Any Democrats not named Chuck Colgan is going to be an underdog in a race to represent western Prince William County at the local or state level.

State Senate candidate Shawn Mitchell is no exception.

The Iraq war veteran from Broadlands faces former Del. Dick Black in the general election for the newly-drawn 13th district. Black, who won a three-way Republican primary, is a veteran in his own right, having served as a Marine combat pilot in Vietnam.

Mitchell stopped by Gainesville for a two-hour chat on September 11, wearing a black wristband on his right arm with the names of Nicholas C. Mason and David A. Ruhren scrawled across it.

His interview primarily focused on what his platform for serving in Richmond, which focuses mostly on job creation. But when questioned about his jewelry, he revealed that he usually only wears the band three times a year: August 1, September 11 and December 21.

The two Virginians listed on the bracelet were killed in Mosul, Iraq on December 21, 2004 following an attack on their dining facility. They were posthumously promoted from specialists to sergeants.

Mitchell, an Army engineer who served in combat, had been at the mess hall just before that. He knew both of them.

In fact, he's lucky not to have joined them in death for a different reason all together.

The August 1 date marks the day his vehicle struck a roadside bomb.

"It blew me forward," he recalled, mentioning that the blast "warped the frame of the vehicle."

No one died in that attack but Mitchell sustained some hearing loss and some minor issues with his lower back.

"I was completely fine," he said, later adding, "I made it, my friends made it, but these two guys didn't."

When Mitchell talks about his economic plan, he speaks mostly from his experience as the owner of the HVAC company Modern Mechanical in Loudoun County.

He focused on how gas prices affected the costs and employee salaries.

Yet, having previously served in Bosnia prior to his Iraq deployment, his military experience does affect his approach to both politicking and making business decisions in that.

Whether it's a cranky customer or a political attack, his worst day at home is still a breeze compared to the Iraqi desert.

"I have experience in both planning and execution," he said. "I think that's what we missed (in) politics and in government in years past. ... I like to look at the views of the collective."

According to Mitchell, the top issues facing the state are "jobs and the economy." His economic agenda includes promoting small business and attracting new businesses into Virginia.

Mitchell mentioned that one challenge for business owners is the "availability of capital" for them to expand their enterprises.

For that, he would like the General Assembly to create a reserve fund "to back bank lending in small business."

When asked, he did not have a solid dollar amount for how much money should be included in such a fund. Instead, by simply proposing it, he explained that he can work with finance committee members and others to craft a passable proposal.

In Mitchell's plan, the state government would inherently back some businesses that would fail. However, the idea is that with enough support, enough banks and businesses would succeed with its backing so that business owners could afford to hire new workers and buy more equipment. That, in theory, could generate enough tax revenue to make up for any losses.

Monitoring the success of the state-backed lending would mean determining how many loans "went through based on these funds" versus the percentage of loans that ended up in default.

He floated the idea of $50 million as a theoretical starting point for the program, but was not set on keeping that amount.

Another item he would like businesses to build on is properly assessing clean energy.

Speaking about construction workers, he said, "There (are) a lot of guys who are hurting... These are the types of individuals you can put back to work"

Regarding transportation, Mitchell favors extending the Virginia Railway Express westward from Broad Run toward Gainesville but was not sold on bringing it out to Haymarket.

"From what I've read and what I understand, from a business decision, it looks like the case studies show if you terminate it in Gainesville, you have a great return" on investment, he said.

Mitchell favors studying whether a Bus Rapid Transit route could work for Interstate 66, U.S. 29 and Route 28. One idea he proposed is timing commuter lanes so that a BRT bus could it some of the day and general flow traffic, such as HOV commuters, can use it at other times.

"Have a true study," he said.

On the proposed tri-county parkway, Mitchell said, "I support it recognizing that there's not money for the project."

As for locking up the transportation trust fund with a constitutional amendment limiting how legislators may spend the money in the fund, Mitchell is undecided.

"I believe that no possible opportunity for creating a dedicated transportation fund should be off the table," he said.

Democrats usually balk at locking up the transportation trust fund because money from it can be used to fund core services if the general fund runs out of cash. Republicans tend to balk at that approach in return, arguing for less spending.

Falling in line with the majority his party, Mitchell said he has not "ruled out" raising the gas tax. That tends to be a key sticking point for senate Democrats negotiating with House Republicans about locking up the transportation trust fund.

Mitchell has made his approach toward business the focal point of his campaign, but he has attacked Black for focuses on what have at times been controversial views he held in the General Assembly, particularly regarding limiting access to abortion.

Prior to his interview with the Times, Mitchell's website contained links to articles with negative comments about Black and his brand of social conservatism. When asked about his own views on social issues, Mitchell readily relayed that he, unlike Black, supports same-sex marriage but hesitated to take a stance on abortion.

When reminded that his own website linked to articles regarding Black on the issue, Mitchell relented and revealed he supports abortion rights.

"I fully support equality, I am a pro-choice individual but I do want to make it very clear my race and my entrance into this run for state Senate is making sure that the General Assembly focuses on and works toward practical solutions for the economy, transportation and education, K-12 and our colleges and universities," he said.

After the interview, his website no longer contained links to any news articles about Black. It only had a single link to a letter-to-the-editor in which an Ashburn resident chides Black for moving into the district for political purposes and his previous stint in the General Assembly.