A note to readers – Mike mentioned the words New Dominion above, and that jarred my memory. Our next New Dominion Magazine, on the streets on Tuesday, will include more from our interview with Mike.

The New Dominion Magazine can be found online at http://thenewdominion.com.

The centering idea of my campaign is to convert the LG into a public advocate driving the Commonwealth toward becoming a New Dominion. It can and should be an office working every day to take on systems that are failing working Virginians. Among the ways to do this: get the legislature moving on important policy challenges through the creation of new commissions with specific charters that produce bipartisan legislative packages, as Don Beyer did when he was LG; sitting on existing commissions that oversee and drive the policy process on economics, environmental issues, veterans issues, and fairness and justice in our political system; and stand up new institutions (e.g. pilot projects on job creation, veterans mental health outreach and intake, and progress on efficiency and weatherization jobs) by working with for-profit and non-profit groups, including universities.

We can also launch advocacy campaigns to expose problems we’ve ignored for too long (such as the health care crisis in Southside and SW Virginia, where infant mortality and immunization rates are tragically low). I believe that a public advocate LG could start a public discussion on the legacy of “Old Virginny” that are best put to rest, such as Dillon’s Rule — which prevents progressive communities from taking action locally on their priorities — and the disenfranchisement rules from the Jim Crow era, which prevent 20-25% of African-American men from participating in our democracy.

I’ll look forward to talking about more specifics next time we talk and on the trail with voters. If anyone wants to contact my campaign, please email Christian Rickers at christian@michaelsigner.com, or me at mike@michaelsigner.com. Thanks!