Wednesday, October 24, 2007; A18
VIRGINIA'S House of Delegates, led by conservative Republicans, had to be dragged kicking and screaming by a handful of GOP moderates this year to tap new funding for transportation in Northern Virginia. The resulting bill was better than nothing but still severely inadequate; even so, a number of hard-liners -- including, incredibly, some from Northern Virginia itself -- still refused to vote for it. With all 100 House seats on the ballot Nov. 6, most Republican candidates in Northern Virginia are now running on some combination of "antis" -- anti-illegal immigrants, anti-taxes, anti-abortion and anti-development. Ask them what they're for, and many draw a blank. For years, Virginia Republicans have been badly split between party centrists, who have controlled the Senate, and right-wingers, who control the House. The dwindling number of the former is bad news for the party and for a state that has been well served by them.
Half of The Post's endorsements in contested House races appear below in bold type; the rest will be published in a subsequent edition. To determine your legislative district, go to http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform.
District 13: The mention of Del. Robert G. Marshall's name is enough to inspire eye-rolling at his legislative antics, even from fellow Republicans. Few lawmakers offer so much off-the-wall legislation on divisive social issues; fortunately, little of it is enacted. When it comes to bread-and-butter issues such as increasing transportation funding for his district, Mr. Marshall was one of the few delegates to vote against a compromise forged by moderates in his party. In Richmond, he is seen mainly as a provocateur. Little wonder that, in a break with tradition, he was denied the chairmanship of a state commission on immigration established by his own legislation. His opponent, Democrat Bruce E. Roemmelt, a former firefighter now in private business, would represent an enormous improvement if he did nothing but sit mute in the House of Delegates; in fact, he offers constructive ideas on education funding and energy conservation.
District 31: Republican Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter claims credit for increases in state support for public schools that in fact he strenuously opposed. In further blatant disregard of his constituents' interests, he spurned repeated efforts to increase funding for Northern Virginia's roads. As elections loomed this year, he finally flipped to support new transportation spending -- only to squirm a few months later when it turned out he'd voted for sharp increases in fines on abusive drivers. His opponent, Democrat Bill S. Day Jr., has a wealth of experience -- as a Harvard MBA, a developer and, currently, a mental-health counselor -- that would make him a much more promising lawmaker.
District 32: Incumbent David E. Poisson (D), whose first term won him recognition in Richmond as a thoughtful legislator able to work across party lines, understands the need for a larger share of funding for transportation in Northern Virginia. He also recognizes the need for an excellent statewide higher education system.
District 33: Republican Del. Joe T. May, a 14-year incumbent, is highly respected in Richmond for his decency and deep knowledge of science and technology issues. The founder and owner of a successful engineering company, Mr. May represents a vanishing breed of Virginia Republicans for whom hot-button wedge issues are less interesting than the hard work of serious lawmaking. Shunning the GOP's noisy hard-liners, he's backed important bills to improve public education and transportation. Mr. May's substantive record has left his Democratic challenger, F.J. "Marty" Martinez, nipping harmlessly at his heels.
District 34: To replace retiring Del. Vincent F. Callahan, a powerful moderate and a fixture in the House for 40 years, both parties have nominated qualified candidates. The more impressive is Margaret G. Vanderhye, an articulate, knowledgeable Democrat who has been a key player on transportation, land use and environmental issues in Northern Virginia and whose civic activism has benefited teens, cancer patients and military families. Her Republican opponent, David M. Hunt, a small-business owner, is able and intelligent but lacks Ms. Vanderhye's exceptionally broad experience.
District 35: Incumbent Stephen C. Shannon, a Democrat, is an effective, hard-working legislator with a firm grasp of transportation, education, development and revenue issues. His opponent, Arthur G. Purves (R), is a perennial Fairfax candidate whose stands against taxes and Dulles rail and for school prayer are outside the mainstream.
District 39: Democratic incumbent Vivian E. Watts is an especially valuable House member whose political and legislative savvy have boosted Northern Virginia's quest for equitable state funding for schools, transportation, mental health and Medicaid services.
In tomorrow's newspaper: Endorsements in House Districts 40, 45, 49, 50, 51, 52, 67, 86 and 88.
Other editorial endorsements can be found athttp://www.washingtonpost.com/endorsements.
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