In the 38th House of Delegates district Democratic primary between incumbent Bob Hull and challenger Kaye Kory, the choice is clear. Today, I enthusiastically endorse Kaye Kory for Delegate. Here's my reasoning.
First, Kaye and her campaign have been highly attentive, including a prompt response to my questionnaire. In contrast, Bob Hull took a couple of weeks to respond, apparently not having checked his official House of Delegates email account for a while (he claimed he had not seen my emails). If that is any indication regarding the two candidates' approaches to the job of Delegate, Kaye Kory wins hands down. As Kaye herself explains in response to the first question I asked her, "We need a delegate who will be proactive, problem solving, results oriented, responsive to her constituents, and committed to working with other Democrats to make change the 38th district can be proud of." I couldn't agree more.
Second, Kaye has an excellent record on the school board, including leading the fight to rebuild Glasgow Middle School as a "green" school, with solar panels for hot water; motion sensor, high efficiency fluorescent lighting; low flow fixtures for faucets, toilets, urinals and shower heads; etc.
Third, from her website, here's a bit more about Kaye's impressive background:
In addition to 10 years of service on the Fairfax County School Board, Kaye has been an active leader in a diverse range of community organizations including: the Annandale Chamber of Commerce; the Virginia League of Conservation Voters and the NAACP. She has been a sustaining member of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee since 2001.In addition, Kaye served as a VISTA volunteer, as a counselor for troubled youth at "Runaway House" in the District, and much more.
On the issues, there are a few significant differences between Kaye's and Bob's questionnaires. Kaye is a proponent of creating a partnership with local leaders and officials to tackle important district issues like transportation and the budget, while Bob says "there is nothing inherently wrong with the Dillon Rule." Kaye has a detailed, pro-environment agenda, while Bob has a 68% rating from the League of Conservation Voters from 2000 to 2008 (if you go back further, it gets worse). Kaye has pledged not to take money from Dominion Power, while Bob has taken $8,500 since 2000. Most egregiously, Bob Hull had this to say about Dominion Power:
I am certainly not interested in taking money from a company that purposely harms its employees and the environment, but I have not viewed Dominion Virginia Power as that type of a company and I have taken contributions from them. When constituents have contacted me with problems or concerns about electrical service, I have found Dominion to be responsive. I also remember that they went to the EPA and agreed to reduce pollution levels at their generating plants when other utilities were fighting the EPA in court.Ugh, bad answer.
Other problems with Bob Hull: 1) in 2007, he was one of only a handful of Democrats who voted against HB 2422, which would have "[prohibited] smoking in restaurants in the Commonwealth unless a restaurant posts signs stating 'Smoking Permitted' conspicuous to ordinary public view at each public entrance;" 2) he introduced a bill that - as Marc Fisher explained at the time - would have "ban[ned] all athletic activities on every sports field and every swimming pool in the state of Virginia, even apparently including indoor facilities, before 8 in the morning, after 6 in the afternoon, or at any time on Sundays, unless the organizers of the event got written permission from every single homeowner within 65 yards of the facility;" and 3) I've heard, off the record, from several Democratic electeds that Hull is difficult to deal with and isn't particularly helpful in raising money for the Democratic caucus.
In general, it's time for new, energetic, progressive leadership from the 38th House of Delegates district. In short, it's time for Kaye Kory.
