Posted on 05/19/2013 7:59:26 PM PDT by Gopher Broke
May 16, 2013
Dear :
The VEA Fund for Children and Public Education Executive Committee (VEA Fund) and The VEA Fund Directors, your elected representatives from across Virginia, have offered recommendations for the June 11 Democratic primaries.
The Democratic Party is choosing Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General candidates in an open primary on that day. Republican Candidates are being chosen by a convention this Saturday in Richmond. Regrettably, none of the Republican candidates chose to complete the candidate questionnaire required to gain a recommendation.
In Virginia voters do not register by party, so our primaries are open. Any voter can participate in the Democratic primary. There are eleven state-run Republican and Democratic primaries in House Districts. Three of them are Democratic primaries (63, 86 and 90). Eight are Republican (6, 15, 16, 28, 29, 33, 54 and 85). If you vote in one of the eight Republican House primaries you cannot also vote in the Democratic primary.
Members of the VEA Fund Executive Committee examined the questionnaires of the two Lieutenant Governor candidates and the two Attorney General candidates. They followed this by interviewing all four. Both offices are extremely important to Virginia schools. The Lieutenant Governor is the president of the Senate, and casts the tie vote in this evenly divided body. This year, for example, it was Lieutenant Governor Bolling’s who provided the vote needed in the Senate to pass Governor McDonald’s school takeover bill, SB 1324. The Attorney General offers opinions on matters such as school funding, voucher proposals and the state takeover of schools.
It is important to remember that the VEA Fund is separate from VEA. It is a political committee funded by voluntary contributions. It is also important to remember - the VEA fund neither endorses candidates, nor tells VEA members how to vote. It offers recommendations based on a rational process which includes examination of voting records, assessment of the viability of candidates, review of candidate questionnaires and candidate interviews. The elected leaders of The Fund work to offer an informed recommendation which they hope you will consider as you make your own choice.
For Lieutenant Governor, the VEA fund recommends the candidacy of Senator Ralph Northam. His opponent is bright and able, but Ralph has the experience of six years in the Senate that will enable him to be successful in the role of the Senate’s presiding officer. This experience will be invaluable to Terry McAuliffe, should he be elected. Ralph had a 100% VEA voting record in the last session, and he has always been open to VEA’s input. Public schools are important to Ralph. He is a graduate of Onacock High School on the Eastern Shore, and his wife is an elementary school science teacher. Dr. Northam served as an Army doctor for eleven years, including Desert Storm service. He has been a pediatric neurologist in Norfolk since 1992. He is medical director of the Edmarc Hospice for Children in Portsmouth. His medical background and his rural roots provide an often needed perspective in the Virginia Senate.
For Attorney General, the VEA Fund recommends the candidacy of Senator Mark Herring. Mark had a 100% voting record for VEA in the last session, and he has always been a solid supporter of public education. Mark has a long record of public service, including service on the Loudoun Board of Supervisors, where he successfully fought to fully fund school board budgets year after year. He first ran for local office because he wanted to address the “chronic overcrowding” in Loudoun County’s schools. Public schools are close to home for Mark as well. His sister teaches in Colorado, his wife is a teacher assistant, and his daughter, Peyton, is an aspiring teacher and a SVEA member at UVA. Mark has a firm grasp of the role of Virginia’s attorney general, and he is in the right place philosophically on important issues such as school funding, vouchers, the state takeover of schools, and civil rights.
Pundits expect a low voter turnout on June 11. This gives VEA members an excellent chance to ensure that these two proven friends of public education become their party’s nominees. Again, Virginia’s primaries are open – anyone can vote. Please do!
Thank you,
Robley Jones VEA GR&R
ping!
Did she tell these democrats how many times they’re supposed to vote”
Well, I can’t.
I don’t live in Virginia.
“’Senate to pass Governor McDonald’s school takeover bill, SB 1324.’”
Representative of the Virginia educators...?
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