Mark Herring brings "curb service" to Staunton

Sen. Herring addresses
the crowd.

Arriving exactly at the promised time, Senator Mark Herring brought his campaign for attorney general to Wright's Dairy-Rite in Staunton. About 30 area residents joined him on the patio as he introduced himself to the Queen City and central Shenandoah Valley.

During his remarks Herring pointed out the sharp differences between himself and his opponent. On transportation Herring worked with the governor and across party lines to pass much-needed legislation to bring our aging and crowded roads up to speed - his opponent opposed the bill. On women's rights Herring supports a woman's right to make her own health care decisions without undue interference from the government - his opponent has supported legislation to deny women access to clinics and to ban many forms of birth control.

After brief remarks Sen. Herring
discussed issues with voters.

Notably, Senator Herring has proposed a five point plan to strengthen plan would create an ethics commission, limit gifts while strengthening disclosure requirements, punish corruption by public officials, prohibit using campaign donations for personal use, and expand public access to records. In a state where honor guided the ethical behavior of elected officials, the recent behavior of the governor and current attorney general has shattered public confidence in our democracy. Herring's proposals would help restore faith in government that represents people rather than deep pockets.

Herring promised to make people and the law - not partisan politics - the focus of the attorney general's office. Now that would be a sharp contrast to the current occupant's right wing agenda. It is also a sharp contrast to Herring's opponent who says politicians should weight the "political calculus" to determine if they will do the right thing.

Keeping politics out of the Commonwealth's law office and restoring faith in government - after the last 3 1/2 years that would be quite refreshing!

Mark Herring to visit Staunton

Mark Herring, the Democratic candidate for Attorney General, will visit Staunton on August 13. Details in the flyer below:

Click on picture to zoom in.

Join Mark to learn more about his ideas for

common sense leadership

in the important office of Attorney General.

Grassroots Momentum Growing to Keep the Ban

keeptheban.org

In spite of the lack of transparency (and objectivity?) of Governor Bob McDonnell's Uranium Working Group, there seems to be some momentum building to Keep the Ban on uranium mining in the Commonwealth. This fall several influential lobbying groups - the Virginia Municipal League, the Virginia Association of Counties, and the Virginia Farm Bureau - all stated their opposition to uranium mining in Virginia.

The mayors of both Virginia Beach and Norfolk expressed their strong opposition to uranium mining because of threat to drinking water sources for over a million residents. As they noted in their editorial in the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

While we have confidence in Virginia’s regulatory agencies, we understand the difficulties associated with implementing new processes in an area less than hospitable for uranium mining. This is not an appropriate project for our regulatory partners to learn "on the job." There simply is too much at stake and too much to risk. No amount of regulation can prevent the unexpected.

 And just this week, Lt. Governor Bill Bolling broke GOP ranks by announcing his opposition to uranium mining in the state. Among the reasons he cited in his official statement are the potential for adverse and chilling economic and environmental impacts as well as the strong opposition of officials in Pittsylvania County and the region.

But, there is big money on the side of the proponents of and the battle will be joined during this session of the General Assembly. Many legislators say they are undecided but "our representatives" are being lavished by the industry with huge campaign contributions and perks provided by their lobbyists. The corrupting and anti-democracy influence of money is estimated by the Southern Environmental Law Center to have reached nearly $750,000 already!

Keep the Ban - what YOU can do!

• Look for updates at the Virginia Chapter Sierra Club and Keep the Ban.
• Contact your senator and delegate and tell him or her to keep the ban on uranium mining.
• Talk to friends.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper.
• On January 28 attend the VCN/Sierra Club Lobby Day at the General Assembly.

UPDATE 12/20/12 - Senator Mark Herring (Loudoun & Fairfax) announced his opposition to uranium mining in Virginia saying, "I will oppose legislation during the upcoming 2013 General Assembly session that would lift the ban. Additionally, I plan to introduce budget language that would prohibit any state funding from being used to promulgate regulations designed to circumvent the ban."