GOP Plan Takes Funding Away From Education

There is no denying that transportation is one of the major issues that must be addressed by our leaders in Richmond. Nonetheless, the partisan agenda pursued by many Republican lawmakers has caused the General Assembly to be filled with as many delays as Virginia’s highways. That is why many Virginia residents were hopeful that last November’s elections might result in the General Assembly coming together in a bipartisan manner to solve our transportation woes.

As the Richmond Times-Dispatch put it, however, the plan that was supported by many of the most partisan Republicans would take $350 million dollars away from the general fund. In other words, it would take millions of dollars away from programs such as public education and public safety.

“Republicans hope to finance Virginia transportation improvements with the government credit card, by siphoning significant dollars from schools, police and the poor and raising taxes and fees for drivers and homeowners.”

As a sign of the changes that must be made to this legislation, there were even some members of the Republican Party who were not fully satisfied with the bill. The Free Lance Star, for instance, quoted Sen. John Chichester (R-Northumberland) as stating that the plan was “a very unhealthy initiative”.

He called the use of general fund money “a very unhealthy initiative, for it will impact every public education system, health and human services organization, and public safety organization in the state.”

Chichester said. “The confrontation that many of us have foreseen, should this come to pass, is now apparent, as transportation competes with public education, higher education, and public safety for a finite number of dollars.”

Although having a plan put forward is a step in the right direction, I believe it is safe to say that many Virginians would like to see a solution put forward that doesn’t take funding away from education and public safety. The transportation agenda promoted by Republican lawmakers doesn’t accomplish that goal.

Morris Meyer On Open Primaries

The following is a statement made by Morris Meyer about the nomination process.

There are 5 different nominating mechanisms that can be used to select a candidate for a general election. From most exclusive to most inclusive they are: Committee, Closed Caucus, Open Caucus, Firehouse Primary and Primary Election.

A Committee nomination is where the county party’s top brass selects the candidate.
A Closed Caucus is a closed meeting where county committee members select the candidate.
An Open Caucus is a meeting where committee members and primary voters select the candidate.
A Firehouse Primary is held at a select few locations over a few hours on a weekend to select the candidate.
A Primary Election is an election at all the normal polling locations held on normal election hours.

At the meeting last night I advocated for using open primaries as a selection mechanism that picks the candidate and campaign with the most momentum to marshal against a seated Republican incumbent.

I’ll try to summarize the arguments pro and con for a Open Primary vs a Open Caucus / Firehouse Primary.

Primary Election – Pros

More convenient for voters as they just show up at their normal polling place

Broadens the candidates’ discussion beyond the circle of Democratic regulars to the electorate at large

Gives campaigns a trail-run of their GOTV techniques to refine later for the general election

Independents and moderate-Republicans necessary for the general included in the churn of the primary process

Primary churn identifies new Democratic and lean-Democratic voters

Campaigns not charged to hold the primary

Primary Election – Cons

Held one month later than Open Caucus / Firehouse Primary

Duplication of GOTV efforts in primary and general for Democratic voters

Open to cross-over voters

Open Caucus – Pros

Held earlier than Primary Election

Cheaper for candidates as the GOTV universe is Democratic party regulars

Exclusive to Democratic voters – not open to Republican activists voting for the weaker candidate

Open Caucus – Cons

Gives campaigns a false sense of security that their GOTV techniques are tested

Campaigns charged for cost of holding the caucus

Democrats talking to Democratic regulars does not broaden our circle of base voters

Campaigns need to educate potential voters about the caucus mechanism. The appearance that this is a “party-insider” process makes it unfriendly to general electorate.

Fewer locations and shorter hours broadens the hurdle for participation, reduces turn-out and increases the cost and GOTV efforts of campaigns to bring out base voters outside of party regulars.

As for the argument that campaigns waste money in a primary, I believe that is a function of how clean the campaigns are run and not the selection mechanism per se. Two candidates talking about Democratic issues in a genteel fashion to the electorate helps further our party. Two candidates tearing at each other turns off voters and is a detriment to our party.

Your circle of friends wins a caucus. The strength of your campaign wins a primary. Displacing an incumbent requires a campaign that reaches out to base voters, as well as independents and moderate Republicans. I believe that an open primary election is the closest approximation to a general election and indicates which campaign is prepared to take the Democratic message to that broader swath of voters.

Warmest regards,

–morris meyer

Democratic Candidate – House of Delegates – 40th District
morris@morrismeyer.com
http://www.morrismeyer.com
703.543.6339

Morris Meyer Campaign Kickoff

The past weekend was a very exciting one for the Democratic Party and there were several events for people to attend. One of those events was the campaign kickoff for Morris Meyer, which was held last Saturday was held at the home of Sharon and Seth Stark. As the 40th has gradually turned bluer and bluer, the approximately 80 people that gathered at the Stark’s beautiful house were extremely excited about the prospect of holding Tim Hugo responsible for his past actions.

In addition to several prominent members of FCDC, some of the guests included Delegates Brian Moran, Chuck Caputo, Steve Shannon, Dave Marsden and Adam Ebbin and the FCDC Chair and Vice-Chair Ginny Peters and Eileen Manning. Furthermore, George Barker and Greg Galligan, who are running for Senate in the 39th district, Mike McClanahan who is running for Springfield Supervisor and Georgette Kohler who is running for Sully District Supervisor were all at the event.

After being introduced as “our next delegate from the 40th,” Morris gave a speech that clearly displayed the passion that he has for this race. He reminded the crowd that “the conscience of our Country – to form a more perfect union – is the essence of the Democratic Party” and that the Democrats need to regain control of the General Assembly in order to ensure that “our values of fairness, opportunity, and equality” remain intact.

Throughout his speech, he touched on several issues including education, transportation, and the climate. Here are a few brief highlights.

Morris believes that we should work with Governor Kaine in order to offer “universal preschool that prepares all of Virginia’s children for their K-12 education and we need to make college more affordable for our young adults.” These programs need to be properly funded because our future lies in the hands of our educational system.

It was extremely pleasing to see that Morris realized that “there is no silver bullet to improve transportation” and it a solution will need to be discussed amongst his future colleagues and members of the community. Morris did, however, propose that we should improve our public transit system and work to promote other programs that would cut down on commute times. Doing so would allow Virginians to spend more time enjoying our beautiful Commonwealth.

As is evident by the fact that he just back from Nashville where he was taking part in Al Gore’s Climate Training Project, Morris is extremely passionate about protecting our climate. He pointed out that even though this it is a world wide problem, Virginia in particular is facing some of the consequences. “We have already lost 13 islands to the Chesapeake Bay,” for instance, which is why it is so important for us to take advantage of some of the technology that is already available and pass Senator Mary Margaret Whipple’s Renewable Portfolio Standard.

Morris has also already begun forming a energetic team and I am confident that he will be the next delegate from the 40th.