Today is the special election for House of Delegates in the 97th district (Caroline, Hanover, Henrico, King and Queen, King William, New Kent and Spotsylvania Counties). The contest is being held to fill the seat formerly held by outgoing Del. Ryan T. McDougle, who was elected to replace Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling in the state Senate. We at Raising Kaine STRONGLY endorse John Montgomery, an army ranger, veteran of Desert Shield, small business owner, hunter and fisherman ("A" rating from the National Rifle Association), husband and father. On the issues, Montgomery is a strong supporter of Smart Growth who believes, like we do at Raising Kaine, that Virginia "need[s] to create a long-term, comprehensive transportation plan...that goes beyond just more funding." On education, Montgomery supports attracting the best teachers to Virginia by "increasing our teacher?s salaries to at least the national average." He also believes in making college or vocational education "affordable and accessible for all Virginia?s working families." On health care, Montgomery pledges to "work to create health insurance purchasing pools so small businesses can find lower rates for health care."
In contrast, John's opponent, Chris Peace, is a creature of the far, FAR right wing, having been endorsed by (among others): 1) the Virginia Citizens Defense League (big fans of concealed firearms in parks, libraries, government buildings, and Chuck-E-Cheeses; 2) the Virginia Club for Growth, famous for attacking both Tim Kaine AND Jerry Kilgore as not being sufficiently anti-tax for their liking; and 3) the Virginia Society for Human Life, which believes "at every stage of biological development" - every sperm is sacred apparently, and forget about stem cell research to cure cancer, diabetes, Alzheimers, etc.
Obviously, John Montgomery is the moderate, mainstream, Mark Warner candidate in this race. Chris Peace is the Grover Norquist, Bob Marshall, Jim Gilmore guy. The choice is obvious: John Montgomery for House of Delegates. Go John!