Tim Hugo Joins Extreme Right Wing of Republican Party

After the results of the last few elections, Virginia has received national attention for becoming one of the more moderate states in the country. That is especially true in Northern Virginia. Nonetheless, there are some lawmakers in the General Assembly who simply do not seem to recognize this pattern and continue to promote an ultra-conservative, right-wing agenda.

Unfortunately for the residents of the 40th House of Delegates district, Delegate Tim Hugo was one of the delegates who decided to vote against the wishes of many of his constituents by supporting the EXTREME right of the Republican Party. On Monday, Hugo voted in support of HB 2797 which stated “That life begins at the moment of fertilization and the right to enjoyment of life guaranteed by Article 1, § 1 of the Constitution of Virginia is vested in each born and preborn human being from the moment of fertilization.”

There are intelligent people throughout the Commonwealth who are opposed to abortion and their opinions should be taken into consideration whenever abortion is debated. This measure, however, was so extreme that it went well beyond simply banning abortion as a method of birth control. For instance, the bill would have resulted in abortions being illegal even if the life or health of the mother was at risk or the mother was raped. Furthermore, the wording of this bill would have also made some types of birth control illegal.

Thankfully, the majority of Virginia’s lawmakers — including some lawmakers who do not approve of abortion — realized that this bill was not representative of the views held by Virginians. Therefore, the bill was not passed by the House of Delegates.

So, one might ask, why is a bill that did not pass the House of Delegates worth mentioning? The answer is quite simple — it illustrates how Tim Hugo is willing to support an ultra-conservative agenda that is so far out of the norm that even some anti-choice Republicans shy away from it. When that is combined with the fact that Virginia has now become a moderate state, it goes to show why Tim Hugo should not be re-elected next November.

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.