Country stumping

LOVINGSTON — Democrat Creigh Deeds rolled through Virginia’s Piedmont and Southside on Monday in an RV, devoting a chunk of his fall gubernatorial campaign to parts of the commonwealth where he is most at home – the rural areas.

“I’m from Bath County, and the rest of the state matters,” Deeds said.

Deeds is calling his rural visits to 21 communities in the Shenandoah Valley, Southside and the Southwest this week the “Deeds Country” tour. Signs advertising the rural swing were sprinkled across Nelson and Buckingham counties on Monday.

For much of this week, the Democratic nominee will talk to voters in small towns from Danville to Tazewell and in courthouses, restaurants and grocery stores.

“I want to find out what is working and not working and what people expect from government,” Deeds said. “This is a chance to be in touch.”

The state senator began his rural tour in full Monday, making six stops that took him from Nelson County to Danville at day’s end.

While Deeds and Republican nominee Robert F. McDonnell agree the economy is the most pressing issue, Deeds said a better transportation system is the best way to improve Virginia’s economy.

“Transportation is first,” said Deeds, who disagrees with McDonnell on the methods needed for a transportation fix.

McDonnell has an elaborate plan that includes using $3 billion in available bonds and $1 billion in future bonds, privatizing Virginia’s state liquor stores and tolling drivers coming into the state from North Carolina on interstates 85 and 95.

McDonnell would also devote a percentage of Virginia’s future revenue growth to transportation.

“His plan is a conglomeration of ideas that have not worked,” Deeds said. He said McDonnell’s plan would divert $5.4 billion in education money over a 10-year period to transportation.

Deeds has not specified what funding sources he would use for transportation. He said he would seek bipartisan support for a plan.

Tucker Martin, director of communications for the McDonnell campaign, said “the only idea Creigh Deeds has ever had for transportation is to raise taxes. He has pushed for tax hikes repeatedly as a legislator. And he has failed every single time. Now, because he’s running for governor, he has gone quiet. He just says, ‘Every option is on the table.’ His record makes clear what his words are meant to hide. For Creigh Deeds there is only one option: higher taxes. He just won’t admit it as a candidate.”

Martin said “one candidate in this race has a transportation plan. That’s Bob McDonnell. He is the only candidate showing leadership on this issue. His 19-page detailed plan will get traffic moving again, without a tax increase. So while Bob puts forth ideas and leads, Creigh ducks the issue and criticizes. It’s a clear contrast in the race. There are two candidates for governor, but only one leader.”

Jared Leopold, Deeds’ press secretary, said “it’s not leadership to simply pit transportation against schools.”

“Bob McDonnell’s so-called plan isn’t worth the paper it is written on and he knows it. Even Republican colleagues have dismissed Bob’s transportation ideas as non-starters. Leadership means starting with a clean slate and getting the job done — not taking money from our schools.”

Leopold said Deeds had said in the July 25 debate between the two candidates that McDonnell had supported increasing taxes on diesel, soft drinks, hunting and fishing fees.

Deeds’ education plan calls for 70,000 more community college and four-year college graduates in 10 years.

Besides a goal of making Virginia’s workers the best trained through community colleges, he said he thinks the commonwealth can become the center for a virtual research triangle at its four-year colleges and universities.

“We can build around energy and create coordination among the four-year schools,” he said.

Deeds said initiatives are already in place, including research on poultry waste at Virginia Tech and algae conversion to biodiesel fuel research at Norfolk’s Old Dominion University,

Deeds thinks higher education holds another key to economic opportunity through the research possibilities.

Low taxes, being business friendly and improved education and transportation will help in Virginia’s quest for more jobs, Deeds said.

“And the best economic development is to keep existing employers happy,” said Deeds.

Small businesses, Deeds said, are key.

Outside of the three large population centers in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads, Deeds said research shows that 95 percent of Virginia’s remaining employers have less than 50 employees working for them.

Deeds supports tax credits for all new jobs created by small business.

The crowds for the start of the “Deeds Country” tour Monday were small but enthusiastic.

Deeds met with elected officials at the Nelson County Courthouse, and then discussed a wide variety of issues ranging from energy to transportation and medical care at the Nelson Center, a former school that now houses several county offices.

Longtime Nelson County Democrat Bernie McGinnis was on hand to show his support.

McGinnis, of Shipman, who helped Jimmy Carter when he was a decided presidential underdog in the 1976 race, called Deeds “honest and straightforward.”

While on the RV, Deeds said his Democratic primary campaign surged at the right time, just a matter of days before the polls opened June 11.

While a Washington Post endorsement of his campaign provided a vital late boost, Deeds said he also stayed focused.

“Our message remained consistent,” he said.

As the RV rolled toward Buckingham County and the James River, Deeds exchanged campaign banter with his staff and reporters and listened to music by The Flying Burrito Brothers.

Labor Day is the traditional kickoff of fall campaigns. But Deeds on Monday was in sprint mode.