Perriello brings Fifth into play

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] National Democrats are considering the Fifth Congressional District as being in play this November. That says a lot about what Tom Perriello has been able to do in the past few months. “It’s been really exciting to see the overwhelming response of people all over the district. This gives us…

Assembly session winding down

Chris Graham

General Assembly Report column by Del. Ben Cline With just over two weeks to go, we are beginning to see which bills are going to succeed this session, and which are going to fall just short. Out of more than 3,000 bills that are introduced, only about 30 percent of them are enacted into law….

Inside Tuesday’s Valley primaries

Contributors

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] I look at the voter turnout in Tuesday’s presidential primaries here in the Central Shenandoah Valley, the breadbasket of the Virginia GOP, and have to wonder about the fall elections. It was a bare majority, but still a majority, of voters who voted the Democratic primaries in Greater Harrisonburg and…

Rasoul wants to ‘redefine politics’ in Sixth

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] He barely has to shave, and he wants to be your congressman. “In all honesty, it’s a shock at first,” said Sam Rasoul, 26, of Blue Ridge, who has been running hard for the past year for the Democratic Party nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Bob Goodlatte for the Sixth…

Warner addresses students at JMU

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] You don’t often hear the term radical associated with people in the political center. Mark Warner wants to get you thinking of moderates as radicals anyway. “This is driven by people who are saying, We’re tired of partisanship. We want to get things fixed. They know in their gut that…

‘Radical centrist coalition’

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] I don’t know how radical someone proclaiming himself to be a centrist can possibly be. Mark Warner is definitely trailblazin’ on a new path here. “Come January of ’09, we’re going to have a new president, obviously. I hope that it’s a Democrat, but regardless, that new president is going…

Winners and Losers – 2007 Year in Review

Chris Graham

Winners and Losers column by Chris Graham [email protected] WINNER: SRI International brings Silicon Shenandoah promise It will be years before we know this for sure, but … Look what SRI did to the Silicon Valley in California. Its presence in the Valley will be transformative. Write that down. ASCENDING: SRI International, James Madison University, Coors,…

Social conservatives aiming high with legislative goals

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] Divorce reform, restrictions on abortion and continued funding for abstinence-only sex education. The Family Foundation of Virginia and the Valley Family Forum have a healthy appetite – but whether they can fill their plate in the 2008 Virginia General Assembly remains to be seen given the changes in the composition…

Referendum mess, Saxman and the Senate, let it snow

Chris Graham

Winners and Losers column by Chris Graham [email protected] LOSERS: Waynesboro government How much more can you screw an election up than they did here in the River City? Well, you could forget to advertise it in the local paper – whatever that is supposed to be worth in this day and age of newspaper readership….