Sunday, June 03, 2007
Bell, Smith spar for GOP nod
The battle for the nomination heats up between Ralph Smith and state Sen. Brandon Bell.
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From The Roanoke Times
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As Virginia Senate contenders Brandon Bell and Ralph Smith head into the homestretch of their primary battle for the Republican nomination in the 22nd District, the war of words is getting hotter.
In recent weeks, the two have sparred over a range of issues -- particularly taxes -- and former Roanoke Mayor Smith has even agreed to a two-term limit, should he win the nomination June 12 and the Nov. 6 general election.
"I think two terms would be all that is appropriate to serve," Smith said. "Most Republicans and Democrats, when they go off to Richmond or Washington, start with the intent to make this a better country. The more time you spend there the less time you spend in your neighborhood and the more time you spend with the lobbyists."
Smith said he's not targeting any politicians in particular with his statements, but it's hard not to think of U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County, who pledged to limit himself to 12 years in Congress when he first ran in 1992.
Goodlatte, incidentally, has endorsed Bell for the Virginia Senate. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling also has endorsed Bell.
Meanwhile, both Bell and Smith have been increasing their visibility for potential primary voters. Each has sent direct mail pieces.
The two men have conducted a small war via e-mail to party supporters. And Bell has even sprung for television ads, mostly during local news broadcasts, but also on cable outlets such as Fox News.
"We feel we need to drive turnout," Bell said. "It's an off-the-radar-screen primary for most people. We want to raise the profile more."
Bell said that his Republican constituents seemed concerned largely with gun issues, illegal immigration and moral issues such as abortion and gay marriage.
Smith has focused his campaign largely on taxes. He's accused incumbent Bell of being a "RINO" (Republican in Name Only) who portrays himself as a fiscal conservative in election years but who votes for tax increases the rest of the time.
"The guy is so deceiving," Smith said. "Every piece of material he sends out tags him as a conservative fighting for your taxes. The guy did no such thing."
While it's true that Bell did vote for a 2006 transportation bill that, had it passed, would have raised the sales tax on wholesale gasoline, the question of whether he supported Gov. Mark Warner's 2004 overhaul of the tax code is a little trickier.
Tagged by many Republicans as "the largest tax increase in Virginia history," the budget passed that year increased the sales tax on goods, the excise tax on cigarettes and the recordation tax on real estate transactions.
Smith said Bell supported that tax increase. Bell said he opposed it but "when the vote happened, I was in Detroit, Mich., on a business trip."
But, Bell said, "I felt we did not need a general fund increase in sales tax or income tax."
As far as the 2006 transportation package, Bell admits that, yes, he voted for legislation that included tax increases.
"I didn't like all the pieces in it, but that was the only vote I had, was to vote for a transportation package or against it, to solve it or not solve it," Bell said.
Smith said that vote, however, shows that Bell is "in the pocket of the big boys." He points to a $25,000 contribution this year from a Richmond-based political group called Leadership for Virginia.
The Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit group that tracks campaign finance, says Leadership for Virginia supports candidates who "support efficient government and adequate funding" for education, transportation, public safety and health care.
Smith suggests the group was formed to support Republicans to vote for tax increases.
"It's really contradictory when my opponent says he's not for tax increases but all the money is coming because he supported tax increases," Smith said.
That assertion irritates Bell.
"I'm not in the pocket of anybody," he said. "It's interesting he'd attack on someone making campaign contributions when he's basically self-funding his campaign."
Bell points also to an endorsement of Smith by the Club for Growth, a Tidewater-based committee that Bell said also has close ties to Northern Virginia.
"They haven't exactly had a good track record relative to what they've done in the past," Bell said.
The 22nd District covers all of Botetourt County, Salem and Radford and parts of Roanoke and Montgomery counties.
The Republican primary is scheduled for June 12. The winner will face Roanoke County Democrat Michael Breiner in the November general election.
On the Net: www.ralphsmithsenate.com www.senatorbell.com
