Hampton Mayor Molly Ward Endorses Aneesh Chopra for Lt. Governor

The boyfriend and I count Hampton Mayor Molly Ward among our good personal friends.  She has been an outstanding advocate for LGBT issues locally and is one of only three Virginia mayors the last time that I looked who have signed the national mayors for marriage equality resolution.   I have yet to meet Aneesh Copra in person, although I suspect that will change now that Ward has endorsed him in the race in the lieutenant governor Democratic primary (we seem to frequently be invited to attend many politic events at her home).  Her endorsement cannot be good news for Chopra's opponent, Norfolk State Senator Ralph Northam who regrettably seems to be aligning himself with some of the most reactionary elements in the Norfolk political power structure, including Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim who I regard as a major homophobe who seems to act as if gays are communicable disease carriers.  I know Northam personally and historically he has been very gay friendly.  However, some of his alliances of late are very troubling.  Here are excerpts from Chopra's campaign website:

HAMPTON, VA - Today, Molly Ward, Mayor of the City of Hampton, endorsed Aneesh Chopra for Virginia Lt. Governor. Ward, who is currently serving in her second term as Mayor, praised Chopra's vision for Virginia's future.

"Aneesh's positive vision for Virginia is exactly what we need," said Ward. "He knows we must turn the page on the politics of the past and work to respect and empower all Virginians. He represents the future of politics in the Commonwealth, where we dedicate ourselves to finding innovative new ways to address our greatest challenges."

"As a Mayor in the Hampton Roads area, I am confident that Aneesh Chopra will be a Lt. Governor who represents all corners of the Commonwealth," Ward continued. "His experience working for Governor Kaine and President Obama have prepared him to be an effective leader on day one."

Upon receiving the endorsement, Chopra said, "I am honored and excited to have the support of Mayor Ward. She has been an incredible leader for Hampton and I am thrilled to work with her to move Virginia forward."

Ward joins a growing list of Virginia mayors in endorsing Chopra, including most recently Mayor Dwight Jones of Richmond.

Molly Ward has shown herself to be the most gay friendly mayor in Hampton Roads and has been instrumental in Hampton's close ties with HRBOR, the local affiliate of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.   It should be noted that Richmond mayor Dwight Jones also has a pro-gay rights track record.  I plan on digging more on this race between now and the primary on June 11th.   Stay tuned for updates.

Jody Wagner for Virginia Lieutenant Governor

As the campaigns in Virginia move into the home stretch, I attended a fundraiser this evening for Jody Wagner, the Democrat candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. I have known Jody for many years, first from working as opposing counsel on some legal matters years ago when she was in private law practice. Later, when I served on the Virginia College Building Authority - the authority that issues all bonds for Virginia's public colleges and universities and certain qualifying 501(c)(3) tax-exempt universities - from 2000 to 2004, I again had the opportunity to work with Jody. She is smart, competent, dedicated and shows up on the job when required. Her GOP opponent, Bill Bolling, happily accepts his government salary, yet showed up for only 6% of the meetings of the boards and commissions of which the Lieutenant Governor is a member. Worse yet, Bolling speaks out of both sides of his mouth depending upon whether his past positions and voting record are convenient or not.

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I am not the only one to recognize Jody as the far better choice for Lieutenant Governor. The Washington Post endorsed her in its October 19, 2009 editorial. Bolling has been a do nothing Lieutenant Governor and worse yet, he lacks principles and will do whatever bidding the lunatic Republican Party of Virginia base dictates. Like the rest of the GOP statewide ticket, Bolling has no understanding of the concept of separation of church and state - something that should frighten every voter other than hard core Christianists. Here are some highlights from the Post's endorsement:

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JODY WAGNER, Virginia's former secretary of finance, is the sort of Democrat that helped cement the Old Dominion's status as among the cleanest, best managed and most business-friendly states in the country. She is easily the better choice as Virginia's next lieutenant governor and would represent a sharp improvement over the incumbent Republican seeking reelection, Bill Bolling.

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Smart, tough-minded and capable, Ms. Wagner would be among the best-prepared public officials to assume the job. A former corporate lawyer, she started a successful family business (making kettle corn) before going to work for then-Gov. Mark R. Warner (D). Then, as Mr. Kaine's finance secretary -- she resigned this year to launch her campaign -- she developed an authoritative command of state government, spending and income, critical knowledge for the challenges posed by the recession.

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Unlike the usual run of officeholders in Richmond, she is more pragmatist and problem-solver than partisan political warrior. As the only one of the six statewide candidates to have had hands-on experience with the state's budget, she would be uniquely well placed to serve as a resource for whichever candidate is elected governor.

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Of particular interest to Northern Virginia, his [Bolling's] ideas on transportation funding are patently unworkable. He proposes raiding already bare-bones core state services to pay for transportation but bobs, weaves and ducks when pressed to say which ones -- education? public safety? human services? health? -- he would target.

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For LGBT voters, Jody Wagner is also the far better choice. Unlike Bolling, she is not a tool of the Christianists like Pat Robertson, The Family Foundation, and other mouth pieces for the anti-gay far right GOP base. I know first hand that Jody supports equality under the civil laws for ALL Virginians, not just those who toe the line with Christianist religious beliefs. I urge all Virginia readers to get out and vote on November 3, 2009. If you don't live in Virginia but have relatives and friends that do, PLEASE urge them to get out and vote for Jody Wagner.

Jon Bowerbank for Virginia Lieutenant Governor

Last week I did a post on Jody Wagner, one of the candidates for the Democrat nomination for Lieutenant Governor. As part of the post I included Jody's responses to four gay rights related questions and now I have received responses to the same questions from Jon Bowerbank, another of the candidates vying for this nomination (I expect responses from Mike Signer shortly as well). Unlike Jody Wagner who I know personally and Mike Signer who I met at the Equality Virginia gala in Richmond on April 4, 2009, I have never met or spoken with Jon Bowerbank. He seems to have an amazing personal story and has built a very successful business and personal fortune from scratch. He hails from the far southwest of Virginia - something that might hurt his appeal to those in Tidewater and Northern Virginia, two areas where one must do well to win. Jon's campaign website cane be found here. Here are Jon's responses to the questions I posed:

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1. NON-DISCRIMINATION IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT. Despite broad support, the bill to add sexual orientation to the employment non-discrimination policies applicable to state employees, was tabled in committee.

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I would support legislation that extended the state employee non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation-- following in the tradition of Governors Warner and Kaine.

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2. GROUP LIFE INSURANCE. A bill that would have allowed employers to extend group life insurance policies to any class of persons as agreed to by the employer and its insurer as is now the case with group health insurance (Virginia was the last state to allow this) was likewise killed in a House subcommittee.
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I support this legislation.
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3. HOUSING NON-DISCRIMINATION. Two bills sought to add "sexual orientation" to the would have added "sexual orientation" to the Virginia Fair Housing Law covering all rental and sales transactions. covering non-discrimination in all rental and sales transactions. Once again, the bills were killed in a House of Delegates subcommittee.

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I support legislation that would add “sexual orientation” to the Virginia Fair Housing Law covering all rental and sales transactions. It’s important for all people to be treated equally under the law.

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4. ANTI-BULLYING POLICY. A bill was introduced that would have required the model policy to specifically address bullying directed at a student because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. After numerous amendments, all references to sexual orientation or gender expression were removed.

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It’s critically important that all Virginia children feel safe at school and in our communities. As Lt. Governor I would support policies that protect LGBT students and any other students from bullying. In fact, part of the $2.5 million dollars that I’ve personally committed to public schools in Virginia has gone to fund anti-bullying programs.