Democratic candidate Gary West has obtained the endorsement of the Virginia Education Association and the National Education Association. West is challenging Republican incumbent Glenn Oder in the 94th House district in Newport News. The entire press release is below the fold.
EDUCATORS PLEDGE SUPPORT FOR DELEGATE CANDIDATE, GARY WEST
In an effort to unseat his incumbent opponent, the Virginia Educators Association announces their endorsement of West.
Newport News, VA, August 11, 2009 – Breaking with incumbency, the Newport News Education Association this week released a statement in association with the Virginia Educators Association and the National Educators Association announcing their combined support for House of Delegates candidate Gary West. The release cited “the incumbents past voting record on issues affecting public education” as a determining factor in the endorsement.
A former educator, West knows the struggles teachers face and will be an effective voice for their concerns in the legislature. West commented “unlike my opponent, I will never introduce proposals that jeopardize funding for education.” West refers to his opponents plan to divert Port revenue from the General Fund to transportation.
West has taken a stand against diverting money from the General Fund, that otherwise would go to core programs, including education. This position puts West in line with State Senator John Miller (D-Newport News), who helped kill the Port revenue plan in the State Senate. Miller is quoted in the Daily Press (Jan 2, 2009), explaining the rejection of the plan as “a reluctance in the Senate to dip into the general fund for transportation.”
West is fed up with talk of borrowing from one program to fund another and has pledged to find solutions by cutting waste. West likes to say that “solutions take real leaders and focus on priorities.” Because education is a community priority, giving teachers what they need to educate is a priority for West.
With a strong record of community leadership, Gary West is running for the District 94 House of Delegates seat. Gary West will face Republican incumbent Glenn Oder in a general election matchup November 3rd.
For more information about Gary West, please visit www.garywestfordelegate.com.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Congrats to Gary and his campaign staff!!
Gary is running against the biggest, two-faced republican in the house of delegates. Glenn Oder. Oder pretends to fight the payday lenders, yet has taken thousands in contributions from them. Oder also voted for HB940 in 2002 which let the payday lenders into Virginia in the first place! Oder’s port revenue bill would take money from education and public safety for roads. And McDonnell decided to make this his platform too. I really hope Gary wins with a huge margin. Oder is one of the worst legislators in Virginia and its time for him to go.