Saturday, April 11, 2009

Deadline passes

The deadline for filing to run in the June 9 Democratic primary was 5:00 PM yesterday and it passed with no last minute surprises in the central Shenandoah Valley.
In the 20th House of Delegates District, Erik Curren was the only person to file and will be declared the nominee. Curren has announced a formal launch of his campaign with two events on Tuesday, April 14: at 11:45 AM at the Staunton Train Station and at 2:00 PM at Bridgewater Town Hall. Curren will take on the incumbent Chris Saxman.
In the 25th House of Delegates District, Dr. Greg Marrow and Jim Noel filed and will square off in the primary. The winner will take on incumbent Steve Landes.
With both Landes and Saxman voting to turn down $125 million in federal stimulus funds to assist the unemployed, it appears the Democrats have a ready-made issue with which to kick off their campaigns. True, employment in the area isn't as high as in other areas of the state, but it is rising and has topped 10% in Waynesboro. The GOP opposition seemed to be based on a fear that when the federal funds ran out, there would be unfunded mandates passed on to businesses in the form of higher taxes. Hey, how about a sunset provision?
Kind of a GOP Déjà vu - remember when Virginia turned down $15 million in Goals 2000 education funding because they didn't like the strings attached only to later accept the funds? Hum.

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