Henry Light, challenger to Johnny Joannou for the Democratic nomination in the 79th, announced his candidacy on March 13. Additional information on his background can be found on his website. Approximately two-thirds of House district 79 lies in the City of Portsmouth. The remaining third is almost evenly split between the cities of Norfolk, Chesapeake and Suffolk. The district has been represented by Joannou since 1998.
Last week, I had the opportunity to talk to him.
One of the things that has been floating around the blogsphere is that Light was recruited to take on Joannou. When I questioned him about this, Light, 67, emphatically said that was untrue. His decision to run was based on his belief that Joannou does not represent him or his interests, and he feels that there are others in the 79th who believe similarly.
Take a look at the issues on his website and you will see that he is in step with main stream Democratic values. Not mentioned on his site is his stance on the so-called Marriage Amendment. I know that others in the blogsphere have asked about where he stood on this so I posed the question to him. Not only was he against the amendment, he worked the polls at Immanuel Church in Norfolk and feels that he helped this precinct defeat the amendment. (The amendment failed 40% to 60%.)
As I mentioned before, Light and I were seated at the same table at the Mayor’s State of the City address. Something occurred to me that day that I’ve been mulling over ever since: what if Joannou pulls a Tom Moss and doesn’t participate in the primary? Joannou has until April 13 to file. Consider:
- Joannou’s Democratic colleagues have been sometimes (ofttimes?) unhappy with his votes
- Republicans are pushing hard to close their primaries and keep folks who have participated in Democratic primaries from participating in theirs. The likelihood of Republicans crossing lines and voting in the Democratic primary is decreasing.
- The number of people who participate in a primary is small. I haven’t had time to pull the numbers yet but this primary could have as few as 1,500-3,000 votes cast.
- Joannou’s Republican supporters would vote for him in a general election.
- No Republican candidate has emerged in the 79th
So, I’m not seeing any downside to Joannou making a decision to pull out of the primary and run as an independent. And we all know how forgiving the party can be to folks who run as an independent and then win.
However, I have to say I just don’t see Joannou doing that. Although some disagree with him, Joannou is a proud, old school Democrat. He didn’t back Moss’ independent run in 2005. I believe he will run in this primary. And he will do all that is within his power to win. I don’t know that he specifically requested the story that ran about him in the Virginian Pilot a few weeks ago, but given the nature of things around here, he may not have had to. The game of inside baseball is played well around here.
Light, in his first run for political office, knows he’s up against a tough opponent. The shortened time frame of getting his name and message out makes his hill, unlike the other first time candidates in the area, a steep one to climb. Another problem with a primary is getting party support. At this point, I’m not sure that any elected Democrats are going to overtly support Light. Further, there is no reason for the House Democratic Caucus to help him. Regardless of the outcome of the primary, the seat is still in the hands of the Democrats, so there is no need to spend any resources here.
As I told Light, he’s on his own. He’s got to run a perfect race and take his case to the voters. He told me he’s already bought a new pair of shoes to wear when he’s knocking on doors. I should have told him to forget the new shoes. Wear an old, comfortable pair 🙂 No need to have your feet hurting.
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