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Marshall, Bell debate transportation, priorities in race for 13th
Candidates for the 13th District House of Delegates seat clashed Sept. 22 in Manassas, offering differing views on transportation funding and legislative priorities while also agreeing on several key points.
Incumbent Del. Bob Marshall, a Republican from Manassas, focused on a list of legislative initiatives and achievements he has made during 17 years in the state General Assembly. During his opening remarks, Marshall listed 10 legislative accomplishments including a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and Gov. Tim Kaine's (D) request that he introduce a smart growth bill.
"I say what I mean and do what I say. I say the same thing here as I do elsewhere. You won't find any contradictions," said Marshall.
Challenger John Bell, a Democrat from South Riding, spoke more broadly, repeatedly citing his experience as a financial officer and comptroller in the Air Force to convey the point that he knows how to manage budgets.
"I have a long track record of producing results and solving problems in challenging situations under pressure. I believe these skills that I learned in the Air Force are directly applicable to some of the problems and challenges we have today in the commonwealth," said Bell.
The first topic covered campaign finance reform. While both candidates agreed to support reform, they differed on the importance of the subject.
Marshall discussed trying to eliminate the use of cash cards purchased at convenience stores for making political donations, citing a woman in Missouri who donated $176,000 to President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign. Marshall's motion passed the House of Delegates but died in the state Senate.
"I can tell you one clear difference is I won't waste time on things like this in the House of Delegates. I'm going to put my time on roads, jobs and schools because I think that's what's important," countered Bell.
Marshall pounced on the statement, saying, " I'm surprised to here that it's a waste of time to keep elections honest and know where the influence comes from."
Bell rebutted that by saying again that he supports campaign finance reform but would focus on "roads, jobs and schools" in the legislature.
The candidates agreed that earmarks in the state budget should not be eliminated because they can serve useful purposes. Both candidates supported increased earmark transparency.
Bell and Marshall had opposite views on whether the state should have taken $125 million in federal stimulus aid to pay for increased jobless benefits.
"We have a disagreement on this one. I believe we should have taken that $125 million. That $125 million is our money that we paid in federal taxes. We should have brought it back here to the commonwealth. Many areas, many areas of our state right now have over 20 percent unemployment and we could have used that money," said Bell.
He said the stimulus money for unemployment benefits would only end up costing businesses “roughly $4 per year per employee.” That is the figure generally used by Democratic state legislators.
"All of this money is funded by deficits. We cannot keep doing this," countered Marshall. "We have to pull in our belt and say, 'Enough is enough.'"
Regarding the implementation of sin taxes to fix budget deficits, the candidates shared similar views. Bell said the state would "be better off" if there was competition for liquor sales instead of just the state-run ABC stores. Marshall said he looks at taxes “as a form of revenue, not behavior modification."
On locking up the Transportation Trust Fund, Marshall called himself the "author" of the lock box idea, describing a bill supported by the House but again killed by the state Senate.
Bell agreed with the idea of locking up the Transportation Trust Fund, but shifted to his support of "practical design" transportation funding, which he said has saved money in other states.
Marshall supports using a bond bill to pay for roads with fees and tolls and expressed support for the so-called Tri-County Parkway that would serve as an alternate to Route 28. Bell continued to stress practical design as part of a comprehensive transportation plan, and added that increasing the gas tax is "an option we have to consider."
Marshall pointed out that he opposed the controversial abusive driver fees adopted in 2007 and repealed shortly thereafter. He also challenged a part of the same bill that allowed the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to levy taxes and fees to pay for the region's transportation improvements. The Virginia Supreme Court sided with Marshall, overturning the fees because the NVTA was not an elected body.
When the candidates were allowed to question each other directly, Marshall slammed Bell for running against deficits while also supporting proposals that would be paid by federal deficits.
"I don't see how you can have this both ways," he said, leading Bell to reply that during business cycles, sometimes deficit-spending is necessary.
Bell brought up Marshall's "focus on social issues," which Marshall countered by saying only 6.4 percent of his bills dealt with abortion and other cultural subjects.
During his closing statement, Bell recited endorsements he earned from several groups before telling the audience he is running "to do something" instead of "be somebody."
Marshall focused his final remarks on protecting citizens' privacy from the federal government, working with Gov. Kaine on smart growth and supporting families with autistic children.
"It is said that I stand alone and sometimes I do in Richmond. But you know what? You are by my side because I take my oath of office seriously to you," he said.
The Civil Rights act of 1968 was only one bill. Would anyone argue the impact of that single bill on the lives of all Americans? Mr. Marshall and Mr. McDonnell each try to play down the amount of time spent and number of bills introduced on divisive social issues. This is misleading.
The social issue bills these two legislators introduced would have far reaching consequences to the citizens of Virginia. Their impact on the lives of every Virginian would be enormous and in many cases intrusive. This personal social agenda, with it's focus on bedroom issues and reproductive rights is better suited to Virginia of 1959 than Virginia of 2009.
I want a delegate that will fix our roads and ease the congestion, that will build a school system worthy of the high-tech future many of us envision for the state, and will improve the quality of life for all Virginians.
Posted by BullRunPC
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It would have been helpful in determining which candidate was most in touch with the real issues if Dan Roem had mentioned in his article that Marshall closed the debate talking about "Death Panels" and a Charles Krauthammer article that Krauthammer himself disavowed a month before the debate. This, coupled with Marshall's use of 4 year old studies to criticize Bells efforts to address small business health care costs, is a clear indicator to me which candidate is forward thinking and which is fixated on illusionary threats and divisive, disingenuous argument.
Posted by BullRunPC
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