Sportsmen for (insert candidate name here)

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham   Either Virginia sportsmen are the key to winning the 2005 Virginia governor’s race – or Tim Kaine and Jerry Kilgore are plumb running out of ideas. “Neither one has been able to get any traction with voters, so they’re grasping at straws. They’re grasping at the sportsmen issue. They’re trying…

15 percent and rising: Is debate inclusion standard fair?

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham If independent Russ Potts had his way, he would be in every candidate debate that his gubernatorial-race opponents Tim Kaine and Jerry Kilgore are in – no questions asked. A guaranteed spot in the Super Bowl of the 2005 Virginia debate season – the Oct. 9 debate in Richmond that will…

Getting to know Tim Kaine

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham Tim Kaine knew when he made his mind up that he was going to run for lieutenant governor in 2001 that he was committing himself to another political campaign four years later. “Honestly, when I ran for lieutenant governor, I thought, you know, if I am lieutenant governor, then I will…

Cranwell talks about Dems’ course

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham Dick Cranwell was getting testy. He’d agreed to “give five minutes a day to this between now and the 18th,” said Cranwell, the former majority leader in the Virginia House of Delegates, who is set to take over the reins of the Democratic Party of Virginia on Saturday, during a conference…

On the trail with Leslie Byrne

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham Leslie Byrne was back in the office the morning after her hard-fought victory in the June 14 Democratic Party lieutenant-governor primary. She really had no choice – to hear her tell it. “The first priority was to start talking to folks now that we’re the candidate, to start gathering support, particularly…

Warner pushing Dems to center: But is that the right move for national party?

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham   Virginia Gov. Mark Warner wants to take the national Democratic Party back to the political center where it enjoyed success in the 1990s. A Shenandoah Valley political analyst, for his part, isn’t so sure that is the right course of action for the party’s future.

Reform? Or increase?

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham   It was tax reform. It was a tax increase. The 2004 Virginia General Assembly session is being played out again in the 2005 Virginia gubernatorial campaign – and still the two sides can’t agree on even the most basic terms of what happened last spring. “My opponent is using all…

Life by design: Debate heats up over new theory of how we got here

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham The fact that President Bush thinks intelligent design should be taught in American public schools is more than enough for JoAnne Shirley. “I absolutely hope that this becomes an issue here locally and statewide. Students need to be given a choice, as the president said,” said Shirley, a former…

A lighted path: Deeds talks about political roots

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham Democratic Party attorney-general nominee Creigh Deeds picked up his perspective on what government can mean to people at the feet of his grandfather. “My grandfather was active in local politics. He was the county chair for periods of time from the ’30s up to the ’60s. He had, I remember, back…