Sunday, October 25, 2009
Competition for 17th District House of Delegates seat in home stretch
William Cleaveland and Gwen Mason have focused their campaigns on economic issues.
General Assembly 2011
Among the major issues: The state's continuing efforts to provide services with fewer dollars and Gov. McDonnell's plan to privatize liquor stores. Session ends Feb. 26.
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Del. William Fralin's retirement announcement on the last day of the General Assembly session surprised observers and resulted in a scramble to find candidates for the suddenly open 17th District seat in the House of Delegates.
Democrat Gwen Mason -- who was at the state Capitol that day -- moved quickly and over the next few days met with Democratic officials in the district to help finalize her status as the party's nominee.
Republican Bill Cleaveland took another route to the general election. He was the last of five Republicans to announce his candidacy for the seat, but emerged with the nomination in June after a primary in which all five held their victory party together.
Now, Cleaveland, a Botetourt County lawyer, and Mason, a Roanoke city councilwoman, are entering the homestretch of a closely watched race to represent a mainly suburban district that comprises portions of Roanoke and Roanoke County, as well as two precincts in Botetourt County. It is viewed as a key race as Republicans attempt to hang on to their majority in the House and Democrats try to retake it.
Overall, Mason consistently out-raised Cleaveland in every reporting period until September, when he received a hefty $50,000 contribution from Peter Via, a Roanoke investor and son of late philanthropist Marion Bradley Via.
Mason is running in a district that was redrawn in 2000 to favor a Republican -- 58 percent voted for Republican presidential candidate John McCain last year, for instance. An unfavorable atmosphere fueled by national issues such as proposed health care and energy reform may not help Mason's chances either.
"From Day One, it would be very difficult for a Democrat to win that," said former Republican state Sen. Brandon Bell of Roanoke County. "All the planets would have to be aligned for her. They are far from that this year."
Former state Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum noted that Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner won in the 17th District, while Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore barely carried it in 2005.
"A good Democratic candidate can carry the district," Woodrum said.
Fralin, who has represented the district since 2004, has a less partisan take: "I think the 17th District appreciates a workhorse, not a show horse."
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Both Cleaveland and Mason have responded to Fralin's assessment, focusing their campaigns more on nuts-and-bolts economic issues and less on ideological divides. That said, in recent weeks Cleaveland has started to suggest that Mason has hidden what he considers to be liberal stances.
"My perception is that she is not nearly as conservative as she has portrayed herself," Cleaveland said.
He pointed to social issues, suggesting a candidate's position there serves as an indicator of her stances on responsibility and government's role as well. Cleaveland includes on his Web site a section representing him as "A Man of Principles" in which he lists his positions against abortion and gay marriage, and for gun rights and property rights.
Mason said that social issues "take a back seat in terms of what the real issues are facing the commonwealth." But she did outline some of her stances.
Mason supports abortion rights, but says that abortion should be rare.
Mason said she grew up in a family of hunters and supports the right to bear arms. But she hedged on the question of requiring background checks by private dealers at gun shows.
Cleaveland said he would leave gun show laws as they presently stand. The National Rifle Association gave Mason a "D-" and endorsed Cleaveland while giving him an "A."
Their positions on education and transportation also offer substantial differences.
"His support for private and parochial education concerns me a little bit," Mason said of Cleaveland. "Public education is a civil right, and any weakening of that makes me uncomfortable, particularly in this environment where that's exactly where we ought to be investing. I don't see -- either by experience or platform -- that commitment."
Cleaveland bristled at that, arguing that his support for private and home schooling doesn't mean he doesn't support public schools, too.
"When she takes the position that public education is the only way, she ignores the reality of huge contributions by private schools and the home school community, which I think is a tremendously grave mistake," he said.
Mason said that shifting even a small amount of funding could damage the system: "The last thing you want to do is undermine in this economy that fragile balance when public schools are fighting for resources."
On transportation, Cleaveland supports a plan similar to that put forth by Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell. He supports privatizing the state's liquor stores and drilling for oil offshore to generate revenue for roads. He also signed a pledge not to raise taxes, though he emphasizes that would apply only to his first two years in the House.
Mason said the state is at a "tipping point" when it comes to transportation funding. Although she hasn't ruled out offshore drilling, she doesn't believe those revenues will be available for a decade or more. Unlike Cleaveland, she's willing to consider increasing transportation-related taxes.
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Voters also can find distinctions between the two candidates based on their experience.
With no prior experience as an elected official, Cleaveland has touted his 30 years of legal experience in the Roanoke Valley, during which time he has worked as a prosecutor, defense attorney and substitute judge. Cleaveland said he has spent most of his life helping people interact with the law. Helping to write those laws, he said, is the next logical step.
Mason spent 13 years working for the U.S. Department of the Interior, and she has served since 2006 on the Roanoke City Council. That time, she said, has given her experience in balancing budgets and working with other lawmakers to find common ground. More than anything else, Mason said, her time on the council has taught her to "be an independent thinker."
Cleaveland said Mason's record shows that she's been disingenuous in portraying herself as a moderate. His biggest example is the council's back-and-forth debate over construction of an amphitheater. It was part of Mason's "For the City" platform in 2006, and she voted several times in favor of the multimillion-dollar project.
Mason then reversed positions in July after declaring her House candidacy. Mason said the shift came from talking to citizens who expressed concerns about spending in a bad economy -- but Cleaveland remains skeptical.
"She made that vote a week after she voted for it," Cleaveland said.
Mason has likewise criticized Cleaveland's legal experience. She questioned Cleaveland's acceptance of contributions from trial lawyers, particularly in a district with an economy based largely on health care. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, he has received of nearly $19,000 from trial lawyers this cycle, including $9,000 from the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. During that same time period, Mason has received $12,350 from trial lawyers, with $11,000 coming from Consumer Litigation Associates.
Cleaveland said that the contributions represent a show of support -- not an expectation of services to come.
Although Mason has not made an issue of it, there also have been concerns expressed in local blogs about Cleaveland's list of legal clients, the most prominent of whom is Roanoke neo-Nazi leader William A. White, now in jail over Internet threat issues. Cleaveland said that he abides by the Constitution, which guarantees legal representation for defendants. White's case is one that will help define the limits of the law, he said -- something that by its nature occurs "in an environment that is controversial."
