You might be one of the people who's saying to themselves "Hmmm, I'd like to vote in this election, but I haven't really looked into any of the candidates." Or maybe you're thinking "Voting doesn't matter anyway." (if you find yourself in this camp, I encourage you to read through to the section below labeled "why wouldn't you vote?"). For those of you registered voters who may feel like you need more information about these candidates, I'm here to help.
Details & Q' & A's
We're about a week out. On June 13th VA holds OPEN primary elections for their gubernatorial candidate.
Your first question might be "what does gubernatorial even mean?" It's just a fancy word meaning "of or relating to a governor."
An open primary election means that you can vote in either the Democratic primary or the Republican party. Donkey or elephant? Donkey or elephant? That's a personal decision for you to contemplate.
Meet The Candidates
The Democrats (A Two-Man Race): Tom Perrielllo & Ralph Northam
Ralph Northam
Dr. Ralph Northam is currently serving as Virginia's Lieutenant Governor (elected in 2014), which means he spends a lot of time with VA's legislators. Before that, he served for six years as a state senator (2008-2014) and served in the Army as a doctor (1984-1992). Dr. Northam has been a practicing pediatric neurologist since leaving the army. He was among the first to declare his candidacy for Governor (back in December 2015). Along with his early declaration to run Northam locked down the vast majority of endorsements from VA Democrats months ago (Governor McCauliffe, Tim Kaine, Mark Warner, three out of four of VA's democratic congressmen....to name a few).
Priorities:
Gun Violence Prevention
An Economy That Works For Everyone
Veterans
Education
Environment
Justice & Equality
Working Together
Some Quotes From the Candidate:
In an interview with WAVY-TV:
“One of the things that we were able to do just after being elected to the Senate, we passed a smoking ban in restaurants in Virginia,” said Northam. “That’s made it a lot healthier for our families, and that’s something I’m very proud of.”
“We don’t always agree, but the Virginia way is to sit down, bring people to the table, agree to disagree and then at the end of the day do what’s in the best interest of the commonwealth of Virginia,” he said. “And that’s what I bring to the commonwealth of Virginia.”
To see a closer look into his policies or to see stories, interviews, and news coverage about Ralph Northam, please see the following links
http://ralphnortham.com/issues/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/5/2/1658218/-Vi...
http://wric.com/2017/05/16/meet-the-candidates-dem...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-opinions-...
http://www.richmond.com/news/ralph-northam-s-ances...
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Tom Perriello was a little late to the party. He declared his run for governor just a few months ago. At the time, Northam had built a strong, seemingly overwhelming, collection of support. In just those short few months, this primary race has turned into a neck & neck contest. Perriello is an attorney, graduating from Yale University. He served one term as a US Congressman before losing reelection in 2010. After that time, he was an international diplomat in the Obama administration. While Northam has the support of the vast majority of VA Democrats, Perriello has locked up the endorsements of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and seemingly the entire Obama-era White House staff.
Priorities:
Supporting Immigrant Rights
Expanding Education Opportunities
Gun Violence Prevention
Growing an Inclusive Economy
Improving Access to Healthcare
Some Quotes From the Candidate:
“No matter where I go across the Commonwealth, people of every race in every region want opportunity. They want dignity. They want a system that treats them fairly. That’s what I’ve fought for my entire life and what I’ll fight for as governor.”
“Virginia needs a bold agenda that supports working families and the communities that have been left behind by failed ‘trickle down’ economics. The next governor must stand for an agenda that improves lives in a big way – policies like two years of debt-free community college or vocational training, universal pre-K, paid family and medical leave, and raising the minimum wage to a living wage of $15 an hour. My campaign was the first to put forward this bold agenda and the only campaign to present a serious tax reform plan to pay for it.”
To see a closer look into his policies or to see stories, interviews, and news coverage about Tom Perriello, please see the following links
https://www.tomforvirginia.com/issue/
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/04/politics/tom-perriel...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/full-intervie...
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The Republicans
Ed Gillespie is the Republican front-runner. Gillespie was the 61st chairman of the Republic National Committee (2006-2007), he was a White House advisor under Geroge W. Bush, and was the chairman of former Governor Bob McDonnell's gubernatorial campaign. Gillespie ran for political office for the first time in 2014 against Senator Mark Warner and lost.
Priorities:
Cutting Taxes for ALL Virginians
FAITH in our Government for ALL Virginians
Effectiveness & Efficiency: A Government that Works for ALL Virginians
Removing Barriers to Job Creation for ALL Virginians
Some Quotes From the Candidate:
In an interview w/ the Washington Post:
"I have nine different policy development working groups. Health care is one of them. Each of these policy working groups is co-chaired by a member of our state Senate or our House of Delegates so that I can hit the ground running if I’m elected to get this agenda introduced in our assembly. And we can make health care more affordable and more accessible without expanding the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid in the Commonwealth of Virginia. And we need to take a different approach. We do need to make it more affordable, more accessible. But Medicaid expansion is not the right answer for Virginia, and I think if you look at the experience in other states, people would agree."
"Yeah, I’ve always opposed amnesty for people who have come here illegally. My father came to this country as a boy from Ireland because my grandfather found work in America as a janitor. And my parents — my father and his father, they came here legally through Ellis Island and they played by the rules and we have a lot of Virginians who have come here legally and played by the rules. And we need to respect those rules. You know even with President Bush in the White House, when he was advocating a path to citizenship, as you may know, I opposed that."
To see a closer look into his policies or to see stories, interviews, and news coverage about Ed Gillespie, please see the following links
http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/ed-gillespie...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/full-intervie...
http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/stewart-gill...
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/...
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Corey Stewart is a lawyer, former, is currently serving his fourth term as At-Large Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Prince William County, and was the VA Chairman for Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Stewart is a distant second to Gillespie in the polls. Throughout the campaign Stewart has often been referred to as "Trump's mini-me". He prides himself on being "outspoken" and for "speaking his mind." You get the picture...
Priorities:
Preserve & Protect VA's History
Bring Back Jobs
Crackdown on Illegal Immigration
Protect Second Amendment Rights
"Protecting Life" by Defunding Planned Parenthood
Lowering Taxes
Some Quotes From The Candidate:
“57% of them are adults. In Prince William County, one of these so-called Dreamers was released by the Obama administration and killed a nun. Mr. Trump needs to keep his promise! 63 million people took him at his word when he made the promise to rescind this illegal executive order,” said Stewart in the interview. “We have to establish law and order in our immigration system. What's the point of even reforming the law, if we're not going to enforce it."
"We’ve been leaving Virginia going to North Carolina and other states, and what I want to do about that is push through the biggest tax cut in Virginia’s history. Reduce the top marginal income tax rate in Virginia from 5 – sorry, from 5.75 – percent to 4.75 percent over the course of about a year."
To see a closer look into his policies or to see stories, interviews, and news coverage about Corey Stewart, please see the following links
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/full-intervie...
http://www.coreystewart.com/issues
http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-p...
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Frank Wagner is a longtime VA politician & public servant. Wagner served in the VA House of Delegates (1992-2001) and has been a member of the VA State Senate since 2001. Wagner points to his experience in VA politics as well as being the only candidate for governor who owned a manufacturing business and understands first-hand what overly-burdensome regulations can mean for a business and an economy as two key aspects that separate him from the field. Like Steward, Wagner is far behind Gillespie in the polls, but the polls have been wrong before.
Priorities:
Fighting Against Far Reaching Federal/State Regulations
Job & Workforce Development
Increasing Funding For Transportation
Making Public Colleges, Universities, & Technical Schools More Affordable
To see a closer look into his policies or to see stories, interviews, and news coverage about Frank Wagner, please see the following links
http://www.wagnervagovernor.com
http://wtvr.com/2017/04/05/gubernatorial-candidate...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-poli...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/full-intervie...
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Why Wouldn't You Vote?
For just a moment, imagine a playground. Now, imagine a large jungle gym structure. You are sitting somewhere on this jungle gym, high enough that if you feel it'd hurt. Now let's imagine that you notice some problems with the jungle gym. Maybe you're even thinking that the jungle gym could fall part or fall over. Maybe you're noticing other people who are dangling in danger or stuck in certain parts of this jungle gym. Now, you have some options you could stand up and start talking to the people in charge of maintaing the jungle gym, you could voice your concerns, you could go and help the people who need help, or you could sit down on top of your hands and close your eyes & ears. If you find yourself thinking that you would probably do all of those things EXCEPT sitting silently and idly by...fantastic...make sure you vote on June 13th.
