Saturday, August 15, 2009
Va. Farm Bureau backs GOP
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From The Roanoke Times
The Republican statewide ticket gained an endorsement Friday from the political arm of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, which hailed the efforts of two GOP candidates to protect private property rights.
The VFBF's political action committee, Virginia AgPAC, endorsed gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, incumbent Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and attorney general candidate Ken Cuccinelli.
The announcement came two weeks after McDonnell and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds appeared at an agriculture and forestry forum at the Virginia Farm Bureau's headquarters.
VFBF President Wayne Pryor cited the key roles played by McDonnell, the former attorney general, and Cuccinelli, a state senator from Fairfax County, in passing legislation in 2007 to revamp Virginia's eminent domain laws.
Cuccinelli was the chief Senate sponsor of the eminent domain legislation, which also was part of McDonnell's agenda as attorney general.
"Protecting the rights of property owners has been and continues to be a priority issue for Virginia Farm Bureau," said Pryor, who also heads the Virginia AgPAC's board of trustees. The PAC also endorsed McDonnell during his attorney general campaign in 2005.
Pryor called Bolling "a strong supporter of Virginia's Right to Work laws and creating a business-friendly environment."
McDonnell said he will be "a friend Virginia's farmers can count on" and will work to open markets worldwide to Virginia products.
-- Michael Sluss
McDonnell wants tougher laws for sex offenders
Bob McDonnell has called for tougher penalties for sex offenders who fail to register their names with the state and lifetime monitoring of violent sex offenders who don't qualify for the state's civil commitment program.
The measures were among a series of public safety proposals McDonnell unveiled this week. The former attorney general also called for increased penalties for violent crimes that occur in front of children and taking steps to improve the state's response to child abuse complaints.
"You can't have good jobs and an economic resurgence without safe streets and secure communities," said McDonnell, who announced his initiatives along with Republican attorney general candidate Ken Cuccinelli. McDonnell led efforts to crack down on violent sexual offenders and Internet crimes during his term as attorney general and vowed to continue those efforts as governor.
Among other things, McDonnell proposed "lifetime monitoring" of violent sex offenders who do not meet standards for a civil commitment program that keeps dangerous offenders confined beyond their prison terms. Offenders who violate the terms of probation or conditional release also could be subject to intensive monitoring, he said.
McDonnell also said he would increase penalties for convicted sex offenders who fail to report their names to a state registry of sex offenders and crimes against children. He said he would raise the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.
McDonnell said he also would work with lawmakers to create a separate felony for committing a violent crime in the presence of children, an issue advocated by state Sen. Henry Marsh, D-Richmond.
-- Michael Sluss
