I attended the Brian Moran fundraiser last night. It was a great gathering, with folks from all over Hampton Roads in attendance. The crowd was a mix of grassroots, electeds and contributors from Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, and Hampton. I’m pretty bad at estimating crowd sizes but I can tell you it was elbow-to-elbow in there, and the group overwhelmed the air conditioner. (Perhaps someone who is better at estimating crowd sizes than I can weigh in on how many folks were in attendance.)
If the gathering last night was representative of his support in the area, I’d say you can call Hampton Roads Moran Country š
Among the many was Secretary of Finance Jody Wagner. It has been rumored for quite some time that Wagner is going to jump into the race for LG in 2009. My sources tell me that such a move is imminent, with an announcement expected within the next 30-45 days. While I’m no fan of spending wads of cash in primaries, I don’t think I’m alone in saying that her entrance into the race is eagerly anticipated. I hope my sources are correct and that I’ll be officially announcing her candidacy soon.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Vivian, you didn’t post that Jon Bowerbank who is running for Lieutenant Governor was there and he has been making many appearances in the area. He is a serious candidate and is really trying to get himself known. If Jody is running she should step up to the plate, I can’t stand when potential candidates want you to beg them to run.
SJ, I understand you don’t like it when candidates act like they’re not eager to get into the race, but I think we can give Secretary Jody Wagner the benefit of the doubt on this–she has to fulfill her obligations as a member of the Governor’s cabinet during this Special Session before she has the luxury of being able to declare.
Which, incidentally, is what makes Jody Wagner’s candidacy such an exciting possibility for me. She ran an incredibly disciplined campaign for Congress in VA02 in 2000 (you know, back before running as a Democrat in Virginia was “cool”). She was Governor Mark Warner’s state treasurer and Governor Tim Kaine’s finance secretary, and during those administrations Virginia consistently won accolades as the best-run state and the best state to do business in. I guess it’s nice that there’s buzz about this Bowerback guy but if Jody’s going to get in after the Special Session wraps up, there’s only one serious candidate in this race.
Actually, sj, I didn’t list any of the other attendees. It wasn’t to snub Bowerbank, only that I didn’t want to start listing folks and leave someone out.
Vivian, Jody Wagner’s LG candidacy would be great news for many of us in Richmond as well. I attended an event for Brian Moran last week, and the energy and number of people there showed that he has great support in Central VA too.
Vivian, I also very much enjoyed the event last night. There was a lot of energy in the room. It is always terrific to chat with you. I hated to leave to go to my steering committee meeting….
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Thanks Vivian.
Phyllis