Again, Anti has not endorsed candidates.  However, we do acknowledge the endorsements of other organiztions.  The local paper, the News and Messenger has endorsed Delegate Jackson Miller to continue as the delegate to the 50th state district.  Delegate Miller has been the subject of posts here on Anti in the past for his town meetings and for receiving the VEA and PWEA endorsements for his efforts to return funding to Virginia public schools. 

Here is the endorsement he earned from the News and Messenger:

In the 50th District, incumbent Republican Jackson Miller is facing off against Democrat Jeanette Rishell for the third time.

 

Although Rishell has become a better candidate with each campaign, the third time is not the charm.

Rishell shows a much better grasp of the issues and the details of legislation; however, she still has not demonstrated knowledge that approaches the level of Miller’s.

Also, she shows a level of ambiguity that is unsettling in a potential representative.

Seeming contradictions regarding her stance on stimulus money and on “Right-to-Work” laws make us wonder if she acts out of political expediency or in willful ignorance.

She says that she is for both “Right-to-work” laws and collective bargaining for public employees, and although the two may not be mutually exclusive, they can at least be mutually antagonistic; to
imagine that both can coexist comfortably in Virginia is magical thinking.

On stimulus, Rishell seems to think that the state can take money to expand unemployment benefits without making that expansion permanent, despite the fact that the majority in the House voted
against the money because they did not believe that to be true.

Part of the deal if the state took the money was that the expansion would continue after the federal money ran out. Perhaps it would be possible for the state to go back on that deal, but we don’t think
that is an honorable or honest thing to do.

In his time in the General Assembly, Miller has shown himself to be knowledgeable, proactive, extremely well prepared and honest.

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While we have not endorsed candidates in local elections, some of the endorsements have been noteworthy.  The News and Messenger has endorsed newcomer John Bell for delegate of the 13th state district.  John Bell is resident of South Riding which is a newer, more progressive section of Loudoun County, right over the Fairfax County line.  The area tends to vote Democrat.  Bell is interested in transportation, education,the economy and things that affect people’s daily lives.  

We thought that endorsement article should be reprinted in  its entirety since most challengers to the 13th have been local.  Additonally, most of Gainesville and Haymarket include the 13th:

ENDORSEMENT: Lend your support to John Bell in the 13th

Our View
Published: October 22, 2009

In the 13th District, it is time for a change.

For more than 18 years, Republican Del. Bob Marshall has served parts of Prince William and Loudon counties, and he has done so honorably.We ask that you give your vote to Democrat John Bell in the 13th District.

We have great respect for his intelligence and passion.

For example, Marshall defended Virginia against unconstitutional taxes and fees.

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority would have had the power to collect taxes and fees from Virginia residents, yet none of its members were to be elected directly to their posts by the electorate. Marshall’s case went to the Virginia Supreme Court, and the revenue-generating scheme was found unconstitutional in 2008.

Marshall was also a stalwart defender of families with autism this past session, and for that he deserves admiration.

However, his antagonistic approach to legislating in general has restricted his influence in the House. He has even been denied at least one committee chairmanship because of his behavior. As the 18th
highest-ranking member in the House, he should be able to wield the power that comes from seniority. But his behavior has drained whatever prestige time has given him.

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Friday’s News and Messenger reports that about 1400 people took part in the Miller Tele-town Meeting that we reported last week. The meeting got over all excellent approval ratings, especially from the delegate himself:

He [Miller] was pleased at the results.

“I enjoyed doing it. I got a great response form (sic) the community. I’ve been getting e-mails and calls since from people saying, ‘ This is a great idea. I had no idea what you do in Richmond,'” Miller said.

People also like being involved, he said.
“It allows people to actually participate like they were at a town hall meeting,” Miller said.
To get the giant telephone conference call going, Miller sent out automated calls to a list of registered voters telling them that he was about to hold the tele-town-hall meeting.
People who were interested stayed on the line.

Miller said the telephonic forum gives him a rare chance to get in touch with large numbers of his constituents, and those numbers far surpass what a regular, in-person, town hall style meeting would draw.

“The best I’ve had is probably 15 or 20,” Miller said of the regular meetings he’s held.

Miller said it’s hard to get his message out in the Washington area, where national news dominates.
“We’re right under the shadow of the federal government,” Miller said. “When you come from our area, it’s so hard to communicate what’s going on at the state level.”

The telephone meetings get around that and go directly to the voters, Miller said.
“It’s a good way for me to reach out to my constituents to let them know what’s going on in Richmond,” he said.

Miller said illegal immigration, tobacco, smoking in restaurants, education, insurance, health care and gun control were among the topics people raised during his recent tele-town-hall meeting, which lasted slightly more than an hour.

Still, Miller doesn’t think that telephone calls, no matter how many he does at one time, can ever take the place of face-to-face contact with constituents.

 

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