Pilot endores 2Ds, 2Rs in Virginia Beach

The Virginian-Pilot endorsements in the Virginia Beach House of Delegates races has been published. In the three races in which I predicted an endorsement, the Pilot endorsed just as I thought they would: Democratic incumbent Bobby Mathieson in the 21st, Republican incumbent Bob Purkey in the 82nd, and Democratic incumbent Joe Bouchard in the 83rd. I didn’t predict in the fourth Virginia Beach race because I completely forgot that Republican incumbent Bob Tata in the 85th district even had an opponent.

I knew that transportation was a major issue for this board but I didn’t realize it was the issue. Democratic challenger Peter Schmidt (82nd) almost pulled off an upset on this issue alone: the board really liked his approach:

During his editorial board interview, Schmidt’s proposal to immediately deploy congestion pricing as a means of attacking traffic was the single most practical and inexpensive transportation solution presented by any candidate this season.

Purkey’s seniority in the legislature and his willingness to support a transportation compromise was too much for Schmidt to overcome.

Of Bouchard, the Pilot recommended reelection, saying:

Stolle has said Bouchard “lacks the tools necessary to function” in a political environment. In fact, we believe Bouchard has exactly the tools to succeed in Richmond – a strong work ethic, knowledge of the most pressing of Hampton Roads’ issues and an analytical approach to solving problems.

While not its strongest endorsement, the board said of Mathieson:

But Villanueva has not been a strong leader on the council, and he fails to make a case that he will be a stronger leader than Bobby Mathieson in Richmond.

~

Guess that makes me 3 for 3 on House races 😉