Factory worker announces early bid for 5th District

DANVILLE — Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Ivy, is barely six months into his two-year term, but a Bedford man is already preparing to face off against last year’s dark horse candidate in 2010.

Factory worker Bradley Rees, 31, formally announced his candidacy Thursday night to seek the Republican nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives for the 5th District. A small group gathered at Camilla Williams Park along the Dan River for the announcement.
With the former Dan River Inc. building as a backdrop, Rees, dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved Underdog shirt, spoke for about a half hour in support of the Fair Tax bill, which would eliminate income taxes and establish a national sales tax.
“I describe myself as a reluctant Republican,” Rees said before his speech. “The GOP has strayed from its conservative roots. [The current tax system] is basically unfair — direct, compulsory income taxation. The government gets the first chunk of your money and to me, that’s theft.”
Rees is a self-declared grassroots candidate who flaunts his non-lawyer, common-man status. A forklift operator and assembly line technician with tattooed knuckles, Rees spent four years working as a Lynchburg community coordinator for Ameri-cans for Fair Taxation before founding his own organization, “Oper-ation: Bullhorn,” last spring.

“I can’t stand politics,” Rees told the group, “or most politicians. … Americans are tired of the same old choices. And you shouldn’t have to hold your nose when you pull that lever in the voting booth.”
Perriello’s press secretary said the congressman had no comment on Rees’ announcement, but he does plan to run again. Former 5th District representative Virgil H. Goode Jr., who many expect to run for the seat again, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Disappointed by the turnout, Rees’ campaign manager, Michael Ernette, said that the reason they started their campaign so early was to build name recognition.
“If [Goode] decides not to run, the campaign for whoever runs against Perriello has to start now because of fundraising and name recognition,” Ernette said. “Of course we have a shot. We’re gonna win this.”

Should more than one Republican run against Perriello, the district’s Republican Committee must choose a method to name a nominee. Committee Chairman Tucker Watkins said traditionally, that means either a primary or a convention.
“As far as I know, Virgil has not made a firm decision one way or the other yet,” Watkins said. “I don’t know Mr. Rees; I’ve never met Mr. Rees. There are a number of really good people [who could run]. Congressman Goode is by far the choice of the majority of people that I know.”