Erik Curren announces for the 20th House District

Erik Curren, Director of Marketing and Sales at the American Shakespeare Center, will challenge Chris Saxman for the 20th District House of Delegates seat. Curren has been exploring the opportunity for the past couple of months and said he's been encouraged by colleagues in business and the community, by party leaders, and by friends and family. While he knows taking on an incumbent is tough, Curren says folks tell him they want a delegate who will listen, be more responsive, and be less dogmatic.

The filing deadline is April 10 and it appears Curren will be the only candidate to have completed the paperwork and collected the signatures to be certified for the June 9 Democratic primary.

Curren is active in a number of community activities including Staunton Green 2020, a recently formed citizens group focusing on raising awareness about clean energy and economic development for the the Queen City. His campaign for delegate will probably focus on those issues, transportation, and preserving the quality of life in the Shenandoah Valley. He has expressed strong support for public education, a position that stands in sharp contrast to Saxman's.

Curren is a graduate of Washington and Lee and earned a PhD at the University of California, Irvine. He's taught English abroad and several places in the United States, including Blue Ridge Community College. He lives in historic downtown Staunton.

The 20th District includes Staunton, Highland County, much of western Augusta County, and several precincts in southern Rockingham County. He promises to run on issues, not personalities, and sees the campaign as "project in participatory democracy for the area where citizens can be involved in a discussion of the most promising opportunities and solutions for the area and state."

Over the past few months, Erik has earned a reputation for asking questions and listening to the answers rather than talking to potential voters. That is as refreshing as our warm spring days!

Cross posted at Coarse Cracked Corn. News Leader article.

Lohr, Landes, and Saxman Agree - The DNR Sucks

I agree boys!

A legislative panel last week killed a second bill that would have given local governments alternatives to publishing public notices in general-circulation newspapers. A subcommittee of the House Counties, Cities and Towns Committee voted 3-8 against the proposal.

HB 2355 (sponsored by Steve Landes) would have allowed Virginia localities with more than 100,000 population to forgo placing public notices in newspapers. Instead, large governmental bodies could their Web sites or public-access radio or television to disseminate public notices.

Of course that doesn't apply to either Harrisonburg or Rockingham County. But it would have gone a long way towards getting public notices to the public via 21st century technology. So why did Delegates Matt Lohr, Steve Landes and Chris Saxman vote for this bill? They know most people in the Valley don't read the "Newspaper of Record" - the Daily News Record.

Under the legislation localities could post notices on government Web sites, communicate them through automated-voice or text-alert systems and air them on public-access television channels.

VPA Executive Director Ginger Stanley (a lobbyist for the Virginia Press Association) said government notices should be published in an independent entity - such as a newspaper - and not in an entity controlled by the government itself. An independent entity can verify and archive the notices, she said.

Sounds good Ginger, except your colleagues at the DNR don't archive. Put Public Notices on the Web.

Bob Goodlatte's ties to racist Bobby May

Bob Goodlatte is friends with Bobby May. Who is Bobby May? What is so bad about him?

Bobby May is the southwest Virginia GOP activist, treasurer of the Buchanan County Republican Party, and racist who wrote a disgusting and offensive article attacking Barack Obama in his local newspaper. Among the vile crap, May wrote that Obama would hire Ludacris to paint the White House black, change the national antemm into the "black national anthemm," raise taxes to "pay for Obama's inner-city political base" and replace the U.S. flag with a new one that had "a star and crescent logo."

May was a member John McCain's Virginia leadership team. The McCain campaign broke off the relationship with with him only after the story went national when the Los Angeles Times published parts of May's vitriol. A few days later, Bob McDonnell, a co-chair of McCain's Virginia leadership team, current attorney general, and a candidate for governor in 2009, also sought to distance himself from May. So far, no comment has been heard from Chris Saxman, another outspoken member of the leadership team and member of the House of Delegates from Staunton.

Back to Bob Goodlatte. What exactly is his relationship with Bobby May? I think Bob owes us all an explanation. We do know that the Goodlatte campaign throws significant cash to Mr. May's advertising business. According to OpenSecrets.org, the Goodlatte campaign bought $7,508 from May Advertising Specialities in 2006. Was there even a campaign then? Records for campaign expenditures are not complete for 2008, but it is likely the close relationship continues.

Virginia Public Access Project records show May Advertising Specialities has been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by Republican candidates in Virginia, including over $9,000 by the Staunton delegate and almost $75,000 by the attorney general.

Ah, the ties that bind. Mr. Goodlatte, tell us more about your ties and friendship with Bobby May.

Cross-posted at Coarse Cracked Corn