A reception was hosted by John and Harriet Malbon at their Virginia Beach home for gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds on Tuesday, January 6th, 2008. The event was very well attended, with perhaps twenty or so more people than the reception for Brian Moran I attended earlier last month.

Before the reception, Deeds was out at a local polling place in support of John LaCombe who was running in the special election for the open seat in the 81st House district. Although Deeds was the last of the three gubernatorial candidates to endorse John LaCombe, I have to give him a lot of credit for being out and supporting LaCombe on a rainy election day. That says a lot about this man whom I’ve heard described as “the salt of the earth”.

At the reception, Deeds spoke in brief about who he is as a candidate. He opened by saying that of all three candidates for governor, he is the only one currently holding elected office. This was a bit of a jab at both Brian Moran, who recently resigned from the House of Delegates, and Terry McAuliffe, who hasn’t held any elected office in Virginia. Deeds stressed his commitment to the people of his district who elected him to the Virginia Senate, even though he loses the ability to raise funds while the Senate is in session.

Deeds downplayed both Moran’s slew of endorsements (although he hasn’t been shy about announcing his own) throughout Virginia and Terry McAuliffe’s ability to raise money saying that the election isn’t determined by endorsements or money. Deeds emphasized that while he does indeed need money for his campaign, he doesn’t need to match McAuliffe dollar for dollar; he’s only looking for enough to get his message out to the people.

The message that Deeds is sharing isn’t unique. Transportation, education, the economy, and energy top his priorities; all interconnected. Everyone knows of these issues. Many areas of Virginia face difficult transportation issues, including Hampton Roads. Opportunities for higher education are shrinking as tuition costs are on the rise. It seems no one is untouched in some way by the downturn of the economy, and the world is consumed by energy efficiency and renewable sources.

One specific proposal that Deeds did share in regard to education was the expanded usage of community colleges throughout Virginia to retrain workers in low tech/low paying positions to high tech/high paying positions that are less susceptible to offshore outsourcing. Deeds stressed that working smarter was necessary to keep jobs in Virginia and strengthen the economy. With community colleges accessible from almost every part of Virginia, a widespread program of re-educating workers seems to be an attractive solution to the loss of low tech jobs. In connection with this, the increase in access to broadband Internet is a part of his proposed plan for Virginians working smarter.

I asked Senator Deeds what he thought was the one thing that made his stand out from both Brain Moran and Terry McAuliffe. He responded that his record in trying to solve the transportation problems of Virginia sets him apart from Brian Moran, who he says hasn’t pushed hard enough for a solid transportation plan.

Unfortunately, while everyone agrees that transportation is an issue, it’s doubtful that what Deeds thinks sets him apart will stick in the minds of people throughout the state. From his general comments about transportation, it seems he believes that the issue is first and foremost in northern Virginia. This isn’t going to play very well with voters outside of that region, especially here in Hampton Roads where we face our own transportation dilemmas.

I also asked Deeds his thoughts on gay rights and gay marriage in Virginia. I knew that he had voted to place the Marshall-Newman Amendment on the ballot, which prohibits the recognition of gay marriage and civil unions in Virginia, and then spoke out and voted against the amendment, believing that its broad wording would have unintended consequences for straight couples. Deeds explained to me that he had voted to place it on the ballot, but then stressed that he spoke out against it and did not vote for it. This I already knew, but I wanted to get a feel for how he really felt about the issue. He then explained that he believed that marriage was a religious issue and that the state shouldn’t be involved in religious issues.

I agree with Deeds on that last point; however, this position seems to be a bit different from what he’s said in the past about marriage, where he has stressed only his belief that marriage was only between a man and a woman. I wonder if this more liberal view of marriage is a result of his moving to the left to capture the nomination. I’m not sure, but I agree with the point that he’s making here. The state needs to get out of the marriage business altogether. I’m still disappointed that Deeds did not stand against the amendment for what it was, the placement of discriminatory language in the constitution of Virginia.

Deeds believes he had the ability to reach people and make them excited about voting for him. He certainly is enthusiastic about his campaign and is going full throttle. What he might lack in grace and calmness, he makes up with an eagerness to get the job done. This is indeed shaping up to be an interesting primary.

Image Source: Deeds for Virginia

Related posts:

1. Latest PPP: Deeds leads, McAuliffe and Moran stagnant
2. Creigh Deeds, his campaign, and the Washington Post
3. Deeds gaining ground, Moran and McAuliffe stalled
4. Deeds can win by dropping out
5. Deeds WAPO editorial clarifies his transportation plan