Category: Senior Statesmen

With the Senate race between Jim Webb and George Allen too close to call, Virginia faces the prospect of a second statewide election that goes to a recount. Last November, Democrat Creigh Deeds was locked in an extremely close race for Attorney General with Bob McDonnell, the eventual winner.

Deeds spoke at a public forum of the Senior Statesmen on November 8, 2006, the day after the election. He describes what happened with his recount, and why he thinks a paper trail should be required for all elections. Deeds also offers suggestions for reform to encourage a higher turnout.

There’s a conversation about recounts in the comments at cvillenews.com.

On August 9, incumbent Republican Virgil and challenger Al Weed met for the first time before voters in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. The event was sponsored by the Senior Statesmen of Virginia, and was held at the Senior Center in Charlottesville.
Not strictly a debate, both candidates had fifteen minutes to give an opening statement, and then had five additional minutes to rebut. Then they took questions from the audience. The first four of these dealt with illegal immigration, which prompted boos from the crowd. Questions also abound at health-care, energy policy, and economic development.

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Want to know more about the candidates standing for election to the Virginia House of Delegates this November? The Senior Statesmen of Virginia held a public forum at the Senior Center on August 10 in which several incumbents and challengers appeared. Not a debate, this hour and a half long event was a chance for the candidates to tell an assembled crowd at the Senior Center a little about themselves and why they deserve a vote. CPN volunteer Colin Campbell was on hand to record the event, which we present to you below.

This file is now offline – if you would like to hear it, please contact us

This presentation is an hour and a half long. It will start with an introduction from the Senior Statesmen, and then will feature presentations by the candidates in alphabetical order.

(only campaign websites are listed below)
Delegate Watkins Abbitt, Jr (Independent incumbent running in the 59th District)
Delegate Rob Bell (Republican incumbent in the 58th District)
David Cox (Democratic challenger for the 24th District)
Peter deFur (Democratic challenger for the 56th District)
Steve Koleszar (Democratic challenger for the 58th District)
Delegate Steve Landes (Republican incumbent for the 25th District
Tom McCrystal (Republican challenger for the 57th District)
David Toscano (Democratic challenger for the 57th District)

Other area legislators were invited by the Senior Statesmen, but many could not attend due to prior engagements. After the introductions, the candidates answered questions from moderator Mitch Van Yahres.