Heretick Defeats Anti-Gay Johnny Joannou in Primary

Steve Heretick

In yesterday's Democrat primary, Steve Heretick defeated anti-gay Del. Johnny Joannou and sent the fossilized Democrat in name only into political retirement.   While news stories focused on Joannou's opposition to Medicaid expansion, Joannou also had a documented anti-gay voting record in the House of Delegates.  Given the nature of the 79th district, Heretick is presumed to be the winner come November.  Heretick's win underscores how progressives working together can make a difference.  Joannou was so reactionary that even the lunatics of the Tea Party came to his aid .  Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

Steve Heretick upset longtime Del. Johnny Joannou on Tuesday in the Democratic primary for the state House 79th District.  With all precincts reporting, Heretick claimed 52.7 percent of the votes while Joannou took 47.2 percent.

Joannou, who has served more than 30 years in the General Assembly, hadn’t faced a challenger since 2007.

Heretick, a former Portsmouth City councilman, said Joannou’s conservative voting record was out of touch with the district.

Specifically, Heretick, 54, attacked Joannou for his opposition to expanding Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act and for not doing enough while the state was negotiating a deal to bring tolls to Hampton Roads to pay for a second tube at the Midtown Tunnel.

Heretick said it felt good to beat an “entrenched” incumbent backed “by the city’s old guard.”
“I really do feel like we’ve overcome a tremendous amount of opposition and I’m pleased to say that we’ve done it with a lot of progressive groups,” Heretick said.

Joannou declined to comment Tuesday night.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe supported Heretick. "We're happy with everything that's happening," said Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesoman for the Democratic Party of Virginia. 

Heretick created a website, www.johnnyjoannou.com, that referred to Joannou as “our Tea Party delegate.” Indeed, members of the Tea Party and the National Rifle Association backed Joannou.

Members of the Portsmouth Tea Party came to his aid by encouraging members to vote in the primary, hoping to stop a more liberal candidate from getting to Richmond. Because it's a heavily-Democratic district, the primary winner is likely to win the seat in November.

Good riddance to Joannou.

Why Steve Heretick and Medicaid Expansion Make Sense for Virginia

Vote for Steve Heretick

On June 9th there will be a primary that will decide who will be the nominee for the 79th House District.  The incumbent, Johnny Joannou is a Democrat in name only and is virulently anti-gay, opposes Medicaid expansion and has sided with the failed policies of the extremists in the Virginia GOP.  It is important that Steve Heretick replaces Joannou as the Democrat candidate in November.  Besides Joannou's anti-gay voting record, his refusal to support Medicaid expansion are the most troubling, especially since many of his own constituents would benefit.  A piece in the Washington Post looks at how Medicaid expansion would benefit Virginia.  Joannou's opposition is particularly disturbing given that many of Virginia's rural hospitals are struggling financially. Here are article highlights:

The White House Council of Economic Advisers released a report saying that states that have expanded Medicaid are better off and if Virginia were to do so, an additional 179,000 residents would have health insurance coverage and 16,000 fewer would experience symptoms of depression.

The report also said Virginia will miss out on $1.24 billion in federal funding in 2016 by not expanding Medicaid. The report’s figures were provided by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit public policy group in Washington.

“By expanding their Medicaid programs, states can improve access to essential medical care, reduce financial hardship, improve their citizens’ physical and mental health, and claim billions of dollars in federal funding that could raise their citizens’ standards of living and make their economies more resilient in the future,” the report said.

Matthew Moran, a spokesman for GOP House Speaker William J. Howell said Republicans remain steadfastly opposed to expansion . . 

The governor’s spokesman, Brian Coy, said McAuliffe is still committed to Medicaid expansion.  “Every day that Republicans in the General Assembly wait to work with the governor to get the best expansion deal for Virginia is another day that thousands of people go without lifesaving care and taxpayers send their hard-earned money to Washington while getting nothing in return,” Coy said.

The irony to me is that the GOP claims to be the party of Christian values and "pro-life" yet once children are born, the GOP kicks them to the gutter along with the poor and less fortunate.  Not exactly what the Gospel message calls one to do.  

Anti-Gay Johnny Joannou Faces Primary Challenge

Challenger, Steve Heretick

Some would argue that Del. Johnny Joannou has been a Democrat in name only.   On important issues, he has repeatedly sided with far right Republicans in contrast to fellow Democrats.  On gay rights issues, Joannou has been most disappointing.  When Tracy-Thorne-Beglund was up for appointment to the bench in Richmond, Joannou failed to support him and took the coward's approach of not voting at all.  When Attorney General Mark Herring made the determination not to defend Virginia' foul Marshall-Newman Amendment, Joannou joined the Republican chorus of critics.  The political blog Blue Virginia has called Joannou outright homophobic.  And on an issue important to hundreds of thousands of Virginians - i.e., Medicaid expansion - Joannou again sided with the forces of backwardness in the Virginia GOP.  It is far past time that Joannou be pushed into retirement.  Thankfully, as the Virginian Pilot reports, Steve Heretick, a Portsmouth attorney and former Portsmouth city councilman, is challenging Joannou in the June 9th primary.  It is crucial that people turn out and vote for Heretick.  Here are highlights from the Pilot:

Voters might be more focused on beaches than ballots, but the June primary contest for this House of Delegates seat is high stakes.

That's because the Democrat who wins will likely have an easy road come November in the heavily Democratic 79th district, which covers parts of Portsmouth and Norfolk.

Del. Johnny Joannou, 75, a Portsmouth attorney and fixture in the statehouse for decades, is facing a rare challenge.

Steve Heretick, 54, a Portsmouth attorney and former Portsmouth city councilman, is looking to unseat him in the June 9 election.

Heretick is going after Joannou on two main issues: Medicaid expansion and tolls.

He criticized Joannou for being the only Democrat in the 2014 General Assembly session to vote against expanding Medicaid - as allowed under the president's Affordable Care Act - to insure as many as 400,000 low-income Virginians. The measure failed in the General Assembly.

"We have the best health care technology and close to half a million working people in this state who have already paid for it who can't access it because of people like Johnny Joannou," he said.

Heretick also accused Joannou of not doing enough to stop the tolls that started last year on the Downtown and Midtown tunnels. The tolls were the result of a deal brokered by former Gov. Bob McDonnell and the Virginia Department of Transportation with a private company to build a new Midtown Tunnel and other road projects.

Specifically, Heretick said Joannou could have used his status as a member of a powerful House budget committee to try to block the deal. Joannou is one of six budget "conferees" in the House.  "You get one of these issues in a generation - and he didn't do a thing," Heretick said.

 Again, if you live in the  79th district, which covers parts of Portsmouth and Norfolk, get out an vote for Steve Heretick.