Creigh Deeds for Governor!

Four years ago this month I made my first contribution to support Creigh Deeds' campaign for attorney general. The story of how I came to send that $10 check to Post Office Drawer D in Hot Springs is one of the main reasons I endorse Creigh Deeds for Governor.

I knew Creigh and Sen. John Edwards were both running for the AG nomination, but I had only met Creigh, when he came to Harrisonburg in April 2004 to stump at a rubber chicken dinner for Alan Finks, who was running for City Council. After looking over the websites and reading about both candidates, I decided to support Creigh.

I was at JMU then, so I couldn't afford to give much, but I knew I could afford $10 a month. But when I looked on Creigh's website, I couldn't find an address for where to send a check.

So I wrote an e-mail introducing myself and asking where I could send a small check to support his campaign. I sent it to the address on the website and went to get ready for work.

Not 15 minutes later, the phone rang. Not only was I shocked that someone would respond so quickly to an e-mail from a no-name kid with some pocket change, but I was flabbergasted that the person on the other end of the line was a Virginia state senator: Creigh Deeds himself.

I don't remember much from the phone call – I talked about how I came into the Democratic Party because of Howard Dean, and Creigh said he had met with Joe Trippi – but I know at that moment Creigh won my support for a long time.

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Since then, at the numerous events at which Creigh and I have seen each other, Creigh has never failed to say hello. In the four years since that first phone call, Creigh has never forgotten my name. One reason might be the thank-you letters he signed month after month as I squeezed $10 from a student budget to help him beat "Taliban Bob" McDonnell.

But Creigh also always asks about my son, Caleb, and always wants to see pictures. He always asks about our house, and he always remembers I live in Strasburg. It's not because he expects to receive a large contribution in the future – he knows we're a young couple just starting out. I believe it's because he genuinely cares.

 I support Creigh Deeds for Governor because he is a great human being. I say he is human because I have seen him tired after the disappointment of falling just shy of victory. He is human because I have seen the joy on his face when he sees pictures of Caleb, the enthusiasm when he is exhorting the Democratic faithful, and the thoughtfulness when he is explaining his perspective on issues facing the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia as a whole.

His humanity allows him to forge meaningful relationships with hundreds and thousands of people, to whom he gives encouragement and from whom he derives strength.

I say he is great because regardless of the obstacles he has faced being from Bath County and in spite of an agonizing defeat three years ago, Creigh remains the hardest working campaigner in Virginia. I am more than 20 years his junior, and I know I could not keep up with him. He is constantly traveling,  constantly calling, constantly reading, constantly moving forward.

In 2005 I managed Bruce Elder's campaign for the House of Delegates. The current 20th District encompasses Highland County and much of Augusta County, where Creigh won his first General Assembly race.

I've been to Churchville, to Craigsville, to Deerfield, to McDowell, to Monterey. I analyzed voting patterns, ate the bar-b-que, listened to the bluegrass, walked in the parades and met the voters.

For the life of me I can't figure out how Creigh beat Emmett Hanger in 1991 to win a seat in the House of Delegates. But the fact that he did, as a Democrat, in a thoroughly conservative corner of the commonwealth, tells me Creigh is someone special.

I hope you will join me in supporting Creigh.

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