Wednesday, May 27, 2009
GOP hopefuls for Fralin's House seat hold forum
The candidates answered a series of questions in a generally congenial exchange.
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Five Republicans seeking to replace Del. William Fralin in the Virginia General Assembly spent most of their first and only scheduled forum Tuesday on taxes and other fiscal issues.
In an event designed to mirror the race's friendly tone, however, the 150 people in attendance saw the first real disagreements begin to emerge between the five GOP hopefuls.
Former Roanoke County supervisor Mike Wray -- the only one of the five Republicans with experience as an elected official -- was the target of attack literature before the forum even started, and one candidate called into question his claim to have cut taxes while on the county board.
Besides Wray, the GOP field includes Bill Cleaveland, a Botetourt County lawyer; Chris Head, a Botetourt County resident who owns Home Instead Senior Care; Josh Johnson, a Roanoke lawyer with the firm Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore; and Melvin Williams, a Roanoke lawyer with the firm Grimes and Williams.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Gwen Mason, a Roanoke city councilwoman, in the general election.
The GOP candidates in the forum agreed not to use video of the event to attack one another, and they weren't permitted to address one another. Those rules seemed to fit with the candidates' general all-for-one approach: They've even agreed to share a victory party at the Hotel Roanoke on election night, June 9.
But attendees of the forum were greeted outside Patrick Henry High School not only by surrogates distributing campaign literature, but also by Roanoke lawyer David Nixon, who handed out a four-page document titled "Be Wary of Wray." Nixon has endorsed Williams, but the document was marked with a disclaimer saying it was "paid for and authorized by David Nixon and not by any candidate."
The event's organizers asked Nixon to stop, citing a forum rule that allowed only candidate-approved literature to be handed out. Nixon said he had First Amendment rights to continue.
"It's politics," Wray said when asked about it later. "I'm not critical of any of my other fellow Republicans. That was what we decided."
The forum itself was less controversial. Kathy Hayden Terry, a member of the Republican National Committee, asked the candidates a series of questions that ranged from their opinions on party registration to the proper way to fund transportation improvements.
Cleaveland used his opening statement to tout his signing of a pledge to oppose any tax increases, although in response to a question he said there may be exceptions "with regard to population growth and the cost of living" or if an increase could be countered with a corresponding decrease elsewhere.
Williams said that government has too much waste that needs to be cut, and in regard to a question about whether the state should use tolls to replace transportation money that's been shifted to other programs, he answered simply: "No tolls. Stop diverting the money."
He, Wray and Johnson all called for a shift from income tax to either a flat tax or the Fair Tax, which would replace most taxes with a nationwide tax on consumer goods.
Head also pledged not to raise taxes, except in the possible case of a natural disaster that would require short-term funds.
Wray mentioned several times during the forum that he cut taxes while on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors.
During his closing statement, however, Cleaveland questioned that claim. He said that while Roanoke County's tax rate was cut, rising assessments had more than offset the decrease.
"The straight talk is, taxes weren't cut," Cleaveland said.
The other four used their closing statements in different ways:
n Johnson cited a trip to Uganda to talk about the good life in this country. He said that contrast contributed to his decision to run, along with a related statement he learned from his father: "When good men do nothing, evil prevails."
n Wray cited his "effective, proven leadership" as a county supervisor and said he wanted to bring that to the state.
n Head said his business background would prove effective: "Do you want your delegate to be an attorney? Do you want your delegate to be a corporate accountant who has served on the county board of supervisors? Or do you want your delegate to be a small-business owner who has created hundreds of jobs?"
n Williams touted his conservative credentials as well as an endorsement by Don Huffman, a former chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.
At least one campaign staffer for Mason sat near the front of the auditorium, observing the forum and presumably taking notes for the general election.
