign kickoff on May 8, but he didn’t wait for that event before accusing Cline of choosing party over people with a House vote Wednesday against accepting $125 million in federal stimulus funds for unemployment benefits.

During the General Assembly’s one-day veto session last week, the House of Delegates voted 53-46 to reject a segment of stimulus funds that would have paid benefits to part-time workers.

The vote was mostly along party lines, with just two Republicans from Southside Virginia voting to accept the funds. Cline and Republican leaders said the federal money would run out and lead to a state tax increase in two years.

More taxes would reduce jobs and increase the burden on businesses that are struggling through the recession, Cline said.

“The General Assembly has already voted this year to accept $450 million in stimulus money without similar strings attached,” Cline said. “This money is being used to increase the eligibility period for unemployment assistance by an additional six months.

“Virginia will lead America out of this recession by helping employers to create more and better-paying jobs, not by forcing unfunded mandates and tax hikes on small businesses,” he said.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that Delegate Cline chose to stand with his party instead of the families who are being most affected by this recession,” Price said.

“Over the past year, we have seen our unemployment rates double,” Price said. “By rejecting these amendments, Cline has made it clear he’d rather see our federal tax dollars go to other states.”

Cline, 37, was elected to the House of Delegates in 2002 and three times has defeated opponents by a margin of 15 percent or better. He was unopposed in the 2007 election. Cline is also an assistant prosecutor in Rockingham County.

Price, 30, is making his first bid for public office. He is a director of Virginia Lime Works, a family-run business in Madison Heights.

Price filed as a candidate with the state Board of Elections last summer. “That allowed me to start talking to people” throughout Amherst and Rockbridge counties about issues they’d like him to take up in Richmond, Price said.

“Everybody, from waitresses to small business owners, are worried about jobs and the future of the economy,” he said. “We’re coming up with ideas, but at this point they’re just ideas.”

Price said he thinks 40 percent of voters in the 24th district voters are Republicans and 40 percent are Democrats, and the remaining 20 percent are “independents who tend to lean Republican.”

“It’s a fairly conservative district, and I’m a fairly conservative guy,” Price said. “My family has been here 200 years, and I’ve traveled the country and the world. But there’s no place like home.”

“I think we’ve got a good shot this year,” he said, referring to the November election.

Rockbridge County, most of Amherst County, and part of Augusta County comprise the 24th District.