Chap Petersen's Kickoff Rocks!

Tonight was the kickoff event for Chap Petersen's run against incumbent State Senator Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-34th).  The Fairfax Old Town Hall was packed with supporters, including politicians like Jim Webb, Leslie Byrne, Gerry Connolly, David Bulova, David Marsden, Chuck Caputo, Jim Scott, Phil Kellam, Ingrid Morroy, Bruce Roemmelt, Morris Meyer, and Janet Oleszek.  The master of ceremonies was Chap's Law Firm partner Scott Surovell, who did an excellent job as always.  Bloggers in attendance included Ben Tribbett, Kenton Ngo, "Dannyboy," and several others (including Eric and Greg from RK, who photographed and videotaped the event, respectively).

Jim Webb spoke first in support of Chap, mentioning their meeting over a year ago.  Webb particularly thanked Chap, Leslie Byrne, and Ingrid Morroy (who did a musical duet with her sister - "Vote for Chap on Election Day!").  Webb called this a great kickoff to what will be a great year for the Democratic Party of Virginia. As he has so many times before, Webb spoke about bringing people back into the Democratic Party and about fair governance.  He listed some top Democratic priorites: ethics reform, raising the minimum wage, Medicare Part D drug reform, approving the 9/11 Commission Report recommendations and implementing them, support for stem cell research, action on energy/global warming, relieving the financial burden of college tuition, and providing "GI Bill" benefits to today's veterans.  Webb said that he was "pleased to be standing here with Chap," joked about not being short, and said something funny like "watch what you say or you may end up in my next book."  My notes weren't very good, unfortunately, but hopefully the video will come to the rescue later this evening! :)
Gerry Connolly talked about 2007 being a critical year, and how we needed to build on our successes from last year.  Noting that we needed to pick up 4 seats in the Senate to take control, Connolly declared, "Chap, we're counting on you this November."

Leslie Byrne was enthusiastic in her remarks, urging Chap to "do us proud, not do us loud" - a clear jab at the incumbent, Devolites Davis.

Chap gave an excellent speech, also talking about how this was a critical year in Virginia.  According to Chap, if Dems take back the State Senate this year, it will be the first time since 1900 that a legislative chamber in a southern state has flipped from "red" to "blue."  I've got to check on that one; it's amazing if accurate!

According to Chap, the #1 issue facing the state is transportation.  We need to "change the vision" for transportation, not just lay "miles and miles of more asphalt."  We need to promote public transport and better land use planning.  Chap declared that he is a strong environmentalist, but that this is "not about bashing developers."  Instead, Chap wants to encourage people to do the right thing - smart growth, conservation, and alternative fuels.  Chap specifically talked about shifting trucking cargo onto interstate rail as a way to relieve congestion, calling this an "outside the box" solution that the current incumbent won't do.

Besides transportation, Chap sounded not unlike Jim Webb, talking about economic justice as a Democratic core value, economic fairness (specifically, exempting vehicles worth under $12,000 from the personal property tax), and ethics in public service.  On the latter point, Chap did not directly criticize his opponent, but he did speak about the importance of getting into public service for the right reasons - to improve the community, not to improve one's own social standing.  In the end, Chap asserted that "there will come a time in this campaign where we will draw distinctions" with his opponent.  Turning to Leslie Byrne, he declared, "united, we can't be stopped."  Finally, Chap thanked his wife, noting emotionally that his goal was to "be the man she thinks I can be."  Very powerful. 

P.S. Excellent buffet and wine selection; can't argue with that! :)

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