Old hand, business pro battle for 20th

The race to succeed retiring House District 20 Del. Chris Saxman pits a local political veteran against a businessman and civic leader.

Republican candidate Dickie Bell is an Augusta County special education teacher, veteran Staunton City Council member, and a conservative who believes in limited government and letting the private sector create jobs.

House 20 Democratic candidate Erik Curren is marketing director of the American Shakespeare Center and serves on about a half-dozen boards and commissions.

He wants to end the partisan political wrangling in Richmond and would like to explore new ideas for the economy such as the green jobs sector.

Curren said building a robust green economy will not only save utility costs but create jobs through a process as simple as the weatherizing of homes.

Bell said the jobs strategy must be a more comprehensive one, that includes the traditional retail, service and industrial areas.

In regard to industry, Bell thinks the area is well suited for light, not smokestack, industry.

While Curren has offered a detailed explanation of green jobs in his jobs plan, a political expert said green jobs are perceived differently by the public.

“Some people may perceive green jobs as for the elite,’’ said James Madison University political scientist Bob Roberts.

He said the perception is that green jobs are more knowledge-based and less working class.

Transportation solutions for Virginia bring different answers from the candidates.

Curren is offering a plan to modernize Virginia’s state income tax brackets to provide about $400 million in additional state revenue, about half of what is needed to balance an annual shortfall in Virginia’s basic highway infrastructure needs.

Bell does not think a transportation silver bullet is likely in the short-term because of the lack of a dedicated funding area.

He proposes offshore drilling, which he thinks would help with longterm revenues for transportation.

Bell also puts tolls on the table as a revenue source. He said the privatizing of some roads where the tolling is handled by a business might be an answer.

While both want to help education, Bell proposes merit or performance-based pay to reward successful teachers.

“If you tie money to results,’’ you get results,’’ Bell said during a debate earlier this week in Highland County.

Curren wants to see education funding directed to provide more educational resources and smaller class sizes for students.

Bell’s radio advertising touts his experience on Staunton City Council and paints Curren as a neophyte who has never held elected office.

Curren, who has worked with Staunton city government on numerous boards and commissions, said he can bring new ideas to the Virginia legislature.

“I’ve got 15 years in business. I can bring a businesslike approach,’’ he said.

Curren said the recent culture in Richmond among legislators leads to partisan gridlock.

“If the only approach is, ‘No,’ we will get nothing done,’’ he said.

Bell said his experience in grappling with a city budget in Staunton would prove beneficial in dealing with the lean budget outlook in Richmond.

“I believe in personal responsibility and the common-sense approach to government,’’ Bell told his debate audience in Highland County.

The campaign has not been without its controversies regarding either candidate.

Curren’s practice of Buddhist meditation surfaced during the summer, raised by a fellow Democrat, Augusta County Supervisor Tracy Pyles.

Curren said the meditation has helped him with empathy for others as well as be more focused.

Bell was denied a paid leave by Superintendent Gary McQuain from his Augusta County teaching job should he be elected.

Bell said he will ask the Augusta County School Board for an unpaid leave next month if he is elected. Bell has said he never asked for a paid leave to serve in the General Assembly.

Reports also surfaced last week of a 25-year-old bankruptcy case for Bell, which occurred when he purchased a grocery business in the early 1980s.

The candidate said that he made restitution, and described a circumstance that included having to purchase the building because the previous owner was being foreclosed on.

“Having to buy the building was a backbreaker,’’ he said.