Good afternoon everyone. Today I would like to announce that I have decided not to seek the open House of Delegate's Seat in the 17th district. I want to thank everyone for all of the phone calls and e-mails encouraging me to seek the Democratic nomination. Your encouragement means a great deal to me, however, as we all know in politics--timing is everything-and right now the timing is just not right for me to enter this race. I've been focusing on my family and business since last year's city council race and I need to continue this.
What I would like to do this afternoon, ladies and gentleman, is post a sincere and heartfelt thanks to Delegate Will Fralin--our delegate from the 17th district, and also a good personal friend of mine. Will has always been across the aisle from me and we certainly have not agreed on everything. One thing I believe Democrats and everyone can appreciate about Will, though, is his willingness to reach across the aisle and work with our party, and everyone, for what is best for the district, and our Commonwealth.
Will withstood great pressure from Morgan Griffith and the republican majority when broke with his party to support Mark Warner's budget in 2004. He did this at great peril to his own political future however, this was a monumental vote, and something those of us in his district, and across this commonwealth, will always appreciate. Our budget in Virginia and nationally is in dire straits--I can only imagine what our life would be like in Virginia had we continued the mass deficit politics of the Gilmore administration. This vote was a bold move to put into place some long term budget measures and his district, and our commonwealth, owe him a great debt of thanks for being a thoughtful and forward thinking legislator. Will Fralin votes his conscious and looks to the future which is very much commendable. Many of his colleagues like Morgan Griffith--or folks like Bob Goodlatte on the national level--seek band-aid reform: solutions that provide a temporary quick fix, but do not solve any long term problems. As I have stated many, many times to many, many people Will Fralin is a Statesman and not a politician. Will demonstrated this, as well as his ability to lead, by the actions stated above. He put people before politics and that is what makes him a great leader.
Will has always been thoughtful and has focused much of his time as a delegate on our children, which means a lot to this father of one. One of Will's final contributions to the legislature was his successful bill allowing schools to seize the drivers licenses of truant students. This is something Roanke City Schools asked for to help them reach out to students in jeopardy, and make progress towards decreasing Roanoke's hefty drop out rate.
These are just a couple examples of Will's contributions as a legislator and his time as our delegate has been extremely productive. As I said, there are many occasions where myself and my party definitely did not agree with Will, but his willingness to work with others and his priorities have always been clear. This is something he deserves our gratitude for no matter where you lie on the political spectrum.
I have already put a plug in for Eric Thomas as a candidate to succeed Will in the 17th district, should he decide to run. He is well known, hard working, and would continue this spirit of bipartisanship and forward thinking. I realize we have at least one declared candidate and I pledge to support whoever secures the Democratic nomination. As of now, the Democrats need just six House Seats to win back the House of Delegates and this is a golden opportunity for us! I will be working towards helping this seat and others in Southwest Virginia go to Democrats, and I hope you will join me in that effort!
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