Washington Post Delegate Endorsements

Well, you win some and you lose some. With regard to the Washington Post's delegate endorsements, I agree with two and disagree with two. Here's my reaction, district by district.

35th District: Citing Mark Keam's "compelling life story" and "impressive resume," the Post concludes that "Mark Keam deserves to be the nominee" to replace Del. Steve Shannon, who is running for Attorney General. I strongly agree with this one, having endorsed Mark Keam myself. Excellent choice by the Washington Post on this one - Go Mark!

38th District: The Post gives the slightest edge to Bob Hull over Kaye Kory (actually, they all but admit it's a tie between the two), who I support, based on Hull's "experience." The problem with that "experience," which the Post doesn't note, is that Hull is not well liked by his Democratic colleagues in Richmond (actually, from the ones I've spoken with, that's an understatement). In addition, Hull has some questionable votes and views (e.g., that Dominion "Global Warming Starts Here" Virginia Power is a responsible, responsive company!). As to Kaye supposedly not having "a clear vision of what she would do in Richmond," that's utterly ridiculous. On all of those points, see my endorsement writeup and you'll understand what I mean. Go Kaye!

47th District: This one is the Post's biggest mistake, with the Post overlooking the two "most liberal candidates" in the race, Miles Grant (who I support) and Adam Parkhomenko, both because they "lack legislative experience" in Richmond. What the Post overlooks is the fact that the candidate they end up endorsing, Patrick Hope, has no legislative experience in Richmond either and will also "face a steep learning curve." In fact, the only 47th district candidate the Post cites as having Richmond experience is Alan Howze, yet they don't endorse him.

The bottom line here is that the Post doesn't really seem to understand the candidates in this race, probably hasn't had a reporter at any of the debates or forums (I've attended three of those so far and have followed this race very closely), and most likely just went with the candidate supported by elected officials they know and like (e.g., Mary Margaret Whipple). In sum, if you're an undecided voter in the 47th district, the Post endorsement is completely unhelpful in making up your mind. Instead, I urge you to read their interviews online (here is the one I did with Miles), to check out their websites, to read their literature, and to watch the videos I've taken of their performances at debates. Then, you can make an informed choice, not just go with the Post's muddled "reasoning." Oh, and GO MILES!!!

52nd District: The Post endorses Luke Torian over Mike Hodge in this race for Jeff Frederick's vacated seat (Frederick is retiring). Although both Torian and Hodge are impressive people, everything I've heard is that Torian is the strongest candidate to win in November (and also will win the primary easily). The fact is, as the Post writes, either Torian or Hodge "would be a major upgrade from Mr. Frederick." In the end, I don't feel strongly about this primary, largely because I haven't focused on it or spoken with the candidates, but I have no problem with the Post's endorsement of Torian.

P.S. By the way, in 2005, the Post favored Jim Lay, a former Republican (the Post loves "moderate" Republicans!) and possibly Libby Garvey over David Englin (who they dissed as a "novice") in the 45th House of Delegates disrict primary. We can all see how that one worked out. Also, I'd just point out that the major 2008 Democratic presidential candidate with the least experience in Washington, DC was probably Barack Obama. Certainly, Hillary Clinton had more, as did Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, and John Edwards. We can see how that one worked out as well! :)

47th House of Delegates Debate: Photos and Highlights

Prior to the Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC) debate tonight in the 47th House of Delegates district, I took a photo (click to "embiggen") of the 5 candidates in the race to succeed Del. Al Eisenberg. From left to right, they are: Patrick Hope, Miles Grant, Andres Tobar, Adam Parkhomenko, and Alan Howze.

I mainly concentrated on video, which should be available soon, but for a pretty good photo of Adam Parkhomenko speaking, click here. For one of Alan Howze, click here.

I'd say there were about 150-200 people in attendance tonight, potentially indicative of a large turnout on June 9. I talked to a bunch of people after the debate, and the strong - nearly unanimous - consensus seemed to be that Miles Grant, Alan Howze and Patrick Hope (not necessarily in that order) did very well tonight. I tend to agree, but hopefully you'll be able to judge for yourself from the video as soon as it's uploaded...

UPDATE: Del. Adam Ebbin tweeted the debate. Also, see Brian Devine's tweets.

UPDATE #2: While I'm waiting for the videos to upload, here are a few comments made tonight that caught my attention.



*Alan Howze said his political role model is Mark Warner. Patrick Hope mentioned Bob Kerrey and Hubert Humphrey. Miles Grant pointed to Henry Waxman and Paul Wellstone. Adam Parkhomenko said Hillary Clinton. Andres Tobar named a number of people, including Walter Tejada and Emma Violand-Sanchez.

*Alan Howze cited electric power decoupling in California as an example of something another state has done well. Howze said we need to turn Dominion Power from an adversarial relationship to one where they're playing a constructive role.

*Patrick Hope pointed to a success story with health care in North Carolina, citing $260 million per year in savings on Medicaid expenditures by spending $10 million.

*Andres Tobar said that drivers licenses are a public safety issue, not an immigration issue.

*Alan Howze said coal is the "wrong approach" and emphasized the need to reduce power demand by providing energy efficiency incentives for homeowners and businesses. Patrick Hope said that coal is our past and our present but it does NOT have to be our future. Hope added that we need mandatory renewable portfolio standards, and we need to be a world leader on alternative energy. Andres Tobar said we get half our energy from coal, so we can't move away from it right away.



*Patrick Hope gave a strong answer to a question on women's issues, noting that he's a father of three girls and wants them to have the same opportunities that he's had. Hope says he would be a leader in this area.

*Andres Tobar noted that Arlington has many dynamic, elected women on the school board, county board and in the State Senate. He joked that he's delighted they "gave us guys a chance here" to run for House of Delegates.

*Miles Grant said he was raised to fight for women's rights; he's even got a photo of him when he was a little boy wearing an "ERA Yes!" t-shirt at a rally with his mother. He said he strongly supports a woman's right to choose, and noted with horror that there's a pharmacy in Leesburg that's refusing to fill birth control prescriptions. "We need to take Arlington values to Richmond."

*Adam Parkhomenko pointed to his 6 years working for Hillary Clinton, plus the support of State Sen. Patsy Ticer and Alida Black - as evidence of his commitment to women's issues.

*Alan Howze related that his mother was the victim of sexual discrimination on her job, and said that we need to strengthen workplace protections for women.

*Miles Grant said that universal health care coverage has to be the goal, and that we need to rally people in Arlington and around the state behind national health care.

*Alan Howze called for expansion of electronic medical records, SCHIP, and primary care coverage.

*Patrick Hope stressed the importance of expanding Medicaid eligibility, making it strictly income based. He disputed Miles Grant, arguing that Massachusetts is NOT the model because there's no cost containment.

*Adam Parkhomenko argued that we need a full-time delegate, but none of the other candidates agreed with him. Patrick Hope said that some day, Parkhomenko will settle down, buy a house, and his life will change so that he can't afford to be a full-time delegate. Hope and the other candidates disputed Parkhomenko and said that the position of delegate is designed to be a part-time citizen legislator position. They also emphasized the value of experience coming from working in their "day jobs"

UPDATE: Here's video of Miles Grant talking about the Massachusetts health care situation.

47th District Debate Tonight

Tonight, from 7 to 9 pm at the NRECA Building in Arlington (a couple of blocks from Ballston Metro), the Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC) is holding a 47th House of Delegates district candidates forum (aka, "debate"). The forum/debate will be moderated by ACDC Chair Peter Rousselot, with written questions from the audience and also the chance for each candidate to pose a question to the other candidates. The candidates for this seat are Miles Grant, Patrick Hope, Alan Howze, Adam Parkhomenko, and Andres Tobar. The winner of the Democratic primary on June 9 is almost certain to be the next delegate from this solid-blue district, replacing Al Eisenberg, who is retiring.

P.S. Miles Grant's letter to Arlington activists is in the comments section.