New ideas have potential to derail past mistakes

After the withdrawal of Del. Chris Saxman, R-Staunton, the entrenched four-term incumbent well funded by special interests in Richmond, the 20th House District suddenly became the only open delegate seat in the Valley north of Roanoke, making it the area’s most competitive race (“A familiar ring in the 20th,” July 30). It became a doable race for a moderate, fiscally conservative Democrat to win.

As James Madison University political analyst Bob Roberts said in these pages, even though Republicans have been elected in the past, an open seat “is a completely different ballgame.”

But some people say that the race will be decided by divisive social issues or by voters’ preference for how a candidate spends his free time, for example, like Thoreau and millions of Americans since, in the practice of meditation.

I urge these people to consider another saying of Thoreau: “It is never too late to give up our prejudices.”

Once he starts campaigning, I’m guessing that my new opponent, Staunton Councilman Dickie Bell — who, I am pleased to read, is also fond of quoting Thoreau — will discover for himself what I’ve learned after talking to thousands of people all around the district since I entered the race in April.

Voters in our area are independent thinkers who don’t like to be told what to believe, whose opinions don’t conform to partisan buzzwords and who consistently say that they’ll vote for the person and not for the party.

I’ve met gun owners who put up solar panels. I’ve met hard-nosed businessmen who support music venues and art galleries because they’re good for business. I’ve met seniors who say that we need more things for young people to do in our area and high school kids who say that we need great senior centers. And everyone I’ve met wants more and better jobs for everyone in our area.

Yet, there does seem to be a core of shared values in our communities: the freedom to live and think as we choose; the opportunity to make a better life for our families; and common sense from government.

Those are my values too. That’s why, with apologies to my new opponent, I believe this election is not about hot-button social issues or even about big or small government. It’s about good government. And good government needs good ideas.

As a businessman, I know that good ideas are neither conservative nor liberal. Good ideas are doing things that work.

One thing that works is helping families who are out of work through no fault of their own to make it through tough times. But Del. Saxman voted against accepting $125 million in federal stimulus to expand Virginia’s unemployment benefits, which would have helped these families put food on the table and stay in their homes. I wonder if my new opponent would have shown any more compassion, or any better business sense, because when families don’t have money to spend, local businesses suffer.

Another thing that works is cutting wasteful spending and stopping misguided projects. In business, we have to do that all the time.

The Virginia Department of Transportation’s current plan to widen Interstate 81 to four lanes in each direction throughout the Valley will cost millions of dollars while failing to relieve congestion. Indeed, this plan is sure to backfire as a new, wider road will attract trucks from I-95 and other more congested routes. And more trucks will make I-81 traffic worse than before, which will dump smog into the Valley, damage our quality of life, increase health problems like childhood asthma and threaten our family farms. It would be cheaper and more effective to skip the lane widening and instead put those trucks on trains, with the added benefit of creating hundreds of high-paying green jobs.

Good government also works to ensure that our schools have the resources they need to keep class sizes down and hire the best teachers. But my opponent has voted against funding schools in Staunton, making it clear that we can’t count on him to stand up for education when the pressure is on to cut budgets in Richmond. And bad schools lead to depressed real estate values, threatening the top asset of most families.

And sometimes what works is cutting government regulation and giving consumers more choice. If elected, I would oppose unnecessary restrictions that prevent us from buying safe and healthy local meat and dairy products from farmers right here in our area.

This year, voters will have a real choice in November. They can settle for rigid ideology and the failed policies of the past. Or they can demand new ideas to move our area forward into a 21st-century economy. I believe that the independent-minded voters of the Valley and Highland County can tell the difference.

As Thoreau wrote, “... men are born to succeed, not fail.”

Erik Curren is the Democratic nominee in the 20th House District.