MORE GOOD NEWS OUT OF OLD VIRGINNY-- MARK HERRING TAKES A STATE SENATE SEAT FROM THE WINGNUTS
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Maybe Kaine wasn't such a terrible choice to rebut Bush's SOTU address. Moderates seemed to like his approach. But there was more good news out of Virginia than that yesterday. Amy Gardner reports in today's WASHINGTON POST that another Democrat was elected in this increasingly "purple" state yesterday. "Democrat Mark R. Herring, a lawyer and former Loudoun County supervisor, was elected to the state Senate yesterday after a campaign that spoke to the frustration of many residents over unchecked growth and traffic. Herring, 44, defeated Supervisor Mick Staton Jr. (R-Sugarland Run) with 62 percent of the vote to his opponent's 38 percent, according to unofficial results from the 33rd Senate District, which encompasses most Loudoun precincts and a sliver of western Fairfax."
Staton, a garden variety wingnut and corporate cypher, lost because he opposes controls on runaway development (which, of course, is the de rigueur position for all knee-jerk rightists, especially ones who want a career sucking at the teats of Big Business and pigging out at the public trough). He lost every single precinct in what was once safe Republican territory. (Ironically Staton's right-wing father-in-law, Richard Black, was kicked out of office by many of the same voters last November, voters who overwhelmingly voted Tim Kaine into the governor's mansion after he too supported a careful, slow-growth approach to development.)
Gardner surmises that "a demographic shift, first noticed in the November elections, may be under way in Loudoun-- a shift toward the political center. Particularly in the hotly contested eastern precincts, those interviewed who said they were voting for Herring tended to be newcomers to Loudoun, and those who said they were voting Republican tended to be longtime residents. 'I just want somebody who isn't going to roll over on their back when the developers show up waving money in their faces,' said Frances Barrineau, 59, an artist who moved to Ashburn with her husband less than a year ago. 'The government has a right to say, "What about the quality of life?'"
The few voters who did support Staton weren't looking at reality-community concerns like traffic or planned development or quality of life but at the hot button and divisive fake issues and ideological fascism that the Virginia Republican Party has come to embrace over the last decade. Herring will be replacing wingnut Bill Mims, who resigned from the Senate to see what mischief he can cause as Virginia's chief deputy attorney general.
posted by DownWithTyranny @ 2:55 PM
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My pal Willard sent me some info about the horrible father-in-law mentioned in this article. Read through the sickening part; there's a happy ending (unless you're a fascist; then enjoy the sickening part while you can because in the end Evil and Darkness were defeated):
Gay rights opponent faces re-election
Log Cabin calls on Republicans to shun Del. Dick Black
By EARTHA JANE MELZER
Aug. 19, 2005
One of the strongest anti-gay voices in the Virginia Assembly since 1988 has belonged to the delegate from eastern Loudoun County, Republican Dick Black. This year, Black faces what some observers believe is a serious challenge from Democratic candidate David Poisson.
Poisson is a lawyer with a Ph.D. in higher education and a background in business who served as chief of staff and counsel to U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), when he served in the U.S. House.
Black’s Web site states that he is “a principled conservative who is a strong advocate for traditional family values,” and that he “works to protect … faith, family and freedoms.”
Black has nearly three times as much cash on hand as Poisson. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks campaign finance reports, as of June 30, Black’s campaign had raised $305,921 and was one of the top funded in the state.
Poisson and Black won their primary races in June and face each other in the November election.
Black co-authored the Marriage Affirmation Act in 2004, which prohibits legal recognition of same-sex relationships. Earlier this year, Black introduced a bill that would have prevented gay Virginians from becoming adoptive parents, and called as a witness Paul Cameron, a discredited psychologist who claimed that gay parents are more likely to molest their children. The adoption bill did not pass.
Black has also argued for restrictions on birth control; he sponsored bills to classify birth control as abortion and to remove the requirement that couples issued marriage licenses be provided information on family planning and sexually transmitted diseases.
This spring, Black objected to “Offsides” a Stone Bridge High School student play about homophobia and tolerance.
Black was not available to comment for this story.
David Weintraub, president of Equality Loudoun, a county gay rights group, said that Black’s objections to the play ultimately forced Loudoun County Schools to spend 2,000 staff hours rearticulating the school’s theater policy and created an atmosphere of censorship at the school. Weintraub said he believes that Black’s highly publicized actions around the school play have cost him some support from area Republicans.
“Delegate Black will never change his stripes because he is a ‘true believer’ in extreme homophobia,” said Dave Lampo, president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Virginia, a gay partisan group. “He won by a slim margin in his last race, so it’s certainly doable for his Democratic opponent to beat him. We can only hope that enough Republicans are disenchanted by Black’s behavior that they stay home on Election Day.”
‘Extreme’ on social issues
Poisson said he sees a more limited role for representatives on social issues.
“I don’t believe it is the delegate’s role to be judgmental about the constituents,” Poisson said.
Poisson characterized Black’s approach to social issues as “extreme” and said that he would support creating civil unions for gay couples.
“It is the state’s responsibility to provide Virginians with the resources they need to live productive, happy lives,” Poisson said.
Poisson said many unmarried people need to have their relationships recognized by the state. This is not solely a gay issue, Poisson said. Widowed senior citizens, for example, may wish to enter into living arrangements with friends or be able to help each other make medical decisions, he noted.
Last year when Black proposed reinstating the “family rule” that required that the Virginia Housing Development Authority grant special low interest loans only to married couples, Poisson objected in letters to the editor.
“Rather than deny access to VHDA loans, shouldn’t Delegate Black instead be promoting for all Virginians the same dream of home ownership enjoyed by 79.4 percent of those who call Loudoun home?” Poisson wrote in the Loudoun Times-Mirror & Eastern Loudoun Times. “Clearly, Delegate Black’s agenda fails to reflect the mainstream values to which most residents of Loudoun County subscribe.”
“This legislation is emblematic of the legislation he promotes without thinking through the consequences for the people of Virginia,” Poisson said.
Poisson said the 32nd district is the youngest, most affluent and fastest growing district in the state, but prosperity and growth in the area will be harmed by poor transportation planning and increasing commuter times that detract from the quality of life.
“Transportation and education are the top concerns of the people in this district,” Poisson said.
Though Black serves on the transportation and education committees, he has been ineffective because he has spent most of his time focusing on abortion and gay relationships, Poisson said.
Democrats say one-seat gain, close races send message to GOP
By LARRY O'DELL
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
RICHMOND, Va. - Democratic leaders said Wednesday that their third consecutive gain in the House of Delegates sends the majority Republican Party a message that voters want more bipartisan cooperation and less emphasis on the GOP's tax-cutting and socially conservative agenda.
Democrats defeated Del. Dick Black, an outspoken opponent of abortion and gay rights, and came close to knocking off several other conservative Republican incumbents. They also won four open seats in northern Virginia, offsetting GOP gains elsewhere for a net gain of one seat.
An independent backed by Democratic Gov. Mark R. Warner also held a slim lead over Republican Del. Brad Marrs, whose loss would trim the GOP's majority from 60 to 58 in the 100-member House.
"The political dynamic in Virginia may well have changed in this election," House Minority Leader Frank Hall of Richmond said. "What once were considered strong, safe Republican districts have now been brought into question."
He said the results show Democrats can do well in GOP districts when they appeal to "the sensible center" of the political spectrum and talk about the issues that matter most to Virginians, such as education and fiscal responsibility.
Republicans gained their first House majority in 1999 and reached their high-water mark of 64 seats two years later. Democrats gained three seats in 2003, one in a special election last year, and now one this year.
Del. Brian Moran of Alexandria, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said the party has picked up seats in two consecutive election cycles for the first time since 1943.
"I can only expect the right wing of the Republican Caucus has to take a step back, and hopefully they will recognize that extremist policies do not work," Moran said.
House Speaker William J. Howell of Stafford County said the important thing is that Republicans still "have a firm grasp on the House." He said the close margin of many of the races "indicated a very popular governor and perhaps a relatively unpopular president."
Recent polls have shown Warner with a public approval rating of more than 70 percent while President Bush has an approval rating in the low 40s in Virginia.
Black, who lives in Loudoun County, said he believes he was hurt by Bush's troubles and by an ineffective campaign by Republican Jerry Kilgore, who lost the governor's race to Democrat Tim Kaine by a surprisingly wide 6 percentage points.
He said he did not see the loss as a repudiation of his socially conservative agenda.
"I got no adverse feedback from the district on any of the positions I've taken," Black said.
Democrat David E. Poisson, who will succeed Black, said he heard a different message as he campaigned door-to-door in the state's fastest-growing locality, which had a lot of new voters since the 2003 election.
"There was a sense that I derived from talking to voters that there is exhaustion with that constant vilification of groups on the part of certain people, like my opponent," Poisson said.
He said he emphasized education, transportation and jobs in his campaign. "I didn't stray at all into the area of social issues," Poisson said.
Marrs, meanwhile, said he would probably seek a recount if a canvass of election results by local officials showed him losing to independent Katherine Waddell in a district that includes parts of Chesterfield County and Richmond. The unofficial margin Wednesday stood at 44 votes.
Marrs complained that he was "beat by a pack of lies" spread by his opponent and the media.
"I think we did everything we could," he said. "There were a lot of things beyond our control."
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