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Follow us on TwitterEndorsed: Putney, Cline and Valentine
Published: October 25, 2009
Voters in the 23rd District are fortunate to have two qualified candidates to choose from: Shannon Valentine and Scott Garrett.
Republican Scott Garrett has a long, distinguished record of productive public service: a small-businessman and doctor, community volunteer and member of the Lynchburg City Council. The News & Advance has been, and will continue to be, a supporter of his in Central Virginia.
Del. Valentine’s extensive Richmond experience, seniority in the General Assembly and lack of a capital learning curve are invaluable assets to Central Virginia.
The News & Advance editorial board believes Del. Valentine’s record over the past four years in office makes her more than worthy of re-election. We lend our endorsement to her for a third term in the General Assembly.
Because of his potential for future contributions, we hope Garrett stays involved in civic affairs for many years to come, but the campaign he ran against Del. Valentine was painful to observe. It simply was not the Scott Garrett the people of Central Virginia have known for years.
Valentine’s core values synch nicely with ours and with the district’s.
On business issues, economic development, education and transportation, she has a solid record of accomplishment that makes her a valued leader in the state capital.
* She is a strong supporter of the small business community, earning the endorsement of one of the nation’s premier business advocacy groups, the National Federation of Independent Businesses. She understands the challenges of small-businessowners to do right by their employees and the struggles many face daily to stay in operation.
She was one of the main proponents of legislation in the General Assembly to allow the smallest of small businesses to offer bare-bones health insurance packages to their employees. As a delegate, she’s also championed numerous incentive programs targeted to small businesses in the commonwealth.
* She is unequivocal in her support of Virginia’s right-to-work law.
Valentine quite correctly sees the commonwealth’s right-to-work law as one of the most important economic development tools, and she has been adamant in her support of the law.
No individual in the commonwealth can be forced to join a workplace union in order to hold a job. No business or workforce can have a union foisted upon them by fiat, thanks to backing by any state or federal law.
Valentine knows how important this issue to the business community and has worked to protect the Virginia’s right-to-work law from any possible encroachment by Congress, such as the infamous “card-check” legislation. She will continue to do so.
* On transportation issues, Shannon Valentine has not only “talked the talk,” but she has actually delivered.
One of the most important successes of her time in office has been the addition of a new Amtrak line that begins in Lynchburg and connects Central Virginia directly to the nation’s economically powerful Northeast Corridor.
Valentine is well aware of the challenge the state confronts to stay ahead of the highway curve. Virginia’s highways currently are in need of at least $1 billion a year just to meet regular maintenance needs, and that doesn’t even take into consideration the new construction needs of regions such as Northern Virginia and Tidewater.
She has demonstrated a willingness to explore all options to address this critical economic need, something desperately needed in Richmond.
On a host of other issues, Valentine has been an effective representative in Richmond: more than $30 million in state money for Lynchburg’s combined sewer overflow project, protection of Central Virginia Training Center and its residents and working to lighten the tax burdens on the most vulnerable of Virginia’s families.
Both Valentine and Garrett are good people who have much to contribute to Central Virginia and the commonwealth. On Nov. 3, there will be no losers on the field, only winners all around.
* * *
Two other local delegates also face opposition this November, albeit much less spirited than in the 23rd District: Dels. Lacey Putney, I-Bedford, in the 19th District and Ben Cline, R-Amherst, in the 24th District.
* Lacey Putney is Central Virginia’s most powerful voice in the state capital, bar none. He’s been a member of the Assembly since 1962 and serves as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and as a budget conferee.
As the longest-serving legislator in the history of the commonwealth, he knows state government inside and out, making him an invaluable asset to this part of Virginia and all its residents.
The News & Advance strongly and enthusiastically endorses Putney for a new term in the House.
* Ben Cline has been a member of the House for more than seven years, representing a complex district that stretches from Lexington to Amherst County.
He has been an able, hardworking, dilligent legislator, a legislator who believes that being there for his constituents to make government work is as important as a long list of legislation introduced and passed.
As such, he’s a valued member of the Central Virginia delegation, and The News & Advance urges his re-election in November.
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Reader Reactions
I have noticed a trend in the Valentine-Garrett race. It seems that the old Lynchburg (Rivermont/Boonsboro) establishment is supporting Valentine in spite of her liberal voting record and beliefs. Ken White, Elliott Schewel, Joan Jones, the News Advance, Preston Bryant, and Randy Nelson are a few examples of Valentine supporters. It makes me suspicious when all the elitists support the same candidate even if they are supporting conservatives in statewide elections. I think certain elites are desperate to hold on to power in this city and Garrett is a threat to them all.
2dogs,
His name really is “fair-and-balanced-view”. Rings a bell?
Question to the News and Advance RE your political endorsements - If Valentine’s core values synch nicely with yours and with the district’s, how then can you explain endorsing Ben Cline and Lacey Putney? And are you planning to endorse Bob McDonnell for Governor? If so, is it because his core values are in synch with Valentine’s?
Interesting. The N&A is clearly one of the most conservative newspapers in Virginia and is owned by Media General, a very conservative company. In the last election cycle, they endorsed McCain and Goode. Prior to that, they endorsed at least 90% Republican candidates. Valentine receiving even a relatively tepid endorsement is fairly significant.
Many have called the N&A “liberal” due to the number of Valentine support letters, many coming from Republicans. I find that humorous as any look at the N&A’s record completely debunks the idea. Could it be that the majority of the letters to the N&A could have actually been in support of Valentine?
Fairview…your name is a bit misleading by the comments you made.
Valentine did not recommend tax increases in the FREE questionnaire, she indicated potential sources of dedicated funding for transportation. Also, from the questionnaire, she indicated that structural changes would occur to make funding possible.
Also, please note the prominent Republicans are also noting the need for increased transportation funding. Bob McDonnell calls for $1.4 billion plus. How to make the funding happen is the question.
I disagree wholeheartedly on the “semantics” game. As I’ve pointed out before, 2006, when the $1 billion in transportation funding, was well before the current financial crisis occurred. Every legislator made adjustments due to the nature of the crisis.
Valentine wasn’t tax and spend even in 2006. She was looking to increase transportation funding to meet a huge and well documented need. When the financial crisis occurred, she adjusted accordingly. Good legislation. Unfortunately, a financial crisis does not make the transportation issue go away. It remains and will haunt any business initiatives in this state until effectively dealt with.
Voting for the abusers fee bill is hardly an issue. Legislators make mistakes and who could know except in hindsight. To the credit of all concerned, the abusers fee was quickly removed. To say that it was derided and we should have known is disingenuous. All bills have criticism. No one knows the outcome until processed.
Valentine is quite different, refusing to campaign negatively and calling attention to Garrett’s continued misleading statements, even called out by the N&A, one of the most conservative newspapers in the state. Hardly semantics.
Valentine has had a great deal to do with much funding brought to Central Virginia. Scott Garrett can make few claims to valuable policy or legislation while on City Council. He has failed to follow through on his statements of support to at least one local organization.
The N&A’s opinions are improving, but still need some work.
Vote: Putney, Cline, GARRETT, McDonnell, Bolling, Cucinnelli on November 3rd.
Many in Lynchburg have reacted to the 23rd House of Delegates campaign as if they have never seen a political campaign before or that they have a naive image of how political campaigns should be presented. The reaction of Valentine and her supporters to this campaign has been illuminating. Are the near-hysterical reactions to common political campaign methods unusual or is this simply a carefully managed effort to motivate Valentine’s supporters?
Mark Warner calls Valentine a “good Democrat”, a label she has taken great efforts to distance herself from. Garrett has the audacity to remind people that she is a mainstream Democrat, a loyal member of the Democratic caucus, and he stated that Valentine has wanted to raise taxes. In the political history of America has any such outrage ever occurred before?
Valentine has said the brochures “do not tell the truth”. Instead of clarifying what “the truth” is she skillfully plays semantic games, hides behind sound bites of others, or changes the subject. The average citizen does not have the time to wade through the history of her legislative
efforts, how our cumbersome legislative process works, or the complicated issues being talked about.
A brief summary of the facts would be a great service to the community. Since she hasn’t done this I will provide one -
For years she has publicly advocated for a billion dollar a year increase in taxes to pay for “unmet transportation needs”.
The tax increase plans she advocated for are part of the public record, one submitted by Governor Kaine, one submitted by the Virginia Senate.
The tax increases she recommended in the FREE survey were the crux of the plans submitted by Kaine and the Senate.
The ONLY reason she did not vote for either of them is that the House Leadership did not allow them to be voted on.
She did vote for HB 3202 - the “abuser fees” tax increase bill that including funding for transportation, a bill she and many others publicly derided before and after voting for it. Due to it’s impracticality HB 3202 was repealed soon after it enacted.
For further clarification see my comment in the Letters to the Editor section of 10-24-09.
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