Applying My 8 Criteria to the 8th CD Candidates: Lavern Chatman

This past Saturday, I listed my 8 criteria for choosing the Democratic nominee in the 8th CD race. How do these criteria apply to specific candidates? I started with former Virginia Lt. Governor Don Beyer, continued with Del. Mark Sickles, Del. Charniele Herring, and Bruce Shuttleworth. I now turn to former NOVA Urban League CEO Lavern Chatman. 1. The next Representative from the 8th CD should be a strong, rock-solid progressive. Chatman has never held elective office, so it's a bit hard to judge. However, she did serve as President and CEO of the Northern Virginia Urban League (NOVAUL) from 2004 to 2011, where she focused on "addressing issues of youth empowerment, financial literacy, affordable housing, closing the education achievement gap, and social justice." Those are all important progressive issues, and I look forward to hearing a lot more from Lavern Chatman on a wide range of additional issues (e.g., foreign affairs, LGBT equality, women's health and reproductive freedom, environmental and energy issues, civil liberties...) as this campaign proceeds. For now, I'm going to give Chatman an "incomplete" on this one, although the areas she was involved with certainly indicate strong progressive values. 2. I want to see a tenacious, indefatigable FIGHTER for progressive values. Ditto to item #1. I'd add that Chatman has donated nearly $9,000 over the years to Virginia candidates, all Democrats with the one exception of $250 to Republican (although she ran as an "Independent") Alicia Hughes for Alexandria City Council. For a bit more on the, er, "interesting" Hughes, see here and here. I'd be very interested to hear why Chatman donated to her. 3. We need a Representative who will fight for the 8th CD. I have basically no way at the moment of judging Chatman on this criterion, so I'll leave it as an "incomplete" for now. 4. We're going to be losing some big-time seniority and need to build it back up. Lavern graduated from college in 1979, so I presume she's in her mid 50s. That should give her a while to build up seniority. 5. We want, need, and deserve a Representative who has the highest ethical standards and who makes us proud every day. I have no knowledge of any ethical concerns regarding Lavern Chatman. I look forward to learning more about her. 6. A superb, impressive track record of accomplishment over the years. In 2009, she won the National Urban League Woman of Power Award for distinguished leadership. In addition to her work at the Urban League, she "served on the Board of Directors for Archbishop Carroll High School, Washington, D.C.; The Campagna Center, Alexandria, VA; Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, INOVA Alexandria Hospital, The Community Foundation of Northern Virginia, WETA Public Broadcasting, and Chaired the Diversity Council for AARP Virginia." She also "spearheaded a development campaign for this two year project, raising over $300,000 to build, design and create a permanent memorial that tells the story of the domestic slave trade in Alexandria, Virginia." And she "served on The National League of Cities, Council on Youth, Education & Families, the World Bank’s D.C. Community Outreach Grants Committee, and the Cardinals Circle for the Archdiocese of Washington D.C, and is an active member of the Arlington Chapter of Links, Incorporated and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority." Prior to serving with the Urban League in 2004, Chatman was "a marketing representative with the IBM Corporation" (1979-1983), "general manager for a Washington D.C. gospel radio station (WUST-AM)" from 1984 to 1987, "Director of Marketing for Urban Shelters and Health Care Systems" (1988-1993), and "full time-volunteer for various charities and non profit organizations, including America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth" (1994-2004). And she was "a key campaign strategist and fundraiser for Mayor William D. Euille, the first African American elected as Mayor in the city of Alexandria, VA" (that last one's interesting, given that Euille is a candidate for this seat as well). Bottom line: Based on her resume, Chatman has an impressive track record. I'm interested in learning more about her. 7. Obviously, we want someone who will do a great job on "constituent services." I have no specific way to judge this for Lavern Chatman, except to look at her past record of service to the community, which is very strong. 8. I want to see a "heavyweight" in this job -- someone who is a serious policy wonk, someone who really loves diving into the weeds of legislation, someone who can go toe-to-toe with Republicans and Tea Partiers (and conservative and/or corporate Democrats for that matter) in the battle of ideas. I'll have to leave this one as an "incomplete" for now, as I don't know about her ability to go toe-to-toe with Republicans, Tea Partiers, etc, nor do I know if she's a serious policy wonk. I'll be very interested to learn more about her as this campaign proceeds. Overall: From what I've seen, I'd give Chatman high scores (with the exception of the Alicia Hughes contribution), but I'd like to learn a lot more about her. So...for now, I'd give her an "incomplete, but intriguing."

Applying My 8 Criteria to the 8th CD Candidates: Patrick Hope

This past Saturday, I listed my 8 criteria for choosing the Democratic nominee in the 8th CD race. How do these criteria apply to specific candidates? I started with former Virginia Lt. Governor Don Beyer, continued with Del. Mark Sickles, Del. Charniele Herring, Bruce Shuttleworth, Lavern Chatman and Alfonso Lopez. We now turn to Del. Patrick Hope. 1. The next Representative from the 8th CD should be a strong, rock-solid progressive. Patrick Hope has been a member of the House of Delegates since 2010, so he has a voting record of about 4 years now. Here are a few highlights from his Project Vote Smart ratings: *100% from NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia *83% from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce (note that almost everyone seems to get high ratings from this group; no idea why) *100% from Equality Virginia *0% from the far-right-wing Family Foundation of Virginia *100% from the League of Conservation Voters *0% from the NRA *100% from the Virginia AFL-CIO *100% from the Virginia Education Association The bottom line, based on these ratings and on Patrick Hope's votes since 2010, is that he's as close to a rock-solid progressive as you're going to get in this state, or probably any other state. :) Anyway, I give him an "A" on this criterion. 2. I want to see a tenacious, indefatigable FIGHTER for progressive values Patrick Hope has certainly fought for progressive values like LGBT equality (and protection from discrimination), quality/affordable health care for all Virginians, gun safety, women's reproductive freedom, prison reform, and "green buildings." Recently, Del. Hope announced his support "for a proposal recently endorsed by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to replace payday lenders with the U.S. Postal Service." Good stuff all around. The ONLY quibble I have with Del. Hope is that I would have liked to see a lot more emphasis on my #1 priorities: protecting the environment (particularly dealing with climate change), promoting clean energy, and getting us off of dirty energy as fast as possible. 3. We need a Representative who will fight for the 8th CD. Patrick Hope has been a fighter for progressive values, no doubt. The only question is about how effective he's been, but this one's really tough to answer because the Virginia House of Delegates is dominated by right-wing Republicans. This, by the way, applies to all the Democratic members of the General Assembly, including the ones running for the 8th CD nomination. Finally, while I give Patrick Hope credit for co-founding the Progressive Caucus, I'm not sure what that organization has accomplished exactly since it was founded in July 2011. 4. We're going to be losing some big-time seniority and need to build it back up. Patrick Hope is young (41) and certainly would have plenty of time to build up seniority. 5. We want, need, and deserve a Representative who has the highest ethical standards and who makes us proud every day. As far as I'm aware, Patrick Hope is highly ethical and generally is a good guy. 6. A superb, impressive track record of accomplishment over the years. According to Del. Hope's website, he is "a health care attorney with over 13 years experience working for Virginia and has been recognized by numerous organizations including the 2010 Legislator of the Year by both the VA Transit Association and the VA Academy of Family Physicians." He spent "several years working on Capitol Hill for Senator Bob Kerry (D-NE) and Representative Henry B. Gonzalez (D-TX)," then "worked for various health care organizations working to improve access and care for patients," and now "is the Director of Legislative Policy at the American College of Cardiology" as well as "an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health." In addition, Hope "was the founder and first president of the reorganized Buckingham Community Civic Association (2003-2009) and chaired the Arlington County Community Services Board (2005-2008)...was co-chairman, Arlington Implementation Task Force to End Homelessness (2008-2010), and Commissioner for the Arlington County Commission on Aging (2002-2007)." He's a member of "numerous organizations and caucuse: Arlington County Bar Association, Virginia State Bar Association, District of Columbia Bar Association, The ARC of Northern Virginia, CPAAS, NAMI-Arlington, NAMI-Northern Virginia, Friends of Clarendon House, SAARA-Arlington, Equality Virginia, Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance, Arlington Special Olympics, Arlington Committee of 100, Leadership Arlington (2010), and Arlington Kiwanis." Very, very impressive. 7. Obviously, we want someone who will do a great job on "constituent services." Patrick Hope is my delegate, and I've been very happy with his responsiveness. Unlike several candidates for the 8th CD seat, Hope is savvy about communicating via social media, with weekly House of Delegates updates via YouTube and numerous Twitter and Facebook updates. That, to my mind, is crucial in the year 2014, given that the vast majority of 8th CD residents use social media (of one sort or the other) to communicate and gather/share information. 8. I want to see a "heavyweight" in this job -- someone who is a serious policy wonk, someone who really loves diving into the weeds of legislation, someone who can go toe-to-toe with Republicans and Tea Partiers (and conservative and/or corporate Democrats for that matter) in the battle of ideas. From what I've observed, Patrick Hope is mild mannered but certainly not afraid to stand up to the extremist Teapublicans. As for being a policy wonk, I'd definitely say he is on health care, but could probably use a bit more "wonkiness" on a few other areas, particularly energy/environment. I'll be very interested to hear Hope's vision for Congress, as well as his national and international policy ideas, during this campaign. Overall: Patrick Hope is one of the top candidates, from a progressive point of view, for this seat. I say this as someone who supported Miles Grant in the 2009 House of Delegates primary against Patrick Hope, but have come to like and respect Hope a great deal. I give him an overall A-/A grade.

Video: Beyer, Herring, Hope, Shuttleworth Speak to Brigades (2/8/14)

I attended yesterday's Brigades meeting at Neighbors restaurant in Vienna, at which four candidates (Don Beyer, Charniele Herring, Patrick Hope, Bruce Shuttleworth) for the 8th CD Democratic nomination spoke and answered questions. I'm continuing to upload video, and will post more as they become available. For now...enjoy. P.S. As is often the case, I didn't see any "traditional media" outlets at this event, let alone providing full videos of the candidates. Why is that? P.P.S. I also had a chance to speak with Don Beyer for about 15 minutes after his talk, as well as Mark Levine (who I believe will speak at the next Brigades meeting) and folks from the Lavern Chatman campaign. I didn't see any signs of folks from camps Sickles (UPDATE: I hear that Sickles showed towards the end, after I left but when a few people were still there), Euille, Ebbin, or Lopez at this event, but presumably they'll all be speaking at future Brigades meetings. First, here's Bruce Shuttleworth's speech, which lasts about 10 minutes. He talks about LGBT equality; his background at the Naval Academy, in the military, and Harvard Business School, etc.; his parents' deaths from lung cancer; his vow to be the "hardest-working progressive warrior that the extreme right has ever seen" and to protect "America's vulnerable;" about the crucial importance of universal health care (we need "Medicare for All" and "we need it now" - Obamacare doesn't go "far enough"). Bruce Shuttleworth on global warming, which he says is "real" and an "enormous threat." He adds that we should "curtail behavior that you'd like to curtail, which means I'm a big believer in a carbon tax...we need to aggressively get on green energy." On Israel-Palestine, Shuttleworth says he's a believer in a "two-state solution." Bruce Shuttleworth talks about Jim Moran, says he has "come to appreciate what Jim Moran has done for our district" (e.g., gay rights, women's rights, animal rights), but he also wasn't "as committed as I am to avoiding the appearance of impropriety, and that's a big deal, and noone disagrees with me on that...It's a complicated picture with Jim." On guns, Bruce Shuttleworth says he's a strong supporter of gun safety legislation - "take the 'mass' out of mass murder," assault weapons ban, no loopholes in background checks, child safety procedures on guns... Don Beyer addresses the Brigades. He talks about: a) being "grateful to Jim Moran" who leaves" very large shoes to fill;" b) this is a necessary time to serve, and this is a position where we can make a "real difference in people's lives" and to "serve others;" c) he's "dismayed" by the increased disparity between the rich and everyone else, that the "deck is stacked for the very few that have all the power and the money"; d) "we can create real new paths" by things like raising the minimum wage, increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit, hiring the long-term unemployed, etc.; e) the glass ceiling is "way too stubborn" - we need to enact paid family and medical leave, the Fair Paycheck Act, protect a woman's right to choose; f) we have an "absolute moral responsibility" to create a "meaningful path to citizenship" for immigrants; g) the "greatest crisis we face" is global warming (yet Fox News and others have persuaded millions of Americans that it's not even real) and he is committed to doing whatever he can to fight it; h) his record as Lt. Governor and in President Obama's administration (including as Ambassador to Switzerland - "if you ever have a chance to be Ambassador, take it"); and i) his work to help elect Howard Dean, John Kerry, Mark Warner, and Barack Obama. In sum, he says he brings the "idea, energy, and proven leadership to hit the ground running" in Congress. On LGBT equality, Beyer says he was "astonished at the immorality and inhumanity at those who opposed including hate crimes against LGBT victims in the protected class." Don Beyer talks about the importance of equal pay between men and women. Beyer says that the Citizens United decision was one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in U.S. history, and that the idea that corporations are citizens is "crazy." Beyer talks about which Congressional committees he'd be interested in serving on in Congress Don Beyer says he's worked for 27 straight years to elect Democrats and to "move forward on Democratic values." He says humility has "enormous value in life and especially in politics." Don Beyer on why he supported Howard Dean for President. Don Beyer says he was impressed with the idea of "shared power" in Switzerland, where they "actually work together." So you don't have the polarization, divisiveness, meanness, pettiness...and "while I don't ever want to sell out my Democratic principles and values, I want to go [to Congress] and be a healer and bring people together" like Senators Kaine and Warner. Del. Patrick Hope speaks to the Brigades, emphasizing: a) protection for those among us who are most vulnerable (e.g., people with disabilities, senior citizens, those who are discriminated against); b) that we need to stand up to the Tea Party and even those in our party who don't support "the progressive values we all stand for" (e.g., voting for redistrictring that has left us in a permanent minority, supporting payday lenders); c) his decision to co-found the Progressive Caucus; d) prison reform (e.g, solitary confinement, shackling of pregnant prisoners, charging commissions on prisoners' phone calls to their families); e) implementing the Affordable Care Act and expanding health care coverage; f) Special Olympics and helping people with intellectual disabilities; and g) fighting to end homelessness ("the cure to homelessness is a home"). Finally, Del. Hope said we have to deal with growing income inequality (e.g., by raising the minimum wage right now, investing more in our public schools and job training). Del. Patrick Hope says he strongly supports overturning Citizens United, that we need a constitutional amendment to change it. Del. Patrick Hope says "global warming is probably our single most public health threat that we're facing right now, we've got to deal with it. I fully support a carbon tax, I strongly oppose the Keystone pipeline...we need to invest much more in our renewables...coal is yesterday, coal is not our future, and we need to get rid of coal-fired power plants and I would fight to make sure that that happens." Del. Hope says we need to tax carbon and incentivize renewable energy. On "fracking," Patrick Hope says he opposes it, says he sent a letter to the Secretary of Interior opposing fracking in the GW National Forest. Del. Hope says he strongly supports a public option for health care, doesn't think the Affordable Care Act is perfect, and would ultimately like Medicare for All. On Jim Moran, Del. Hope says he "deserves a lot of credit" and was the "perfect fit for this district...he was always there and I will follow in his footsteps to fight just as hard as him...I wish he was going to serve longer." Del. Charniele Herring speaks to the Brigades, at which she describes her personal background (including a stint of homelessness as a teenager), says she believes in smart government problems, talks about being an advocate for children, for education, alternative energy, and for women's reproductive rights and health care. On Guantanamo Bay, Del. Herring says we have to protect our national security but she doesn't believe people should be tortured or that Geneva Convention should be violated. Del. Herring says she supports non-partisan or bipartisan redistricting. Del. Herring says she's a "big fan of Congressman Moran," ranking him with Ted Kennedy as one of the "lions" of Congress. She says Jim Moran who would stand up and fight for what he believed in. In addition, she points to what Jim Moran has done for this region - BRAC, federal employees, Mark Center, etc. On voting rights, Del. Herring says she believes there should be fewer restrictions on voting, that we ensure that every vote is counted, that there should be federal guidelines on these things (e..g, the Voting Rights Act). Del. Herring says social media and the internet are crucial, such as her use of Twitter in the fight for reproductive freedom in the General Assembly, and she supports net neutrality. Del. Herring says in order to get things done in the Virginia General Assembly, you have to work across the aisle. She cites the issues of preventing domestic violence and mental health care as examples.

Applying My 8 Criteria to the 8th CD Candidates: Adam Ebbin

This past Saturday, I listed my 8 criteria for choosing the Democratic nominee in the 8th CD race. How do these criteria apply to specific candidates? I started with former Virginia Lt. Governor Don Beyer, continued with Del. Mark Sickles, Del. Charniele Herring, Lavern Chatman, Bruce Shuttleworth, Alfonso Lopez, and Patrick Hope. We now turn to Sen. Adam Ebbin. 1. The next Representative from the 8th CD should be a strong, rock-solid progressive. Adam Ebbin was elected to the House of Delegates in 2003 and to the State Senate in 2011. Here are highlights from his Project Vote Smart ratings: *100% from NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia *73% from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce (I believe this is the lowest score among everyone I've rated so far, which generally - given my negative feelings about the Chamber of Commerce - is a good thing!) *100% from Equality Virginia *18% from the far-right-wing Family Foundation of Virginia *60% from the Virginia Education Association in 2012 (the last year's rating listed). *100% from the Virginia League of Conservation Voters. *A solid "F" (good!) from the NRA. *100% from the AFL-CIO. On Ebbin's website, he highlights his work "to advance progressive priorities, including incentives for cleaner energy, funding for mass transit improvements, an end to discrimination in state employment, and justice for exploited workers and victims of human trafficking." He says he has "distinguished himself as a voice for the easily exploited," and that he has "won approval of legislation to enable lower interest rates on deferred property taxes for seniors (HB 2635, 2005), to create a solar resource fund to increase production of clean energy (HB 2919, 2011), to create a Public Defender office in Arlington County (HB 1500, 2004), to provide support to victims of human trafficking (SB 259, 2012; HB 2190, 2011) and to provide prenatal care for immigrant mothers (SB 568, 2012)," as well as "a bipartisan effort that provided access to life insurance benefits to domestic partners (HB 865, 2008; HB 352, 2010)." Ebbin also notes that he is "the first openly gay member of the Virginia General Assembly" and that he "co-founded Virginia Partisans Gay & Lesbian Democratic Club in 1992." 2. I want to see a tenacious, indefatigable FIGHTER for progressive values Adam Ebbin is certainly a fighter for progressive values; I don't think anyone can possibly doubt that. Sample bills from the past few years include: "Hybrid electric motor vehicles; repeals annual license tax, refunds;" "Discrimination; prohibited in state employment;" "Tuition, in-state; Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals;" "Firearms; criminal history information check required to sell;" and "Virginia Waterways Clean Up and Consumer Choice Act; paper and plastic bag fee." Ebbin is co-chair (with Del. Patrick Hope) of the Progressive Caucus, which is great except that - as I noted in my writeup of Del. Hope - I'm not sure exactly what this group has done over the years. UPDATE 2/10/14: It was brought to my attention that, when he was a delegate, Adam Ebbin voted to repeal Virginia's Estate Tax. I checked, and it appears that Ebbin voted against it several times before ultimately voting for it (the final vote was 91-0). Given my strong feelings that repeal of the Estate Tax was the biggest - absolutely outrageous, really - mistake of the Kaine administration, still costing us somewhere in the $120-$140 million/year range to benefit a few hundred super-rich Virginia families, I'm going to lower Adam Ebbin's overall grade by one notch, from A-/A to B+/A-. I understand that a bunch of great progressives, like Donald McEachin, also voted for this under pressure from the Kaine administration, but it's still not acceptable in my view. 3. We need a Representative who will fight for the 8th CD. Based on his past performance, as well as my personal conversations with him, I have no doubt that Adam Ebbin would do that as a Member of Congress. 4. We're going to be losing some big-time seniority and need to build it back up. Adam Ebbin is 50 years old, should have plenty of time to build back some seniority in this position. 5. We want, need, and deserve a Representative who has the highest ethical standards and who makes us proud every day. To my knowledge, Adam Ebbin has very high ethical standards. 6. A superb, impressive track record of accomplishment over the years. See item #1 above; I'd certainly say that qualifies as "impressive." 7. Obviously, we want someone who will do a great job on "constituent services." I have no reason to believe that Adam Ebbin wouldn't do a fine job in serving his constituents. 8. I want to see a "heavyweight" in this job -- someone who is a serious policy wonk, someone who really loves diving into the weeds of legislation, someone who can go toe-to-toe with Republicans and Tea Partiers (and conservative and/or corporate Democrats for that matter) in the battle of ideas. Adam Ebbin is a very smart and knowledgeable person, someone who's certainly not afraid to fight back against Republicans and Tea Partiers. How he's perform on the national stage is the only question, just as it is for all the other candidates running for this seat. I'll be interested to hear Ebbin's vision for Congress, as well as his national and international policy ideas, during this campaign. Overall: Adam Ebbin is one of the top candidates, from a progressive point of view, for this seat. I give Ebbin an overall A/A- B+/A- grade. UPDATE 2/10/14: See my update in item #2 for why I'm lowering Ebbin's score to a B+/A- from an A/A-.

Applying My 8 Criteria to the 8th CD Candidates: Alfonso Lopez

This past Saturday, I listed my 8 criteria for choosing the Democratic nominee in the 8th CD race. How do these criteria apply to specific candidates? I started with former Virginia Lt. Governor Don Beyer, continued with Del. Mark Sickles, Del. Charniele Herring, Bruce Shuttleworth and Lavern Chatman. I now turn to Del. Alfonso Lopez. 1. The next Representative from the 8th CD should be a strong, rock-solid progressive. Alfonso Lopez has a long track record, including service as Deputy Policy Director for Governor-Elect Tim Kaine's Transition Team; director of Gov. Kaine's Virginia Liaison Office in Washington, DC; director of Congressional and Federal Affairs for the Commonwealth of Virginia; a member of the Democratic National Committee since 2009; and a member of the Virginia House of Delegates (representing parts of Alexandria and Arlington) since 2012. Here are a few of Alfonso Lopez's Project Vote Smart ratings: *100% from NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia *83% from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce *100% from Equality Virginia *100% from the Virginia League of Conservation Voters *0% from the NRA *5% from the right-wingnut Family Foundation of Virginia Also worth noting: in 2013, Del. Lopez was endorsed for reelection by the Virginia LCV and Sierra Club; Equality Virginia and LGBT Democrats of Virginia; the Democratic Latino Organization of Virginia; NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, Planned Parenthood and the Virginia National Organization for Women; the Virginia AFL-CIO; the Virginia Education Association; the Virginia Association of Realtors; the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Virginia Technology Council. In terms of his voting record, Lopez has (like Del. Charniele Herring and many other Democrats) tended to vote for "tough-on-crime" (translation: more focused on punishment than on rehabilitation and use of discretion) types of bills. Other than that, Lopez's voting record has been strongly progressive as far as I can determine. Among other subjects, Lopez has been passionate about immigration issues, voting rights, protecting the environment, curbing gun violence, promoting "green buildings" and clean energy, etc. All great stuff we could certainly use in Congress. 2. I want to see a tenacious, indefatigable FIGHTER for progressive values. My main question with Alfonso Lopez is whether, as Congressman, we'd get more of the progressive and environmental champion we've seen the past couple years as a delegate, or more of the guy who tirelessly defended (and promoted) Kaine administration initiatives - including several (e.g., the non-tunnel Metrorail option in Tysons Corner, Kaine's inexcusable repeal of the estate tax, "abuser fees") which progressives like me strongly disagreed with - when he was working for Gov. Kaine. If we get the former, then Lopez could make a superb Congressman. If we get the latter, then...I'm not as sure. Having said that, my feeling is that we'd get more of the former than the latter if Lopez were elected to Congress, if for no other reason that that his "boss" at that point would be the (generally progressive, pro-environment) voters of the 8th CD, and his goal would be to make them happy so that he got reelected. 3. We need a Representative who will fight for the 8th CD. I have a great deal of confidence that a Congressman Alfonso Lopez would fight for federal workers and generally for the interests of the 8th CD. 4. We're going to be losing some big-time seniority and need to build it back up. Alfonso Lopez is young (43) and would have plenty of time to build up seniority in Congress. From talking to him, I also think he'd absolutely love being in Congress and would want to stay there for many, many years. 5. We want, need, and deserve a Representative who has the highest ethical standards and who makes us proud every day. To my knowledge, Alfonso Lopez maintains high ethical standards and has nothing in his background that would embarrass the 8th CD (as the current Congressman has done repeatedly, despite his many strengths). 6. A superb, impressive track record of accomplishment over the years. I listed highlights from Alfonso Lopez's impressive resume in item #1, above. Clearly, he's got a strong track record of accomplishment. 7. Obviously, we want someone who will do a great job on "constituent services." Given the tremendous passion and energy Alfonso Lopez brings to the job of delegate, I have no doubt he'd provide excellent constituent services as the 8th CD's U.S. Representative. 8. I want to see a "heavyweight" in this job -- someone who is a serious policy wonk, someone who really loves diving into the weeds of legislation, someone who can go toe-to-toe with Republicans and Tea Partiers (and conservative and/or corporate Democrats for that matter) in the battle of ideas. I see Alfonso Lopez as more of a "work across the aisle"/"look for common ground" type of person, one who likes to work out compromises and get results, then as someone who lives for going at it with Teapublicans. As for being a policy wonk, Lopez's experience indicates that he loves diving into the weeds of this stuff -- not necessarily from a "policy wonk" perspective, but from a "figure out how to make legislative 'sausage'" point of view. Which, after all, is what's supposed to be happening under that big white dome on Capitol Hill. Overall: Alfonso Lopez has a lot going for him, including a strong progressive record as a member of the House of Delegates. No question, he is a very serious candidate for this job. The only real doubts I've got are based on the (at times intense) differences we had during the Kaine administration over policy. The bottom line? I'm giving Lopez an A- grade; not perfect (who is?), but very strong.

Applying My 8 Criteria to the 8th CD Candidates: Charniele Herring

This past Saturday, I listed my 8 criteria for choosing the Democratic nominee in the 8th CD race. How do these criteria apply to specific candidates? I started with former Virginia Lt. Governor Don Beyer, continued with Del. Mark Sickles, and now turn to Del. Charniele Herring. 1. The next Representative from the 8th CD should be a strong, rock-solid progressive. Charniele Herring has been in the House of Delegates for a relatively short time (since January 2009), so we have 4+ years of voting to look at. In that time, according to Project Vote Smart, Herring has had strong ratings from progressive and environmental interest groups (e.g., 100% from NARAL, 75% from Equality Virginia, 94% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters, and zero from the NRA). The reason Herring got 75% and not 100% from Equality Virginia is for her "no" vote on HB1617, which Equality Virginia says "requires public universities to fund and recognize student groups that choose to discriminate in their membership based on religious or political beliefs" and which "offers no protection for the students subject to discrimination."). I'm not sure why she voted "no" on that one. She also voted for the infamous "Mark of the Beast" bill, for phone company deregulation, and for a bunch of "tough on crime" (translation: more focused on punishment than on rehabilitation and use of discretion) types of bills. Other than that, Charniele Herring has generally been a strong progressive. If you check YouTube, you'll see Del. Herring standing up for immigrants, the homeless, women's healthcare and reproductive rights. Also, as DPVA Chair, Del. Herring stumped across Virginia for the Democratic 2013 ticket. So, yes, I'd say she's basically a strong progressive -- give her an A-/B+ on this one. 2. I want to see a tenacious, indefatigable FIGHTER for progressive values. From what I've observed, Del. Herring has been a fighter for the progressive values she believes in. I would expect her to carry this same spirit to Congress is she's elected. 3. We need a Representative who will fight for the 8th CD. I have no reason to expect that Charniele Herring wouldn't do this. The only question is, how effective she'd be, but that's also a question about all the candidates when you think about it... 4. We're going to be losing some big-time seniority and need to build it back up. Charniele Herring would be 45 years old if elected to Congress next November. That would give her decades to build up seniority in Congress. 5. We want, need, and deserve a Representative who has the highest ethical standards and who makes us proud every day. To my knowledge, Charniele Herring has high ethical standards. 6. A superb, impressive track record of accomplishment over the years. Certainly, Charniele Herring has come a long way in her life. Born in the Dominican Republic; living in a homeless shelter for six months when her mother lost her job, then going on to receive her B.A. in economics from George Mason University in 1993 and a J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in 1997; becoming (in 2009) the first African-American woman ever elected to represent Northern Virginia in the General Assembly; becoming (in December 2012) the first African American to be elected DPVA Chair. That's an impressive record of accomplishment by any standard. The only real question about Charniele Herring's record, in my view, is her performance as DPVA Chair (note: Democrats won all three statewide offices in 2013, but wildly underperformed in the House of Delegates; I've heard some complaining on the latter score that Herring kept a lot of money for herself instead of giving more of it to House Democratic candidates). When I wrote my story on former DPVA Executive Director Lauren Harmon's departure after just 11 months on the job, I was told by multiple sources that Herring wasn't particularly "hands-on" or engaged/interested in the job, per se. I was also told by multiple sources that Herring appeared mostly interested in setting herself up to run for Lt. Governor in 2017. And I was told by multiple sources that Harmon was undermined by Charniele Herring's Chief of Staff, Zachary Rickard, who supposedly also helped recruit Harmon in the first place from Ohio, where they both had served in the state Democratic Party. Finally, in recent days, I've heard that there's chatter within DPVA that Herring should resign as Chair immediately, not wait for several weeks, given that she's now a candidate for Congress in a crowded Democratic field and that it's improper/unfair for her to remain as DPVA Chair. To date, she hasn't agreed to those calls. Notwithstanding the previous paragraph, I think it's fair to say that overall, Charniele Herring has had a strong track record of accomplishment in her life. 7. Obviously, we want someone who will do a great job on "constituent services." I'm not really sure how to judge this one, except that I've never heard of any problems with Herring's constituent service in her House of Delegates district. She certainly uses social media effectively, unlike certain competitors of hers (e.g., Mark Sickles, Don Beyer). UPDATE: Since I posted this, I've heard a bit of grumbling that Del. Herring's constituent services aren't the greatest. Anyone in her district care to weigh in? 8. I want to see a "heavyweight" in this job -- someone who is a serious policy wonk, someone who really loves diving into the weeds of legislation, someone who can go toe-to-toe with Republicans and Tea Partiers (and conservative and/or corporate Democrats for that matter) in the battle of ideas. This is probably my biggest question about Charniele Herring - not whether she's very smart, which she obviously is, but whether she's really into policy in a "wonky" way. I also wonder whether Herring is more interested in/knowledgeable about state-level rather than federal-level policies and issues (note: I wonder this about numerous other candidates as well). I'd also say that when I interviewed her, I found her answers tended towards generalizations. When I pressed her for details, I tended to get boilerplate responses and generalities (e.g., we need to build the party -- but HOW exactly?). I'm not sure what to make of that, except that she was almost certainly on a very tight "leash" from the McAuliffe campaign and probably felt she had almost no leeway to really speak her mind. Having said all that, there's no doubt in my mind that Herring's willing to go toe-to-toe with Republicans and Tea Partiers, which is great and also much needed these days! Overall: I'd give Herring a fairly strong grade, somewhere in the "B" range. It will be interesting to hear her thoughts on national and international issues, and more generally her vision for the 8th CD Member of Congress.

Applying My 8 Criteria to the 8th CD Candidates: Bruce Shuttleworth

This past Saturday, I listed my 8 criteria for choosing the Democratic nominee in the 8th CD race. How do these criteria apply to specific candidates? I started with former Virginia Lt. Governor Don Beyer, continued with Del. Mark Sickles and Del. Charniele Herring, and now turn to U.S. Navy veteran Bruce Shuttleworth. 1. The next Representative from the 8th CD should be a strong, rock-solid progressive. The challenge with Bruce Shuttleworth is that he doesn't have a voting record, since he's never held elective office. He does, however, have a record as a candidate in 2012, when he ran on a somewhat eclectic platform - elements of reform, progressivism, Occupy Wall Street rhetoric, attacks on Jim Moran's "Tammany Hall corruption," appeals to Republicans to cross over and vote for him in the Democratic primary, etc. This time around, Shuttleworth's campaign announcement begins: “As a straight white married father, it may come as a surprise that I am considered a diversity candidate. I’m a Fighter Pilot and a Feminist and I believe that it is the behavior of men more than women that will determine the quickest path to equal rights." Shuttleworth argues that we "need to save our people...need to commit to cure cancer," and that "greed is not good and that effective government oversight is a critical check to Wall Street and Big Business." Does that add up to a strong progressive candidate? I'll let you all decide that for yourselves, but for my part, I'm a bit puzzled by all of this (e.g., he concludes his announcement with a focus on curing cancer and "other pernicious diseases"). I'd give this one an "incomplete." 2. I want to see a tenacious, indefatigable FIGHTER for progressive values Shuttleworth pledges to "marshal all of his energy as a progressive warrior for peace, fairness, honesty and justice across our great country." Again, that sounds good, but there's not really any track record to decide how credible it is. I guess we'll just have to hear what Shuttleworth has to say, and how he says it, during this campaign. For now, I'd say this one gets an "incomplete." 3. We need a Representative who will fight for the 8th CD. Again, Shuttleworth has no track record on this criterion, so it's almost impossible to know. Also, he hasn't really talked much about this aspect of the job. I'd give this one an "incomplete" as well. 4. We're going to be losing some big-time seniority and need to build it back up. Shuttleworth's relatively young (in his 40s, I believe), so he certainly would have time to build up seniority. 5. We want, need, and deserve a Representative who has the highest ethical standards and who makes us proud every day. Again, there's no record in public office to rate this criterion. From what I've seen, Shuttleworth seems like a good guy, and he certainly made high ethical standards a major part of his 2012 platform. 6. A superb, impressive track record of accomplishment over the years. Shuttleworth hasn't held public office, but he did serve in the U.S. Navy as a pilot. He's also a graduate of Harvard Business School and former strategy management consultant. 7. Obviously, we want someone who will do a great job on "constituent services." I have no particular basis to judge this one, as Shuttleworth has never held public office. Another "incomplete." 8. I want to see a "heavyweight" in this job -- someone who is a serious policy wonk, someone who really loves diving into the weeds of legislation, someone who can go toe-to-toe with Republicans and Tea Partiers (and conservative and/or corporate Democrats for that matter) in the battle of ideas. Shuttleworth's certainly a smart guy, but again I don't really have enough information to judge this one. Another "incomplete." Overall: As you can probably guess by now, my bottom line grade is..."incomplete." We'll see.

Applying My 8 Criteria to the 8th CD Candidates: Mark Sickles

This past Saturday, I listed my 8 criteria for choosing the Democratic nominee in the 8th CD race. How do these criteria apply to specific candidates? I started with former Virginia Lt. Governor Don Beyer and now turn to Del. Mark Sickles. 1. The next Representative from the 8th CD should be a strong, rock-solid progressive. I saw saw this article, which claims that Mark Sickles is the "most conservative of the serious candidates" in the 8th CD race, who "supports payday lenders and has run as a Chamber of Commerce endorsed Democrat in every election since first becoming a state Delegate." I wanted to find out if that was true, and also generally to get a feel for Sickles' voting record and political philosophy. Fortunately, Sickles has a long voting record, so it's not that difficult to figure out. Here are a few key ratings courtesy of Project Vote Smart. *100% from Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro Choice Virginia *83% from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce *100% from Equality Virginia *94% from the League of Conservation Voters *An "A" rating from the NRA in 2008, a 92% NRA rating in 2005, and a 33% NRA rating in 2013 on "Positions on State Legislature Elections" What these ratings tell me, generally speaking, is that Sickles is a liberal on issues related to sexual orientation and reproductive freedom, but is fairly conservative on guns and business. With regard to the environment, he's gotten good ratings and was endorsed for reelection in 2013 by the Virginia Sierra Club. As for the payday lending and car title loans, there's no doubt that Sickles has received a lot of money from companies like LoanMax ($10,500), Title Max ($3,500), Community Loans of America ($2,500), Ace Cash Express ($2,246), Advance America Cash Advance ($1,200), etc. Whether coincidental or not, Sickles has generally been supportive of this (predatory, disgusting) industry. For instance, this article notes how "dozens of new car-title lending businesses have popped up in neighborhoods across Northern Virginia — the result of recent regulations opening the door to a business that charges as much as 264 percent a year on loans." Mark Sickles voted for those regulations. In this recent Washington Post article, Sickles argues that "the industry’s expansion illustrates a demand for small loans that banks are not meeting." That may be the case, but it doesn't change the fact that this industry preys on people when they're most desperate, then locks them into outrageous interest rates (e.g., the aforementioned 264 percent). On the other hand, Sickles has previously offered legislation to "limit payday loan customers to two loans at a time and give borrowers more rights when they are harassed for defaulting," among other things. I'd also refer you to Del. Sickles' Context to Washington Post Car Title Lending Story. Other issues: Sickles voted to repeal Virginia's estate tax, which to me is strongly anti-progressive (the estate tax is arguably the most progressive tax we've got) as wel as a huge mistake from a budgetary perspective (we lose over $100 million per year because of that repeal; money that could be spent on mental health care, for instance) -- one of the biggest we've made in Virginia in a long time, and the #1 issue that infuriated me about Gov. Kaine, who signed the repeal into law (ugh). In addition, Sickles also voted to require state police to conduct immigration checks and enter into deportation agreements with ICE, to extend E-Verify undocumented immigrant checks to local governments (like Arlington, which wanted to opt out of federal immigration enforcement programs), for requiring "legal presence" or citizenship to receive public assistance, for concealed weapons in restaurants, for de-regulating local phone companies, and for the ridiculous/crazy "Mark of the Beast" bill. Bottom line: Sickles is progressive on some issues, certainly not on others, but most definitely NOT a "rock solid progressive" by any means. I'd give him a C- grade on this criterion, and that may be generous come to think about it. 2. I want to see a tenacious, indefatigable FIGHTER for progressive values. See the answer to item #1. 3. We need a Representative who will fight for the 8th CD. My guess is that Sickles would fight for the Congressional district the same way he's fought for his House of Delegates district. If you like what's described in item #1, then you'll be happy with Congressman Sickles. If not, you won't be. 4. We're going to be losing some big-time seniority and need to build it back up. Sickles would be 57 years old in January 2015. Not old, but not particularly young. He should have a decent amount of time to build up seniority. 5. We want, need, and deserve a Representative who has the highest ethical standards and who makes us proud every day. I'm not aware of any personal ethical issues with Mark Sickles. 6. A superb, impressive track record of accomplishment over the years. Sickles is the chair of the Virginia House of Delegates Democratic Caucus. He's served in the House of Delegates since 2003, and "works full-time for a national marine construction company and federal government contractor." He has "two Masters Degrees from Georgia Tech and a B.S. from Clemson University." It's a solid record, but I'm not sure I'd call it "superb, impressive" in terms of progressive leadership, eye-popping accomplishments, etc. Also worth noting is that while Sickles has been Democratic Caucus chair, we haven't done well in terms of winning seats in the House of Delegates. Just pointing that out, not that it's all his fault or anything. 7. Obviously, we want someone who will do a great job on "constituent services." Presumably, since Del. Sickles keeps getting reelected, his constituents must be satisfied with their constituent services. Of course, Congress is a whole different level. UPDATE: I forgot to mention that part of constituent services in the year 2014 involves effective use of social media. I really haven't seen that from Del. Sickles, who apparently doesn't have a Twitter account and who is known to be hostile to "the bloggers" (whatever THAT means, given that anyone can set up a blog in about 5 minutes and be "a blogger"). 8. I want to see a "heavyweight" in this job -- someone who is a serious policy wonk, someone who really loves diving into the weeds of legislation, someone who can go toe-to-toe with Republicans and Tea Partiers (and conservative and/or corporate Democrats for that matter) in the battle of ideas. Mark Sickles certainly is smart, but I honestly have no idea how he'd do on this criterion in Congress. He certainly hasn't stood out as someone who fights Republicans/Tea Partiers on the floor of the House, and I've never thought of him as a policy wonk particularly, but we'll see what he talk about (and how he talks about it) during the campaign. Overall: I'd give Sickles a slightly higher grade than Don Beyer (who got a C-/D+); a C/C- seems fair to me. Your thoughts?

Dominion Thwarts Solar Net Metering Bill in Virginia

by Gabe Elsner

Cross-posted from the Energy & Policy Institute.Last week, Dominion Virginia Power, the largest utility in Virginia, successfully blocked a solar net-metering bill from moving forward in the Special Subcommittee on Energy in the House of Delegates Commerce & Labor Committee. Days earlier, Dominion had attempted to hijack a bill meant to boost the installation of solar on multi-family housing communities. According to Virginia Sierra Club’s Ivy Main, Dominion lobbied for “substitute language that would give the utility the exclusive right to build and own community systems and sell the power to the customers” thereby forcing multi-family residents to purchase solar only from Dominion. The utility company was unsuccessful, but still managed to stop the bill in its tracks. From Ivy Main’s Power for the People VA blog: Solar advocates and industry members successfully beat back Dominion Power’s bid to hijack the multi-family net metering provisions of HB 879 (Yost) and HB 906 (Krupicka). Alas, Dominion got its revenge Thursday in the House Commerce & Labor energy subcommittee, where the Republican majority had clearly come prepared to kill the bills. The two bills, plus Delegate Surovell’s solar gardens bill, HB 1158, were tabled with little debate, though with dissenting votes from the subcommittee's three Democrats. The ten delegates who were against the solar bills all came from the Republican party but more importantly, Dominion’s campaign contributions to these ten delegates may have led to the delegates’ opposition to the pro-solar bill.

GabeElsner :: Dominion Thwarts Solar Net Metering Bill in Virginia

Dominion is the largest contributor to candidates’ electoral campaigns than any entity in the state besides the two political parties. In 2013, Dominion spent over $800,000 to influence Virginia state elections. Chairman of the Special Subcommittee on Energy Terry Kilgore received $23,500 from Dominion for his 2013 reelection effort, and another $31,000 in 2011, making Dominion his largest campaign donor in the past two election cycles. In total, Dominion contributed $45,750 to these ten Republican candidates in 2013. The company also very likely lobbied the Subcommittee to table the pro-solar net metering bill. The latest lobbying expenditures report details that Dominion spent $299,753 from May 2012 through April 2013 lobbying the state legislature and had at least eight lobbyists as employees and retained four additional lobbyists as contractors. Dominion Virginia Power has an interest in maintaining its dominance of the Virginia electricity market and stopping growth of emerging clean energy industries, especially distributed clean energy because of the threat it poses to Dominion’s profits. The Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the utilities trade group, released a report (.PDF) entitled “Disruptive Challenges” in January 2013, outlining the threat that distributed energy generation presents to the traditional utility industry business model of selling electricity from large, centralized, mostly fossil fuel power plants. According to the latest disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dominion Virginia Power primarily generates electricity from large power plants using nuclear technology (33%), coal (22%), and natural gas (17%). It’s no wonder Dominion wants to limit the growth of distributed solar energy by blocking net metering from reaching multi-family communities. Republican delegates support for Dominion’s protectionism is the equivalent of supporting an attempt by Kodak to stop people from buying digital cameras. Dominion’s lobbying effort is anti-competitive and anti-free market. It’s meant to slow the growth of clean energy in order to maintain one special interest’s “dominion” on the sale of electricity in Virginia, and should generate bipartisan opposition.

True Price of Coal: Massive Ash Spill Threatens Dan River's Fish, Drinking Water

by The Green Miles

On Sunday, a security guard spotted a leak at an enormous Duke Energy coal ash pond. It's now estimated that 82,000 tons of coal ash flowed into the Dan River along with 27 million gallons of water. Matt Wasson, the program director of Appalachian Voices pictured here collecting a water sample, warns the river's dozen or sofish species are at risk: Wasson, calling the incident "a massive disaster," said six inches of coal ash covered the bottom of the river Tuesday about two miles downstream from the spill site. "It's like a lava flow moving slowly toward Danville on the bottom of the river," Wasson said.Selenium toxicity could be a concern for humans for months or years as a result of the spill, Wasson said. Arsenic could reduce the number of fish available in the Dan River for years, harming the food chain on which they depend for food. "It's fair to say possible impacts of this on fish populations could extend for years," he said. When politicians talk about the cost of coal energy vs. clean energy, they never (OK, maybe if their name is Jim Moran or Sheldon Whitehouse) talk about costs like these. What's the cost of threatening the Dan River's drinking water and entire fish population? When politicians like State Sen. Tom Garrett claim to be terribly concerned about the impacts of wind power on birds, why aren't they outraged that bald eagles will now be eating coal ash-poisoned fish out of the Dan River?And let's not forget the horrifying impacts of coal power on human health even when everything's going right: