South of the James

For years, Chesterfield has been a GOP-dominated province, with Republicans controlling much of the county’s government with Democratic participation at the margins. However, demographic shifts and emerging political trends could provide the window necessary to loosen the Republican stranglehold on government and politics in Virginia’s 4th largest locality in coming years. Amidst the hotly-contested 2006 election, several leading members of the county’s Democratic Committee saw a number of their letters published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, another indication that Democrats are alive and kicking south of the River. Writing about the on-going scandal involving disgraced Florida Republican Congressman Mark Foley, on October 14,long-time activist Majorie M. Clark, chair of the 7^th District Democratic Committee was quoted as saying,

“As concern mounts over Congressman Mark Foley’s inappropriate contacts with pages, the voters and families in Virginia’s 7th District ask, ‘What did Congressman Eric Cantor know and when did he know it?’ As chief deputy whip for Republicans in the House, Cantor must surely have had significant contact with the other deputies, including Foley. And he must have had some knowledge of their activities. If in 1995, male pages in the House of Representatives were warned to steer clear of Foley, it is especially unconscionable that several years later a chief deputy, with a page serving from his own district, would have been blind to this situation.

This is a lose-lose issue: either our congressman knew about Foley’s inappropriate actions and did nothing, or he was so unaware of a close colleague and co-deputy as to have been negligent in his position of leadership. Apparently honorable men can be tainted by the culture of corruption now pervasive in the Republican Party — one smudge at a time. In the 7th District, we have had enough. It is time for Cantor to go and for challenger Jim Nachman to be elected to represent us in Congress.”

On October 18, 2006, Debby Burroughs, 1^stVice Chair of CCDC and an active Webb campaign volunteer, provided a retort to Allen campaign ads that attacked Jim Webb’s stances on women’s issues, saying,

“I hope the women of Virginia realize how they are being used as political pawns by George Allen as he struggles to find some reason voters should re-elect him. In a two minute infomercial, Allen vowed to return the campaign to the issues and get away from the revelations and claims about his racist comments and actions over the past 25 years. Yet two days later, he aired another dark and foreboding ad featuring a woman who claims she was hurt by comments Jim Webb made 30 years ago.

It’s revealing that she cannot back up any of her claims, and was never even mentioned in the article Webb wrote. Reporters who wrote about this latest ad debunked it after doing a little research. Allen has nothing else to run on — no issues, no solutions, and no significant bills or actions during his term representing Virginia. Allen is hoping women will take his ads at face value and not question them. It is an insult to me and to women all over this state that he thinks we are so stupid.”

Finally, on October 21, Louise Mann, CCDC’s spirited secretary, took on Sen. Allen’s fast-and-loose plays on Jim Webb’s stance on federal tax policy asserting that,

“In the televised debate between our two main Senate candidates, George Allen insisted that Jim Webb wants to raise taxes on all Virginians. Webb very clearly stated that he has no thoughts of raising taxes and in particular would like additional tax cuts aimed at middle class families. The truth about Webb’s tax plan is exactly the opposite of Allen’s claim.

Allen has asked us to believe him when he tells us he would not make racist remarks and that he made up a word that really exists, yet he continues to tell us falsehoods about his opponent. If he wants us to trust his word, then he should tell us the truth about his own plans for our future and not push lies. The truth is, Webb’s tax cuts would be aimed at the struggling middle class — the people who inspired Webb to be in this race.”

The rise of Democratic voices in Chesterfield comes against the backdrop of a very competitive and interesting political season. Democrats are vigorously supporting Dan Gecker’s bid to serve out the remaining term for the Midlothian District supervisor seat, are helping Jim Nachman’s grassroots campaign to unseat Eric Cantor, and are working hard to send Sen. Allen into new employment come January. Additionally, county Republicans seem somewhat divided after months of internal jockeying for committee positions and past/future electoral nominations. Additionally, there appears to be an emerging divide among the GOP-dominated Board of Supervisors and their Republican brethren in the county’s General Assembly delegation over issues like transportation and taxation. Add to that the emergence of independent-minded citizen’s organizations willing to challenge the status quo, and the future could look a bit bluer for Chesterfield Republicans on several fronts.

Whether a perfect storm is on the horizon that will bring a sea change in Chesterfield government & politics remains to be seen. Regardless of whether this translates into greater Democratic victories or not, the dilution in GOP strength may bring a bit of purple rain to town. For Democrats, that should be just fine…for now.