Challenges emerge to Perriello in 5th District
Two more local Republicans have announced their intention to challenge U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Ivy, in next year’s mid-term congressional election.
Fluvanna County resident Feda Kidd Morton, a high school biology teacher and longtime GOP activist, said she decided to run after she was encouraged by former Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., a Republican who was unseated by Perriello after serving six terms in Congress.
“When Virgil decided not to run, we had a conversation and he told me that he thought a conservative woman could do well in the district,” said Morton, who has served on Fluvanna’s School Board and as chairwoman of the Fluvanna Republican Committee. “With Virgil’s encouragement, I decided to step into the ring.”
Laurence Verga, an Ivy resident and private real estate investor, said his dissatisfaction with the policies of President Barack Obama and the Democratic-led Congress convinced him to seek the GOP nomination.
“Politics are a passion of mine,” Verga said. “I live a blessed life. Running for office wasn’t anything I felt I needed to pursue. But I’ve been very upset with the Obama administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress. I decided I don’t want to outsource this anymore.”
Morton and Verga are the latest Republicans to announce their campaigns after Goode decided in late July that he would not seek a re-match against the freshman Democrat. Bradley S. Rees, a factory worker and FairTax advocate from Bedford County, previously announced his candidacy in the GOP primary race.
Many other Republicans are expected to jump into the race in the coming weeks.
Last weekend, 5th District Republican Chairman Tucker Watkins and Albemarle Republican Chairman Chris Schoenewald held an information session for potential candidates at the Albemarle GOP headquarters at the Albemarle Square shopping center.
Attendees included Morton and Verga, as well as Albemarle County Supervisor Ken Boyd and Cordel Faulk, director of communications for the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia and the former commentary editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
In an interview, Boyd said he is “somewhat close” to making a decision about whether he’ll run. “I’m still considering it very seriously,” said Boyd, the owner of a financial services firm who has represented the Rivanna District on the Board of Supervisors since 2004.
At the GOP headquarters meeting, Boyd told senior party officials that he was leaning toward running, with the paperwork sitting on his desk waiting to be signed.
“He told us he was running,” Schoenewald said.
Boyd said his local government experience in the 5th District’s most populous jurisdiction would give him a strong base of support, should he decide to run.
“I bring some local government experience from the northern part of the district,” he said. “We need somebody in Washington who understands some of these local issues.”
Boyd added that he has ties to the southern part of the 5th District, which stretches from the Charlottesville region down to the North Carolina border. Boyd formerly lived in Martinsville and his wife is originally from that area.
Like all the other Republicans who are weighing a possible bid against Perriello, Boyd said his concerns about the direction of the country under Obama are compelling him to run.
Boyd said he dislikes the “government takeover of the financial industry,” the so-called cap-and-trade bill and the proposals to reform the nation’s health care system that are being considered in Congress. “This sort of stuff scares me,” Boyd said.
Faulk, for his part, has said that he has not yet decided if he will seek the nomination. At the closed-door GOP meeting Aug. 8, Faulk did not indicate if he’s leaning one way or the other, Schoenewald said.
State Sen. Robert Hurt, a Republican who represents the Danville area, has also said he is considering running.
Morton, who was chairwoman of the Fluvanna GOP from 1995 to 2005, said she is already picking up the endorsements of key Republican officials, including Kathy Terry, the national committeewoman who represents Virginia on the Republican National Committee, former state Republican Chairman Pat McSweeney, and several current and former local Republican unit chairmen.
Morton also said she is concerned with the cap-and-trade legislation, health care reform and other issues backed by Obama and the Democrats in Congress.
“I think they’re destroying the freedoms we enjoy as private citizens,” she said. “We need someone with the character, values and beliefs that Virgil Goode has.”
Perriello, Morton said, will be vulnerable in next year’s election.
“I don’t feel he’s representative of the people in his district,” she said. “He was elected because he rode on the coattails of a popular presidential candidate.”
In fact, Perriello significantly outperformed Obama in the 5th District. While Perriello narrowly defeated Goode by a margin of 727 votes, Republican John McCain bested Obama by a margin of 7,512 votes.
Morton also said she thought it was unusual that additional votes for Perriello were discovered during a post-election canvass.
“Votes showed up the day after the election,” she said. “You don’t usually see that happening.”
Morton clarified that she has no evidence that any sort of irregularities or voter fraud. “There was nothing proven,” she said. “I’m not saying that.”
Verga, who moved to Albemarle County from California five years ago, said he is worried about the federal deficit, rising unemployment and what he is afraid will be forthcoming tax increases.
“I fear for the future of my four children,” he said.
Verga said he believes Obama is preparing to increase payroll and capital gains taxes, as well as other measures that Verga views as an attempt to keep the economy struggling.
“Obama doesn’t want to improve the economy,” Verga said. “He wants to keep it like it is so he can expand the federal government.”
Obama, he said, is moving the United States toward, “at best, a socialist-type country.”
“I think universal health care would ruin the best medical care system in the world and probably take a lot of lives,” Verga said.
Obama has not backed the notion of universal health care as part of the ongoing health care reform debate in Congress. Obama has supported a more limited “public option” for health insurance coverage that would be sponsored by the government.
Verga promised to not attack any of his fellow Republicans in what will likely be a crowded field of candidates jockeying for the GOP nomination to challenge Perriello. As one of the first announced candidates, Verga is aiming to stake out his conservative credentials.
“I’m very, very conservative,” he said. “I’m not trying to be middle-of-the-road at all.”
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Reader Reactions
Anything is better than this scum bag!
If that’s your best shot, you fell short (in my humble opinion). And, yes, the war we fight in Afghanistan is unjustifiable—until, at least, someone gives it justification. I’m still waiting to hear it.
One word: Cantor!
Others maybe: Bob Goodlatte, Mike Ross, Connie Mack, Frank Wolf, Peter King, Bart Gordon, Paul Ryan.
Seriously, are you kidding 10 that is virtually impossible, there are 8. Perriello would do well to follow in Cantor or Goodlatte’s steps.
On the flip side, that’s easy:
John Murtha, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Henry Waxman, Charles Rangel, Eric Massa, Patrick Kennedy, Steny Hoyer, Maxine Waters, Anthony Weiner, and obviously Pelosi.
I wouldn’t strap a lie detector to any one in congress.
The war in Afghanistan was far from unjustifiable! I’d like to hear your reasons for that one.
JC—how is it that people who post here have a remarkable ability to take what one person posts and turn it into something else.
For example, the criticism of the TEA folks is aimed at their antics, as well as their fundamental, knee-jerk reaction toward paying their fair share of taxes. In my opinion, they make themselves look foolish. I have followed the local group with interest for some time, and quite honestly, they’d make a better case for their valid concerns if they did two things: one, stick with undistorted truths; and two, ditch the hysteria. But that’s just my opinion. They can continue to act like spazs, and if that gets their message taken lightly, and them personally ridiculed, I have no sympathy.
Ditto the extremists on the left.
I have taken a stand against each of the programs brought forth by this administration—in fact, I argued against TARP, which began under Bush, and before that the reckless spending of the Congress and the Bush administration, going all the way back to 9/11.
Homeland Security has been proven to be a boondoggle. The war in Iraq unjustifiable. The war in Afghanistan unjustifiable. The Bush stimulus plan—ineffective. TARP—unjustifiable interference in the free markets, rife with corruption, an excuse to meddle in free enterprise, and an albatross around the necks of the taxpayer.
The Obama administration has added worse to bad enough already.
In the meantime, we get caught up in the esoteric—the whole global warming thing is a stupid distraction and an unwinable debate—Nero fiddling while Rome burns. The surreal—calling government intervention “competition” (huh?). The ridiculous—stimulus spending that doesn’t. Idealism run amok—Guantanamo.
What I don’t get is blaming the people for this three-ring(?) circus, which they have no hand in creating, then berating them for not actively participating in a process that is “fixed”. Tell me which of the two established parties any longer accomodate questions, dissent, moderation? They both operate as exclusive little clubs. Then, they nominate candidates—not the people—the parties. Then they package them. And sell them to the public. And, since selling requires $$$, they finance the candidates through special interests.
That’s the “democratic” process today. Lest you call me cynical, give me ten example where I am wrong. Ten honest, independent Congresspersons. How about one?
Even Obama has been backtracking at full speed from his not-so-well thought out plan and “promise” to shut down Guantanamo, and has re-established his own Guantanamo at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, in essence validating and adopting a Bush policy that he continually criticized, and which was a core component of his campaign platform. I wouldn’t be surprised if Obama secretly transfers substantially all of the Guantanamo prisoners to Bagram. I guess that is alright with you though, as long as its not Guantanamo. It doesn’t sound like you are to worried about terrorism if you are ok with terrorists running around freely in Bermuda and operating offshore fishing boats. Obama must have seen some very damning evidence and data on these terrorists to do a 180 on this issue, evidence/data that while not necessary for enemy combatants, is required in a US court of law, which is unlikely to apply to these non-US citizens for events occurring in another country. Why not send them to court or the control of the gov’t in their native countries or where they were caught, they would likely be shredded limb by limb in those countries. The Geneva convention applies to uniformed soldiers not these cowardly terrorists hiding in the shadows behind women and children and other innocent citizens.
Being light-hearted is a congenital condition I suffer from. But be assured, I take terrorists very seriously. I just don’t take you very seriously.
if you don’t think this congress and administration is tone deaf to not only the majority of the nation but even more astonishingly its own party then you’re not keeping up. There is a political price to pay for abusing your voters. Perriello has no margin for error to alienate anyone at all so I wouldn’t be so cavalier about any lost votes if I were him. The long term damage of record deficits may last a decade or longer. If we are, as Obama claims in a recovery then the remaining $1 trillion or so of wasteful non-stimulus spending that is left in the so-called stimulus bill should be stopped ASAP. Deficits may not hurt us immediately but they will and with the size of them this will take many years, maybe a decade to get out and a helluva a lot longer if there is more ridiculous spending on top of it. You and Obama may be laughing now but you will probably look back on those people at the tea parties in 3-5 years and say they were absolutely right, particularly if the dollar collapses, inflation goes to 10% along with loans and mortgages, and the recovery is stalled for years at least for job creation the most crucial aspect right now. I’m being generous interest rates and inflation approached 20% under Carter and nagging unemployment was at 11%
I also wish you luck with your program to add additional parties to our political system. I personally wouldn’t mind, as long as they used a playoff system rather than a bowl system. I’m sure the American public wouldn’t be able to keep up, would become even more disinterested, apathetic, and fragmented.
rjma it is a bit ridiculous to be more worried about terrorists in a state of the art prison surrounded by a military base rather than running around freely and deep sea fishing on boats that can go a lot farther than 900 miles. Or even sent farther away to some place like Yemen rearmed and ready to attack. Think before you write kid, that’s an ignorant statement.
It’s attitudes like yours that lead to our weakened national security that is more concerned about our own soldiers attacking us than terrorists. The weakening and criminalizing of our patriotic citizens and the CIA, which is really the greatest defense we have against an invisible enemy is just begging for another attack on our soil. You should be embarrassed by your light hearted view of terrorists.
jc says: “Bermuda not too far from our South Carolina coast.“
It is about 900 miles. Do you really think terrorists are going to swim to Myrtle Beach and start gunning down sunbathers?
Why didn’t you speak up when they were a mere 100+ miles from the US
“I can’t help you… that’s just the way it is.“
That attitude was prevalent in Germany from roughly 1933-1945.
We have two seriously dysfunctional political parties; even “change” isn’t.
As for Nader and/or Perot—their impact on the outcome of elections, in my opinion, is grossly over-estimated. When the number one loser is a “loser”, isn’t the real question the efficacy of the two previaling parties, more so than the “other” parties? I really think that sooner or later, these two reformulate themselves, and reform how they conduct business, or become dinosaurs.
Nobody has run to the “center”, borrowing the best ideas and using our best talent—maybe because political leadership does not understand the difference between compromise, and common interest, the difference between nobody wins, and everybody wins.
If the intelligence level of the overall population is poor—as you assert (and with which I disagree)—then I would say that intelligence is inversely proportional to how it is commonly percieved. All these bright minds f-ing up left and right. No, its something else at work—though I can’t pretend to know exactly what that “something” is.
One thing does seem rather obvious—the near vacuum of leadership.
Goode is smart to quit while he can save face.
Periello does not have to defend his vote on Cap and Trade—not to people who would never vote for him under any circumstances, nor to those who would vote for him no matter what. That great blob in the middle will never be swayed enough one way or the other that something that does not happen is a bad idea, no matter how you package it.
Periello has managed in a very short time to deflect his most vocal critics—the jokers from the Jefferson Tea Party—as he handles himself well in these Town Hall meetings. If he is smart, he’ll do these on a regular basis, when not in Washington.
Does anyone else think that the TEA group locally looks pretty petty and stupid for its ‘demonstrations’ outside Periello’s offices?
Should they, alone, have been “listened to” above everyone else in this district? The proverbial egg is on the face of these Schilling-istas.
Outsdie of Bell, who has name recognition in the 5th? Goode cobbled together a nice run pretending to be a sharp good-‘ol boy, til his hand finally played out. The old stump is gone. The sprouts?
The irrational exuberance displayed below is somewhat surprising.
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