House Campaign Reports

28 April 2009

2009 is an election year for the 100 seats in the House of Delegates and the statewide offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General. Below are a series of reports on key House of Delegates races provided by Virginia FREE.

H 14 Del. Danny Marshall (R) vs. F. Seward Anderson (D) - Southside: City of Danville, Pittsylvania and Henry Counties 

H23 – Del. Shannon Valentine (D) vs. Scott Garrett (R) or Jeff Helgeson (R) - Southside: City of Lynchburg and Southern Amherst County

H32 Del. David Poisson (D) vs. Thomas “Tag” Greason (R) - Northern Virginia: Northeastern Loudoun County

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H 14 Del. Danny Marshall (R) vs. F. Seward Anderson (D)
Southside: City of Danville, Pittsylvania and Henry Counties

The 14th district, stretching west from Danville along the border with North Carolina through the southern reaches of Henry and Pittsylvania counties, is facing some of the highest unemployment in Virginia. Once the heart of the Southside tobacco economy, a booming textile industry and a regional railroad hub, Danville and its environs have fallen on tough times as those industries have faded from the region. Politically, the district has usually leaned Republican, although it gave Barack Obama 55% and Mark Warner an impressive 70% of the vote in 2008. Republican incumbent Danny Marshall is a businessman and racecar driver who runs the family concrete business and drives in the Rolex GT series for “Synergy Racing.” Marshall is a strong, consistent business ally with excellent VAFREE ratings. First elected in 2001 when conservative Democrat Whitt Clement retired, he ran unopposed in his first two re-election efforts. But in 2007, he faced a tough, well-funded challenge from Danville City Councilman Adam Tomer, winning reelection with 52% of the vote. Marshall and Tomer waged an intense battle, spending a combined total of $1.4 million. This year, Marshall is facing another veteran of the Danville city council in F. Seward Anderson. This will be Anderson's first foray in electoral politics since retiring his council seat in 1996 and subsequently losing a bid to regain it in 2002. Anderson is a financial adviser with Wachovia Securities and will likely tout his economic background in this race. Marshall brings strong business credentials to the race as well as community and civic involvement as a former member of city council and service in several economic development efforts. In the legislature, he serves on the important House Commerce and Labor Committee, Agriculture, and Counties Cities and Towns, where he chairs a subcommittee.

    

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H23 – Del. Shannon Valentine (D) vs. Scott Garrett (R) or Jeff Helgeson (R)
Southside: City of Lynchburg and Southern Amherst County

In the twilight of the Civil War, Lynchburg, “the City of Seven Hills,” was a prosperous tobacco hub that would develop a thriving manufacturing industry in the years after Reconstruction. But in the next century, Lynchburg would be largely bypassed by much of Virginia’s growth. In the 1950s and 60s, transportation officials chose Charlottesville over Lynchburg when deciding where to direct I-64 from Richmond, leaving the city without Interstate access. The 23rd District encompasses Lynchburg City and a slice of southern Amherst County. Politically it leans Republican but is fairly balanced between Christian conservatives, African-American Democrats and an old society moderate bloc. Leaders at Liberty University have boasted about their electoral muscle recently, and 2008 returns showed that the school’s population is an emerging force in local politics. Incumbent Shannon Valentine is a centrist Democrat with strong business credentials and solid VAFREE ratings (80% pro-business voting record in the past two sessions). She was first elected in a special election in January 2006 after moderate Republican Preston Bryant accepted a post in Gov. Kaine’s cabinet. A member of the House Transportation Committee, Valentine has worked hard to increase train service to Lynchburg, claiming progress this year when Amtrak announced it would step up service to two daily runs to Washington. Valentine is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia and a former vice president of corporate communications for Atlanta-based information giant Equifax. Republicans Scott Garrett and Jeff Helgeson will face of in a June 9 primary for the nomination to challenge Valentine. Garrett is a Lynchburg native and a retired surgeon who serves as City Councilman At Large. Helgeson is a Minnesota native and financial consultant who also sits on the City Council, where he represents his alma matter of Liberty University. Both candidates tout free market principles, but Garrett will probably find more friends in the established Lynchburg society while Helgeson will draw more supporters from cultural conservative students and faculty at Liberty.

    

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H32 Del. David Poisson (D) vs. Thomas “Tag” Greason (R)
Norhern Virginia: Northeastern Loudoun County

House District 32 occupies the northeast corner of Loudoun County and is bisected by Route 7, the perpetually congested axis of new development that is ground zero in a battle over growth policies. This is one of Virginia’s fastest growing areas and also one of its wealthiest. Median education, home values and income are all way beyond the rest of Virginia. The 32nd covers all of Ashburn and neighborhoods in Sterling that are east of Route 7. Voters here are often new to the area, transplants from somewhere in the nation, or the world, who are drawn by high-paying, high-tech jobs. Historically a solid Republican district, Democrats have been making inroads in recent years. Tim Kaine captured 52 percent in 2005, Jim Webb edged George Allen here in 2006, and Mark Warner and Barack Obama both carried the district with substantial margins in 2008. Riding this wave is incumbent Democrat David Poisson, who defeated four-term incumbent Republican Dick Black in 2005. Black was vocal about abortion and other cultural issues, and Poisson ran on a platform of improving roads and schools. Poisson is a native of Massachusetts who moved to Northern Virginia in 1978 and has made his living in and around the federal government – as a Capitol Hill staffer, an association executive and, most recently, as a lobbyist. He has compiled an impressive record on business issues, with Virginia FREE ratings consistently among the best in the House. He also has focused on education issues, introducing a bill that would allow local schools to bypass school boards and report directly to the County Board of Supervisors and one that would require state universities to automatically accept any applicant in the top 10% of his or her graduating class and was honorably discharged from the military. Poisson's challenger, Thomas "Tag" Greason, is familiar with military schooling. He grew up an Army brat and graduated from West Point, and later served as a 2nd lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers. Greason ran for county school board in 2007 but incorrectly submitted petitions and was dropped from the ticket and forced to run as a write-in candidate. His major campaign goals according to his website are fostering a stronger business climate and lowering taxes.