Thursday, October 08, 2009
Campaign notebook: Candidates squabble over figures touted in new TV spot
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roanoke.com/politics
RICHMOND -- A new television ad sponsored by Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell assigns a price tag to tax policies that McDonnell accuses Democrat Creigh Deeds of supporting.
But the figure is based partly on McDonnell's claims that Deeds supports a 20-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax increase -- something Deeds has not called for in the campaign.
Deeds has said the state needs at least $1 billion a year in new transportation revenue and that he would sign a bill that increases taxes dedicated to roads and transit. But he has not identified specific revenue sources that he would tap, saying only that he would not divert money from the general fund operating budget.
McDonnell's ad suggests that Deeds would get it all from the state's gas tax, which now stands at 17.5 cents per gallon. Deeds, a state senator from Bath County, voted for a 2008 bill that would have increased the tax by a penny a year over six years. It also would increase the retail sales tax by 0.25 percentage points and the vehicle sales tax by 0.5 percentage points, and reduce the sales tax on groceries by 0.5 percent.
"We often find that we're the ones having to provide clarity for the Deeds campaign," said McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin.
McDonnell has said he would not increase taxes for transportation and would use some revenue that now goes to the general fund to pay for services such as education and public safety. The McDonnell ad charges that tax policies supported by Deeds would cost an average household $7,800 over four years.
Deeds spokesman Jared Leopold said the McDonnell numbers are pulled from thin air.
"Bob McDonnell's dishonest ads are a desperate attempt to distract from his phony-baloney transportation scheme" that would divert money from essential state services, Leopold said.
Deeds has said McDonnell's transportation plan would divert $5.4 billion from the general fund over 10 years.
The McDonnell ad also factors in Deeds' support for a cap-and-trade system to control greenhouse gas emissions. Deeds served on a climate change panel appointed by Gov. Tim Kaine that recommended a cap-and-trade program to curb pollution. But Deeds has said he opposes the bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year.
Nutter gets nod from teachers union
Del. Dave Nutter of Christiansburg finds himself in a small minority. He is one of only six incumbent Republican delegates to gain the endorsement of the Virginia Education Association.
The VEA endorsed the entire Democratic statewide ticket and has announced endorsements in 57 of the 100 House races, according to its Web site. Nutter is battling Democrat Peggy Frank in his re-election bid.
Nutter got high marks from the VEA for supporting legislation that would provide elementary teachers with 30 minutes of planning time and for opposing proposed changes to the school funding formula that would reduce state support for public schools.
"Dave Nutter is a statesman who has shown his willingness to lead wisely without narrow partisanship," VEA President Kitty Boitnott said in a statement released by Nutter's campaign. "He has been a friend of public education."
Nutter was recognized as the 2007 "legislator of the year" by the state association for career and technical education teachers, having worked to create a new diploma in that field that takes effect this year.
"During times of economic challenge it is important to remember the fundamentals, and education is the fundamental that connects economic growth and prosperity for the entire region," Nutter said.
