Richmond Free Press
A6 October 30-November 1, 2014
News
Voter turnout is key question in Tuesday elections By Jeremy M. Lazarus
U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott is unopposed for election to his 12th term in Congress. Petersburg Delegate Rosalyn R. Dance appears to be cruising to an easy victory over challenger Preston T. Brown in the race to succeed Henry L. Marsh III in the state Senate. And interim Richmond Circuit Court Clerk Edward F. Jewett appears headed to an easy win over his challenger, Emmett Johnson Jafari, in the special election to succeed Bevill Dean, who previously held the post. The only real question is how many voters will show up on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4. With the races missing the competitive fire that fuels participation, it’s hard to tell whether the polls will be busy or relatively empty. Kirk Showalter, Richmond’s voter registrar, said she initially projected 67,000 of the city’s 130,000 registered voters might show up because of the U.S. Senate contest between incumbent Democrat Mark R. Warner and Republican challenger Edward W. “Ed” Gillespie. But she is scaling back her forecast amid signs that even that Senate contest is failing to stir much buzz. One sign, she said, that interest in this election is flagging: Absentee ballot requests are below expectations. Ms. Showalter is still hoping to see a 2006-level turnout of about 54,000 voters, then 54 percent of those registered. That year, participation was heightened by a hot U.S. Senate race in which Democrat Jim Webb won a narrow upset over incumbent Republican George Allen. But Ms. Showalter considers it possible that this year could resemble 2010. In that midterm, only about 32,000 city voters participated, or about 25 percent of those registered. The only big race that year involved Rep. Scott, who easily beat three largely unknown and underfunded challengers. Here are the races, besides the U.S. Senate, that will be on the ballot by locality:
Richmond U.S. House of Representatives: 3rd District, which includes most of the city. Rep. Scott, who is completing his 22nd year in office, is unopposed for another two-year term. 7th District, which includes 15 precincts, mostly in the 1st and 4th City Council districts. Contest features two Randolph-Macon professors, Republican Dave A. Brat and Democrat John K. “Jack” Trammell, and a little-known Libertarian Party candidate, James A. Carr. Dr. Brat, who ousted former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the GOP primary, is considered the likely winner in this reliably GOP district. Dr. Trammell is not believed to have made substantial inroads and still is introducing himself to voters in his ads. Mr. Carr is not considered a factor. Virginia Senate District 16: Stretches to Hopewell and Petersburg and includes 18 Richmond precincts mostly in the 7th and 8th City Council districts. Delegate Dance, a nine-year General Assembly veteran, won the Democratic nomination to run in this special election. The winner will serve the final year of Mr. Marsh’s term. Mr. Marsh resigned during the summer after nearly 22 years in the Senate to take a seat on the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. People already are lining up to run for Delegate Dance’s seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in the belief she will defeat Mr. Brown, a Richmond businessman. Mr. Brown also lost in 2011 to Mr. Marsh by a 2-1 margin in his first bid for the Senate. He is mounting another independent challenge, but remains short of funds and has garnered little visibility for this long-shot run. The winner would need to run for a full, four-year Senate term in 2015. Circuit Court Clerk: Citywide. Mr. Jewett, with 29 years of experience in the clerk’s office, has the support of the legal community and the Democratic nomination. He is expected to easily brush off Mr. Jafari, owner of African American Tours. Mr. Jafari also lost in 2011 to Mr. Dean, then the incumbent clerk. The post opened after Mr. Dean resigned in December 2013. Mr. Jewett has served as interim clerk since mid-January.
a bigger tax credit to low-income workers. As has been the case across the country, Mr. Gillespie has sought to make this election a referendum on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, the health insurance reform law that has been a signature achievement of President Obama. Sen. Warner, who voted for the law, has said it is flawed but opposes repeal. In speech after speech, the senator reminds voters that Medicare was opposed by the Republicans, but ended up being a favorite with the public after changes were made. “When you pass major legislation, you have to be willing to come back a year or two or three later and say ‘we’ve got to fix this,’” he said. Among changes he wants to see, he proposes the ACA provide for lower-cost plans for young adults and an expansion in the number of small companies exempt from offering insurance to their workers. Mr. Gillespie is opposed to the ACA. He supported the Republican shutdown of the government in 2013 in order to defund the health care program, according to the Huffington Post, an online news operation. The former advisor to President George W. Bush is pushing his own health care bill to replace the ACA. His plan, based on a conservative think tank’s proposal, would offer tax credits for consumers to pay for insurance. The plan would allow the credit to grow depending on the family’s size and a person’s age. He also wants to allow insurers to compete across state lines, pushing competition as the way to reduce premiums for customers.
Correction Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, who bought her freedom and later became a dressmaker, personal maid and confidante to the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, was portrayed in Steven Spielberg’s award-winning movie, “Lincoln.” The Free Press gave the incorrect name of the movie in an article in the Oct. 23-25 edition on the recent dedication of a marker honoring Ms. Keckley placed at the Dinwiddie County courthouse.
Chesterfield County U.S. House of Representatives: 4th District, which includes Bermuda and portions of Dale, Matoaca and Clover Hill districts. Republican incumbent J. Randy Forbes, who has served 13 years, is the favorite to win two more years. His challengers include Democrat and Chester newspaperman Elliott G. Fausz and Libertarian Party candidate and real estate broker Bo C. Brown. 7th House District, which includes Midlothian and portions of Dale, Matoaca and Clover Hill districts. Dr. Brat, the Republican, is the frontrunner in the race with two challengers, Dr. Trammell, a Democrat, and Mr. Carr, a Libertarian. Virginia Senate District 16: Includes precincts in Bermuda District. Delegate Dance is the front-runner in the special election to fill the vacancy. Mr. Brown, an independent, is her competition. Circuit Court Clerk: Countywide. Special election to replace Judy Worthington, who resigned in April. Four people are in the race, Republican Wendy S. Hughes, now a clerk in a lower county court, Democrat Peter G. Dunnaville, a lawyer, and independents Kelly F. Ecimovic, a state debt collector, and David W. Schneider, a bail bondsman. Mr. Dunnaville would be the first African-American to hold a constitutional office in the county should he win.
Constitutional amendment on ballot
Should spouses of soldiers, sailors and Marines killed in war receive an exemption from paying local property taxes on their residences? That question will be on every Virginia
Warner leads home stretch Continued from A1
Henrico County U.S. House of Representatives: 3rd District, which includes Varina and part of Fairfield district. Rep. Scott is unopposed. 7th District, includes the rest of the county. Three-way contest between front-runner, Dr. Brat, Republican, and two others, Dr. Trammell, Democrat, and Mr. Carr, Libertarian. School Board: Three Chopt District. There is a special election in the district to replace Diana Winston, who resigned from the board in 2013. Robert G. Boyle Jr., who replaced her as a board appointee, is not running. Voters will choose between Surya P. Dahkar and Michelle F. “Micky” Ogburn.
However, Sen. Warner and other critics have noted that Mr. Gillespie’s plan would give the rich and poor the same amount of tax credits, whether a family needed the help or not. And more importantly, popular features of Obamacare, including coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and the right of children to stay on a family policy until age 26, would be severely curtailed or eliminated, critics argue. On other issues, Mr. Gillespie has had a harder time gaining traction against the senator, whose centrist, problem-solving approach has won him endorsements from a wide range of Republicans, including his predecessor, former Sen. John W. Warner, who is no relation to Sen. Mark Warner. While Mr. Gillespie has described himself as a “partisan warrior,” Sen. Warner has talked up his ability to cross party lines. “Virtually every piece of legislation I work on,” he said, “I start with a Republican partner. The way you solve problems is from the center out, not from the extremes.” He also has taken stands that at times make him sound like a Republican. For example, he’s more hawkish than most Democrats in urging the use of American forces against the Islamic State. Sen. Warner also has been out front on the need to cut the $17 trillion national debt — a favorite GOP issue. He has called on Mr. Gillespie and other Republicans to abandon their opposition to tax increases and urged Democrats to support changes in Social Security and Medicare as the only way to bring U.S. debt under control. In public and private, he has said that Democrats “are going to have to acknowledge that Medicare and Social Security are the greatest programs ever, but we’ve got to make some changes in them or they won’t be here 40 years from now.” Sen. Warner also has pre-empted Mr. Gillespie on another Republican issue with his call for a simpler and fairer tax code. And in some cases, Mr. Gillespie has ended up taking a “me too” position. One example is on the automatic budget cuts to defense spending. Mr. Gillespie has harshly criticized those cuts as harmful to national security, sounding like Sen. Warner, who earlier called those automatic cuts “stupidity on steroids.”
voter’s ballot in the Nov. 4 election. A yes vote would amend the state Constitution to allow an exemption on the principal residence of widows and widowers who remain unmarried after
their husband or wife dies in action. A no vote would deny the exemption. Four years ago, voters approved a similar exemption for veterans who were left 100 percent disabled and their spouses.
Crusade for Voters endorses no one The city’s oldest black political organization, the Richmond Crusade for Voters, is not issuing any candidate endorsements. Lamar Dixon, president of the Crusade, confirmed that the 58-year-old group is not officially backing any of the candidates in the Tuesday, Nov. 4, election. As far as anyone can remember, this is the first time the Democratic-leaning group failed to issue endorsements in a general election. At stake this time: A U.S. Senate seat, U.S. House seats, a Richmond-Petersburg state Senate seat and local posts, including the circuit court clerk. “I’ve been a member since 1978, and I can’t remember another time when the Crusade did not endorse,” said E. Martin “Marty” Jewell, a former Crusade president and former City Council member.
Reflecting the Crusade’s steady decline in recent years, the group apparently did not have enough members present to consider endorsements at it most recent meeting Oct. 21. Mr. Dixon said that the Crusade requires at least 20 members to be present for a vote on endorsements. He said that threshold was not met by the time the endorsement vote came up. The Crusade was created in 1956 to educate and mobilize voters for candidates supportive of community progress and the black community. The founders included now-retired physician Dr. William Ferguson Reid, who broke the whitesonly color line that existed since Reconstruction with his election to the General Assembly in 1968, and two deceased Richmonders, Dr. William S. Thornton, a podiatrist, and John M. Brooks, a NAACP organizer.
Lines drawn in 7th District Continued from A1
he was urged to run by Democrats and some of his students. “My students said I should model what I’ve asked them to do, which is service learning,” he said. “When you teach a course, two-thirds is theory, the last third you go out into the community to see how real people are affected.” Dr. Trammell said he has received “wise counsel” from politicians such as Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones and state Sen. A. Donald McEachin of Henrico County on campaigning. In his efforts to woo black voters, he said he has met with NAACP members and visited African-American churches in Hanover and Orange counties. He and Dr. Brat, an economics professor and Tea Party favorite, are near polar opposites on the issues. Dr. Brat spouts a conservative Republican line. For example, he favors privatizing Social Security so people can invest their own money rather than relying on stable payments from the government. He also supports a constitutional amendment that would require Congress to balance the federal budget. He wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and opposes any increase in the minimum wage. He
wants to secure U.S. borders to prevent illegal immigration, calling an open border “a national security threat and an economic threat that our country cannot ignore.” Dr. Trammell wants to maintain Social Security as a vital government program. He favors raising the minimum wage and backs comprehensive immigration reform that would provide illegal entrants already in the country with a path to citizenship. He also proposes fixes for the Affordable Care Act and reforms for federal educational standards. He also advocates for increasing broadband access in rural parts of the district and for increasing bus transit from the city into the suburbs. At Tuesday’s first and only debate between the two candidates at Randolph-Macon, Dr. Brat repeatedly attempted to tie Dr. Trammell to what he called “the failed policies” of the Obama administration. He called Obamacare “a federal top-down product with a mandate that has already failed.” Mr. Trammell countered, “Do we need to fix things? Of course we do. We need to help small businesses out. But we can’t throw out the baby with the bath water.” Both candidates said they support U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine’s position that Congress should debate and vote on whether to authorize airstrikes against Islamic militants in Syria and Iraq.
From this day forward
making wedding plans. They decided to relocate Mr. Smith from his tials. “It was meant to be. I am joyfully happy residence in Richmond to Ms. Booker’s home for both of them.” in Atlanta, where he would telecommute for his Mr. Smith, 52, and Ms. Booker, 51, met in job as director of business development at River the fifth grade, when their families lived in San City Comprehensive Counseling Services. Rafael, Calif. Their mothers became best friends. But the new chapter in the couple’s lives took And Mr. Smith became best friends with Ms. a different turn about a month ago. Booker’s brother. During a trip to In the intervenRichmond to move ing years, the Smiths his belongings, Mr. left California and Smith became ill. Docthe family settled in tors discovered a brain Richmond, where Mr. tumor. They also found Smith’s father, Dr. he had advanced-stage Lindley T. Smith, has lung cancer. Radiation been a practicing ophtreatments began. Chethalmologist for many motherapy protocols years. are being evaluated. The families were Mr. Smith adorns his bride’s finger with her It all came as a in and out of touch wedding band. shock, Dr. Smith said. through the decades as the children became adults. “Kent’s illness has impacted me as a father, which Mr. Smith was appointed by then-Gov. George I try to temper with my knowledge as a clinician,” Allen as acting director of the state Department he said. “But being a father trumps that.” of Minority Business Enterprise. Later, Gov. Jim The wedding, planned for spring 2015, was Gilmore appointed him to the Virginia Parole Board, moved up — way up — to Oct. 27. a position he held from 1998 until 2001. The groom, who left his hospital bed, was In 2013, the power of the Internet brought wheeled into the ceremony displaying his usual Mr. Smith and Ms. Booker together. They upbeat and positive demeanor. reconnected on Facebook, and recently began “Are y’all ready?” he asked the guests as Continued from A1
Photos by Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Tom Coates officiates at the ceremony as the bride and groom share a laugh. Above, the beautifully decorated wedding cake.
his bride was poised to walk into the hospital garden. “Let’s get this party started!” The guests broke into joyous laughter. Ms. Booker was escorted to the altar — the garden’s gazebo swing — by her sons. Her mother joined them in giving her away. The couple sat side by side on the swing as they exchanged vows. It was emotional and, at times, tearful. But the couple smiled when they first kissed as husband and wife.
“I am honored to be the one to love him — right here, right now,” the new Mrs. Smith said. Cake, champagne and bubbles followed the ceremony. “She loves me with all her heart and I love her with all my heart,” Mr. Smith said. After greeting guests, Mr. Smith began to feel ill. He was whisked away by Massey Cancer Center staff to his hospital room, where the couple spent the afternoon for their honeymoon.