also posted at Blue Commonwealth
Every two years Virginia elects all 100 members of the House of Delegates. This time the Democrats need to pick up net 6 seats to take control of the House. It is this newly elected House which will participate in the redistricting for the 11 Congressional seat and all 140 seats in the General Assembly. That makes each contest important.
The 13th Delegate District is in Loudoun and Prince William Counties.It is currently represent by Bob Marshall, best known for co-authoring the Marshal-Newman the Amendment to Virginia's State Constitution in 2006, passage of which defined marriage as solely between one man and one woman and banned recognition of anything approximating marriage, i. e., civil unions, being recognized within the state. In Marshall's 9 terms as a delegate he has tended to focus on divisive social issues, also including abortion.
His Democratic opponent is John Bell, a retired Air Force major and current businessman who fully supports gay rights. Perhaps that will encourage you to continue reading?
Marshall is well established in this district, having one 58% of the vote against another veteran, Bruce Roemmelt, in 2007, up from the 55% he won during the gubernatorial cycle of 2005. In 2005 Marshall actually lost the 8 (of 25 total) precincts in the Loudoun portion of the district. Tim Kaine won Loudoun by 6% and Prince William by 1.5% in 2005.
To give a little more sense of the nature of the district, we can look at the Webb-Allen Senate race in 2006 and the Presidential contest in 2008. In 2006 Webb won Loudoun by 1.5% and Prince William by about 1.4%. In 2008, Obama won Loudoun by 8% and Prince William by almost 16%.
[note - for those who know their general geography, while the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park are located within the boundaries of Prince William County, they are not part of the County, nor are they included in the 13th Assembly District]
Thus one sees a general trend towards Democrats in the district, and the higher the turnout the better Democrats do.
One last set of demographic information would involve the two men running for governor, who faced off for Attorney General in 2005. Democrat Creigh Deeds was not as well known in NoVa, and did not advertise the way Republican Bob McDonnell did, having far less money. McDonnell won Loudoun by about 1/2% and Prince William by 4.5%
John Bell intends to focus on four issues in particular: the economy, transportation, education, and immigration. He must address the last of these, as Prince William has seen the issue demagogued. Bell would focus enforcement on employers who hire illegal immigrants, rather than going after individuals, and that we must insure that the applicable provisions of federal law not be used as an excuse for racial profiling.
The other three issues are intimately interconnected - business cannot thrive without effective transportation. A thriving economy requires strong schools both as a source of the future workforce and as an incentive for employees to live in the county. John Bell has a son at a local high school where he also serves as a volunteer tennis coach. Much of his 26 year career in the Air Force was as a finance officer,
Transportation is an issue critical to all of Northern Virginia. 80% of the residents of the 13th district are commuters. Delegate Marshall has consistently worked against meaningful solutions to the transportation crisis. John Bell offers a comprehensive set of ideas to address the critical transportation needs:
- Pursue transportation solutions that ensure Virginia no longer faces a transportation funding death spiral. www.itstimevirginia.org/Index.aspx
- Increase transportation investment to get Virginia out of a "maintenance only" status.
- Propose VDOT adoption of the Practical Design Concept pioneered by the State of Missouri in order to maximize investment funding. To view Missouri's Practical Design Concept visit their website: www.modot.mo.gov/business/PracticalDesign.htm
- Find solutions that require little to no funding, such as creating a "Slug West" program to export the popular practice of ridesharing used on the I-395 corridors to I-66 and the Dulles Toll Road.
- Pursue policies that provide incentives for companies that offer regular telecommuting.
You can explore John's website to see more about him, his campaign, and his issues.
What sets this race apart in my opinion is the clear difference on social issues. Bob Marshall has taken positions that can fairly be described as bigoted and divisive. Despite being in one of the more conservative parts of the immediate DC Metropolitan area, John Bell is clear in his support for equal rights. In May, when the California Supreme Court upheld the initiative banning gay marriage, John issued the following statement:
"I served in the military for almost 26 years to protect people's rights, not take them away. It really bothers me when anyone unfairly tries to take rights away from people. It's a sad day when society decides to create two different classes of people and ensure inequality. As a Delegate I'll always vote to protect rights, not take them away.
When I asked John directly about gay marriage, he stated his support for full equality for same sex unions.
The General Assembly currently has only one openly gay member, Delegate Adam Ebben, whose district is mainly in his home of Alexandria, but also includes parts of Arlington (which also has Jay Fisette on County Board and Sally Baird on School Board as other openly gay public officials). Adam recently served as co-host, along with Congressman Gerry Connolly, of a fundraiser for John Bell. In his remarks Adam noted how much of a roadblock to equality Bob Marshall has been in Richmond.
I met John Bell at a fundraiser for Jay Fisette, one which saw a large number of politically active gays, not only from NoVa, but also from DC, just across the Potomac. John is running as a moderate Democrat - one who believes in fiscal responsibility, but not at the expense of the needs of the people and the community. He makes clear the importance of inclusion of all, regardless of race, national origin, immigration status, gender, or sexual preference, in our understanding of the community that he wants to serve.
There are many important contests in Virginia this year. Certainly all three statewide races matter, as does the race for Governor of New Jersey. Gaining Democratic control of the House of Delegates is critical to the future of the Commonwealth. Much of the focus will be on N Virginia districts currently held by Republicans but which voted for Obama and/or Time Kaine. Increasingly, as I noted above, the Northern Virginia region is tilting blue. That includes the 13th Delegate District. And given the particular and peculiar focus Bob Marshall has had in his 9 terms, assisting John Bell to defeat has the added benefit of rejecting the use of social issues to divide us from one another.
I hope you will consider offering John Bell some support, financial if you can, volunteering if you are close enough, and lobbying and friends or family who live in the district or close enough to help.
On behalf of John and his campaign, and all who believe in full equality, I thank you in advance.
Peace.