Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Time and time again, partisanship has blocked progress, and even common sense, in Virginia. It is time for that to end, and we believe Sen. Creigh Deeds is the person who can make that happen.
Sen. Deeds, former delegate Brian Moran and businessman Terry McAuliffe are running in the June 9 primary to become the Democratic Party’s candidate for governor. The winner of that race will face Republican Bob McDonnell in the Nov. 3 gubernatorial election.
Of the three Democrats, only Sen. Deeds has served in both the state House and Senate. That gives him experience and a perspective that can be essential to bringing key players in both chambers to the table to resolve critical issues such as transportation.
Of the three, only Sen. Deeds has ties to rural Virginia. He lives in Bath County and formerly lived in Danville. Yet he was endorsed by The Washington Post on May 9 in an editorial that called Sen. Deeds the right candidate for Northern Virginia — and the rest of the state.
Why? The Post stated that in Sen. Deeds’ 18 years in the General Assembly, he “has time and again supported measures that might be unpopular with his rural constituency but that are the right thing to do, for Northern Virginia and the state as a whole. He has demonstrated an understanding of the problems that matter most, the commitment to solve them and the capacity to get things done.”
But getting things done can be difficult, especially when politics becomes paramount. For instance, when the House Republicans defeated an unemployment bill, it cost the state $125 million in federal stimulus funds. Sen. Deeds said he would bring the Republicans back to the table by taking a lesson from former governor Gerald Baliles’ approach to solving the state’s transportation problems two decades ago.
“I would call the Republicans and Democrats together and sit down and say, ‘What is it going to take to get this deal done? What do you need to get this to happen? How can I convince you?’ To create win-win situations is hard work, but it’s got to happen,” Sen. Deeds said.
We agree. That is why we urge voters to cast their ballots for Sen. Deeds in the June 9 Democratic primary. |
| |
|
|
|
