Virginia's Lower House (Cont'd)

Our endorsements for the House of Delegates

THE POST began publishing endorsements for this year's contested races for the Virginia House of Delegates in yesterday's paper. This is a continuation; our picks appear below in bold type.

To determine your legislative district, go to http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform.

District 40: Mugged by reality, Republican Del. Timothy D. Hugo shrugged off his promise to the party faithful never to raise taxes by voting this year for a GOP-backed transportation funding package. That suggested he was educable, but now he says he made a mistake because the bill included abusive-driver fines -- which he'd voted for, several times, previously. A better alternative to Mr. Hugo's flip-flopping is challenger Rex A. Simmons, a Democrat and retired civil servant whose expertise in public administration compensates for his political inexperience.

District 45: The Republican challenger, Mark S. Allen, and the first-term incumbent, Democrat David L. Englin, don't disagree on much, and no wonder: Mr. Allen first considered running as a Democrat or an independent in this solidly blue district. With so little separating them on the issues, Mr. Allen contends that as a real estate lawyer, he's more experienced than Mr. Englin, a stay-at-home father who retired from the Air Force three years ago. It's a dubious argument and insufficient grounds to oust a promising newcomer.

District 49: Democratic incumbent Adam P. Ebbin faces only nominal opposition from James Ronald Fisher, an Independent Green Party member. Mr. Ebbin, the only openly gay member of the General Assembly, has the rare courage in Richmond to speak out against the political scapegoating of illegal immigrants, religious minorities, homosexuals and other easily exploited groups.

District 50: This is a rematch between two candidates who squared off in a special election a year ago: Democrat Jeanette M. Rishell and Republican Jackson H. Miller. Mr. Miller, a Prince William County police officer who won the special election, has spent much of the current campaign insisting he'd be tougher on illegal immigrants. Maybe so. But Mrs. Rishell is more likely to be effective in seeking funding for transportation and education in a district that badly needs more money for both.

District 51: Republican Faisal M. Gill says he'd finance a tax cut by slashing education funding; we doubt many voters would go along, but at least he's honest about the consequences of his position. Meanwhile, he bashes illegal immigrants -- urging that the hiring of undocumented workers be a felony -- while failing to mention that the law firm in which he's a name partner solicits clients in deportation hearings. Democrat Paul F. Nichols, also a lawyer, is a political newcomer who seems more likely to pursue pragmatic solutions in Richmond.

District 52: Republican Jeffrey M. Frederick, seeking a third term, was one of a handful of lawmakers in the House who opposed the GOP-sponsored transportation package that will pump hundreds of millions of dollars in new funds into roads, rail and buses in Northern Virginia. That cemented his reputation as a glib extremist who thinks it's possible to pay for new highways while neither raising new revenue nor diverting it from other critical priorities such as schools. His opponent, Democrat Christopher K. Brown, a former council member and mayor of Dumfries, would reintroduce a note of reality in Richmond.

District 67: C. Charles Caputo, a sane, straight-shooting incumbent, is one of the grown-ups in the General Assembly. A pro-business Democrat and former school board member in Fairfax, he is widely respected for his command of education issues. His Republican challenger, Marc R. Cadin, a lobbyist, is a free-luncher peddling the preposterous line that Fairfax can raise teachers' salaries and create a "21st-century bus system" -- even while cutting taxes.

District 86: Thomas Davis Rust, the Republican incumbent, had the political courage to challenge his own party leadership's refusal to deal with transportation funding. His persistence paid off this year in legislation representing the first major infusion of new funding into Northern Virginia's transportation network.

District 88: Mark L. Cole, the Republican incumbent, was among the die-hards who opposed the $400 million annually in new transportation funding. Another member of the free-lunch club, he supposes that hundreds of millions of dollars can be siphoned off to pay for roads without harming state funding for education, public safety and health care -- snake oil masquerading as policy. His accomplished Democratic opponent, Carlos Del Toro, is an articulate former Navy destroyer commander who is more lucid, intelligent and honest about Virginia's fiscal realities.

Other endorsements can be found athttp://www.washingtonpost.com/endorsements.