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Thursday’s debate between House District 25 incumbent Steve Landes and Democratic challenger Greg Marrow produced fireworks when Marrow twice questioned Landes’ effectiveness in producing jobs for the Shenandoah Valley.
Marrow, a Harrisonburg optometrist, said his examination of five years of Landes’ legislative record showed numerous bills to change Virginia codes but “none of them about increasing the quality of life in the Shenandoah Valley.”
The usually stoic Landes responded strongly, and at one point handed Marrow a folder full of papers detailing his legislative record.
Landes said he had worked for a decade to bring SRI International to Rockingham County. SRI is a research and development organization devoted to pharmaceutical and other research.
Landes said he was also honored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for legislation that helped farmers and cleaned up waterways and had been endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
“I’ve accomplished a lot,’’ said Landes, who said legislation alone doesn’t tell the tale.
When asked what he had accomplished to help the Valley, Marrow reiterated that he had studied Landes’ record.
The challenger told Landes you “need to worry about legislation that will help the Valley.”
Earlier in the debate, Landes said during his nearly 14 years as House District 25 delegate, the district had garnered 5,000 new jobs and $1.3 billion in investment.
And Landes said while it is not government that can create jobs, “it can create the regulatory enviromment conducive to jobs.”
Marrow responded by noting that Augusta County had a net loss of 51 percent of manufacturing jobs from 1996 to 2008, and said Landes had voted to reduce funding for small business incubator programs and other funding related to economic development.
Marrow said it is important for Virginia to look at the green jobs.
“Make Virginia the the flagship of green jobs,’’ said Marrow, who said that in 2007, nine million jobs were created in the green sector.
In addition to green jobs, Marrow said the Valley must find a way to capitalize on the thousands of tourists who travel the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive near Waynesboro.
“Why aren’t we marketing for the ecotourism from camping and hiking?” Marrow asked.
Landes said the Shenandoah Valley’s tourism is being bolstered by travelers taking shorter trips.
Both candidates said the closed Virginia rest stops should be reopened. Both criticized VDOT.
“There is a lot of waste in the system and I would love to have bureaucracies run like a business,” said Marrow, who pointed to the VDOT layoffs and the thousands of deficicent Virginia bridges and culverts.
Landes said he supported an audit of VDOT and said the agency’s bureaucracy should be trimmed, “not the employees providing the services.”
The two candidates differed on alternative energy sources.
Landes supports numerous alternative sources such as new coal technology, wind power, solar and nuclear alternatives and wants to look for natural gas and oil off the Virginia coast.
Marrow said while solar panels won’t come tomorrow “we need to get off fossil fuels, we need to get off oil.”
And Marrow said the simple weatherizing of windows could save consumers almost 20 percent on their utility bills. A similar amount could be saved by locating a wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach.
Landes was asked about his comment at an area GOP picnic last month in which he compared White House tactics to those of Naz Germany and Russia.
The incumbent said it was one more instance “of speaking out for the people I represent,’’ including a number of older residents.
Marrow said his objection to Landes’ comments were in the context of “acting in the capacity as a delegate. There should be a certain decorum.”
After the debate, the candidates said it was a good night.
Landes called the debate “a good exchange of ideas and positions.”
Marrow said the two candidates were “able to agree to disagree. We have different ideas about the same issues.”
The debate, co-sponsored by The News Virginian and NBC 29, took place at Kate Collins Middle School auditorium.
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Reader Reactions
Marrow did say what he wanted to do. A couple of weeks ago DNR reported that Marrow planned on reintroducing a bill that promotes clean energy manufacturing business. It would have given a tax incentive to companies that would come in and create manufacturing products for clean energy.
In fact the press release is on marrow’s website. But what has landes proposed? Other than him going around a school with the DNR saying that he wants to promote school and said he would in the future support the nurses, why doesnt our delegate who has been in office for so long not have a plan? why does it take a challenger for us to hear rhetoric from Landes.
I have read from news leader and dnr that marrow has presented plans for the economy, via, clean energy manufacturing, he has presented plan for health care on a local level by expanding scope of practice for nurses.
Marrow is good at spouting feel-good sound bites like, “Marrow said it is important for Virginia to look at the green jobs.
“Make Virginia the the flagship of green jobs,’’ said Marrow, who said that in 2007, nine million jobs were created in the green sector.“, but where is his plan? He does have a plan, doesn’t he?
It’s time we showed by our vote that we won’t settle for warm and fuzzy campaign promises and rhetoric. Give us a real plan and some hard facts. Don’t tell us what your opponent has done wrong; tell what and how you will do right.
Marrow, like his idol Creig Deeds, are very vague when it comes to supporting statements like “Make Virginia the flagship of Green Jobs” with facts or data. Sure he said that “in 2007 nine million jobs were created in the green sector” but where? What type of jobs? What payrate? How longterm or temporary? Did these jobs eliminate other industry jobs? What amount of govt subsidies and “Free money” as Marrow sees it is involved?....
Marrow also states “we need to get off fossil fuels, we need to get off oil” which is a piece of candy for his “Progressive” followers. But how does Marrow, his buddy Creigh Deeds, and those in the DNC bighouse plan on increasing the economy and employment situation by eliminating oil? Solar and wind are great but are not reliable and many, many years off before replacing oil and the industries that operate off fossil fuels. Many years after people like Marrow and Deeds would be out of office
and not held responsible for “Campaign Promises”...
Wind, solar, and alternatives are a long ways off and not here next week. We need a Delegate that understands maintaining, increasing, and improving the economy structure will result in real jobs, profit without “free money”, and the reasonable change to alternative energy sources without destroying jobs, the economy, and 401K retirement plans…
Listening to Greg Marrow was a lot like listening to George Bush: several times he mangled words, once clearly saying that we need to support “ecoterrorism,“ when he meant ecotourism. But the best line of the night came from the audience when Marrow wrongly said that $125 million in federal money offered for unemployment benefits was “free money.“
“No, it comes from my pocket,“ said an astute listener.
And that’s just ONE of the faults with Greg Marrow’s vision for the 25th district. Apparently he thinks money grows on trees (or can simply be printed at will).
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