OCTOBER 2015


10


Off To The Races By Victoria Kidd


The Observer’s guide to who is running in Clarke County The Observer of Clarke County asked candidates


running in contested elections to provide us a few details about themselves. Candidates were asked to write a short introduction, which we are printing without substantive edits. We have also asked that they provide details concerning their education, past offi ces held, previous work experience, etc. Those details are included below, although they have been formatted for consistency. For more information about each candidate visit their website.


Who is running in Clarke County? The List.


VA Senate, 27th: Jill Holtzman Vogel (R)


VA House of Delegates, 10th: Peter C. Rush (D) and J. Randy Minchew (R) VA House of Delegates, 33rd: D. Chuck Hedges


(D), Dave A. LaRock (R), and Mark D. Anderson (L)


Clerk of Court: Helen V. Butts (D) and Maral S. Kalbian (I)


Commonwealth’s Attorney: Suzanne L. “Suni” Mackall (D)


Sheriff: Anthony W. “Tony” Roper (D) Commissioner of Revenue: Donna Mathews Peake


(R) Treasurer: Sharon E. Keeler (D)


Soil and Water Conservation Director, Lord Fairfax: Justin Mackay-Smith (I) and Wayne E. Webb (I)


Board of Supervisors, Berryville District: Mary Costello Daniel (D) and Thomas W. McFillen (R)


Board of Supervisors, Buckmarsh District: David S. Weiss (R)


Board of Supervisors, Millwood District: Terri Trimble Catlett (R)


Board of Supervisors, Russell District: Barbara J. Byrd (I)


Board of Supervisors, White Post District: Beverly B. “Bev” McKay (R)


School Board, Berryville District: Chuyen B. Kochinsky (I)


School Board, Buckmarsh District: Monica H. Singh-Smith (I)


School Board, Millwood District: Dennis M. Graham (I)


School Board, White Post District: Charles H. “Chip” Schitte (I)


School Board, Russell District: Tom Parker, Jr. (Write-In Candidate)


Mayor, Boyce: Franklin S. Roberts (I)


Town Council, Boyce: Laurel W. Greene (I) and Ruth A. Hayes (I)


Introducing the Candidates


Candidates for VA House of Delegates, 10th: Peter C. Rush (D) and J. Randy Minchew (R)


Peter C. Rush (D)


Education: BA, Swarthmore College; MA, Univ. of Michigan, History • Past Offi ces Held: Board Member, Loudoun County Soil and Water Conservation District, 2007-2015 (cur- rently still serving)


• Current/ Previous Work Experience/Positions Held: Journalist, Information Technology Contractor


• Recent Volunteer Experience: N/A • Honors/Awards Received: N/A About me


I am running because politics in this state (and nation) is broken because too many Republicans have made politics about ideology and political warfare, rather than about good governance and compromise to do the people’s business. We have multiple areas in great need of government action: • increasing funding for teacher salaries, universal


pre-K and smaller class sizes;


• acceptance of Medicaid expansion to save lives and money, and improve the health of 400,000 Virginians;


• jump starting job creation by implementing the Governor’s “New Virginia Initiative” and similar mea- sures;


• creating a Virginia minimum wage that people can actually live on, well above the starvation Federal lev- el;


• promoting high-tech R&D with government-uni- versity-private sector partnerships to develop and commercialize new technologies in health, energy generation and effi ciency, information technology, and above all manufacturing;


• increasing funding for greatly expanded mental health services;


• launching a major effort to provide evidence-based treatment options for opioid addicts (both heroin and prescription drug) to address the current raging ad- diction epidemic, while shifting from law enforcement to treatment as the preferred option for petty drug possession crimes;


• addressing the incarceration crisis by fi nding ways to release non-violent offenders early and helping them readjust to civilian life;


• disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline by timely interventions in schools and redressing the overly se- vere punishments in some schools;


• enhancing the safety net for our poorest residents who have inadequate incomes for food and shelter.


And climate change and our environment are further critical issues that


require government-


sponsored efforts to shift away from coal and other fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, which will also create thousands of jobs. Fracking should be avoided indefi nitely, until its safety can be determined based on many years of experience elsewhere. By contrast, my opponent believes that Richmond should limit its concerns to just education and transportation


infrastructure, according to his


website. He offers nothing to address the issues of those without health insurance, of increasing education funding, or pro-active job creation. He believes that


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28