Brian Patton

Brian August 15th, 2007

That is the question that 7th District voters have been asking themselves lately.

Just after the new civil remedial fees went into effect, a local news station asked Republican Del. Dave Nutter about the new fees and who they applied to. Because of his blind partisanship, voting however his party bosses tell him to, and being so far out of touch with the citizens of the 7th District, he had no clue what he was supporting.

The Democratic challenger, Peggy Frank, offers the 7th District a clear alternative to Dave Nutter, and will do what is best for the district instead of what is best for a political party.

Peggy Frank, via press release, stated:

The abusive driver fees, which my opponent supported in last session’s transportation bill, are yet another example of how out of touch the House of Delegates is with the people of the 7 th District. The fees my opponent approved grant immunity to out of state drivers for dangerous driving on Virginia ’s roadways while taxing only Virginians. These fees unfairly penalize Virginia drivers and are neither a reliable nor sustainable source of revenue for our transportation needs.

If you live in or near the 7th District, now is your chance to send someone to Richmond that will put your interests first. Contact Peggy Frank’s campaign to find out you can help.

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Brian July 19th, 2007

Since I have been able to throw up a few posts here lately, folks have been asking the obvious question, which is “where have you been?”

I guess I should have posted some sort of explanation, but the fact that it never got posted is actually the answer to the initial question: I was just too busy. Heck, I have even slacked off on reading blogs, much less having time to post anything myself.

The good news (or bad depending on your perspective of this blog), though, is that I have recently changed jobs and will hopefully have some more time to keep it updated.

My new job is working as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Russell County. The Commonwealth’s Attorney in Russell is Mike Bush.

Although I have only been “on the job” for a few weeks, I think it is going to be great. There is just no substitute for this type of legal experience. And if I am going to be learning more about criminal law, I think I would rather be on this side of the courtroom.

So anyway, I have more time now than I did and I am going to dabble back into some blogging. I find blogging is usually very enjoyable and I did miss getting to regularly update this site.

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Brian April 17th, 2007

My thoughts and prayers are with the Virginia Tech community and the families of the victims on this very sad occasion.

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Brian March 27th, 2007

April Cain is a Southwest Virginia native currently living in Richmond.

She has this interesting post about Judge Sutherland, a native of Dickenson County, over at the Hillbilly Savants blog.

She also links to the Wise County Historical Society, which is a wealth of information about Southwest Virginia.

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Brian March 26th, 2007

www.peggyfrank.com

Peggy Frank is a practicing attorney in private practice in Christiansburg, Virginia. She has over 14 years of experience as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, having served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for 8 ½ years in Montgomery County and 5 ½ years as the Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Pulaski County.

Peggy is challenging Dave Nutter for the 7th District in the House of Delegates.

www.susiegarner.com

Susie Garner is a CPA in Galax. Susie served 12 years on the Galax City School Board and currently serves on the boards of Wytheville Community College and the Crossroads Institute. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Emory University in Atlanta, and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Susie is challenging Bill Carrico for the 5th District in the House of Delegates.

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Brian March 18th, 2007

If you are interested in Obama and living in Southwest Virginia, you will probably be interested in this, which I just received via email:

Please join us to support Barack Obama’s campaign for the presidency.

The first meeting of the Blue Ridge Virginians for Obama (see www.BlueRidgeVirginiansforObama.com) group will be held on Tuesday, April 17, at 7 PM, in the Garrett Room of the Colket Student Center at Roanoke College in Salem, VA. Our meeting will be hosted by the Roanoke College Young Democrats.

Please spread the word…and join us!!

I am still undecided on the presidential field. Mainly because I am more concerned about the 2007 races for the time being.

If we can win a majority in the state Senate and get closer in the House of Delegates, something tells me that presidential race will just fall into place on its own.

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Brian March 18th, 2007

The Roanoke paper reports here on Gov. Kaine’s recent visit to Galax. I heard the Governor had some excellent meetings with folks and he promised to continue helping address the main issues - jobs and economic development - in Southwest Virginia.

He also appears to remember that we have transportation problems down here too.

Kaine said transportation access is one of the major challenges Galax faces in recruiting new businesses. His Galax visit began a daylong swing through Southwest Virginia that included public discussions on transportation funding in Hillsville and Stuart.

I would argue, however, from a transportation standpoint that Galax and Hillsville are much better off than say, for example, Clintwood and Haysi (Dickenson County), which are over an hour from the nearest interstate.

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Brian February 16th, 2007

As the presidential primaries quickly approach, hopeful nominees are snapping of the party leaders’ early endorsements.

Chairman Dick Cranwell has announced that he endorses John Edwards for the Democratic nomination for President.

Chairman Cranwell said:

For the first time in my life, I have grave concerns about the future. Those concerns are sobering in that they teach that America does not run on auto-pilot. Like John Edwards, I believe America works best when it is building coalitions that sow the seeds of peace. Like John Edwards, I believe that America works best when working people prosper.

And like many Democrats across Virginia and the country, I believe “it’s all about the general election, stupid.” There is no second place in elections. We must support candidates who can win, if we want to secure the future.

Governor Tim Kaine has announced that he will host a press conference with Sen. Barak Obama tomorrow, in front of the Executive Mansion in Capitol Square. I doubt they plan to talk baseball.

I am tempted to agree with the Chairman that we need to pick a candidate who has the best shot at winning.

While I think Obama has a compelling story, I am concerned about his lack of experience. I will, for the first time, get to see him in person tomorrow, so maybe he can convince me otherwise. He does, however, bring something that I think we are in desperate need of and that is a fresh face.

Hillary’s candidacy concerns and intrigues me for all the obvious reasons, but mostly because she is a Clinton. There was a time when a Presidential hopeful (Al Gore) thought it would hurt his chances to even be seen with Bill Clinton. I think the consensus is now that Bill was not such a bad guy, but one has to wonder if being a Clinton is now her strength.

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Brian February 13th, 2007

On Friday, February 16, 2007, at 11:00 AM, at the Government Center in Christiansburg, Peggy Frank will announce her intention to seek the Democratic nomination in the 7th District in the House of Delegates.

Here is some info about Peggy via press release:

Peggy Frank, a long time Democrat, will announce her intention to seek the Democratic Nomination for the 7th District.

Peggy was an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for 8 years under Democrat Phil Keith and then became Chief Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Pulaski County when Mike Flennor was elected in 2000.

Peggy has long distinguished herself in her devotion to public and community service in her numerous endeavors.

If you can, please join Peggy and 7th District Democrats in Christiansburg for this important announcement!

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Brian February 10th, 2007

On Friday, Susie Garner announced her intention to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Del. Bill Carrico in the 5th District.

Ms. Garner is not wasting any time. She has served on the Galax School Board for several years and knows what it takes to win elections. She will make an excellent candidate in the 5th District.

Del. Carrico has in the past been accused of voting with the House Republicans in a manner intended to provide a united front for his party and not what would be better for Southwest Virginia.

Ms. Garner, I suspect, will be telling the voters in the 5th District that they need a delegate who will work for them and only them.

Shawn was apparently there and also has his thoughts up on Susie Garner’s candidacy.

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Brian February 9th, 2007

Earlier this week, the Virginia Senate commended Southwest Virginia native and Baseball star, Billy Wagner.

Mr. Wagner is not only an excellent pitcher for the New York Mets, but has also founded the Second Chance Learning Center, located in Bluefield, Virginia, which helps children get their high school education.

Senator Puckett spoke in behalf of Mr. Wagner and his work for Southwest Virginia:

Video via Assembly Access

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Brian January 4th, 2007

The Kingsport Times is reporting here on Congressman Boucher’s energy plan and his new position as chairman of a House Energy Subcommittee.

Specifically, the article addresses the Congressman’s plan to push legislation that would decrease America’s reliance on oil and increase our need for coal (especially coal from Southwest Virginia).

Other bloggers on the right, not surprisingly from areas outside the Coalfields, have continuously criticized Congressman Boucher’s plans to boost the economy in the Coalfields and help break our addiction to Middle East oil. This issue should not be about Republican vs. Democrat.

Attacking Congressman Boucher on this issue is like saying dependence on foreign oil and poverty in the Coalfields are good things.

In the article, the Congressman said, “[w]e have a 250-year reserve of coal, and coal is very important to the economy of this region. It can be converted into a liquid fuel with a technology that is well-known to power cars and trucks[.]”

I sincerely hope that those on the right - bloggers, legislators, and voters - will put aside partisanship to unite behind Congressman Boucher’s effort to make America a little more dependent on Southwest Virginia and a little less on the Middle East.

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Brian November 23rd, 2006

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

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Brian November 7th, 2006

As you all may have guessed, I am running a little behind on regular posting.

I need to do a post on the HUGE rallies that were held in Clintwood and across the Ninth District this past weekend. Congressman Boucher was joined by Jim Webb, Senator Puckett, and Cecil Roberts at the campaign stops. I took several photos and will try to get those up soon.

Also, as was mentioned in the comments, I have some big personal news and photos to share. Maybe I can get something together on that while watching the results roll in tomorrow evening.

For now, though, I am spending all my time on GOTV. I made some more phone calls this evening, then put out precinct signs until 12:00 AM, and will be around the polls tomorrow to help in anyway I can.

We will not get a second chance at beating George Allen. It is now or never.

Call your family, friends, and anyone else you can think of to remind them to vote. Your calls and requests could literally make the difference in this close election.

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Brian October 19th, 2006

Yesterday’s Washington Post included an enthusiastic endorsement of Jim Webb.

The endorsement also included some reasons for why not to vote for Sen. Allen, such as these:

Mr. Allen lacks any comparable independent-mindedness. He has spent his time in the Senate in lock step with the Bush administration, embracing tax cuts that have imperiled the nation’s fiscal health; subsidies for oil and gas companies that hardly needed the help; prisoner detention policies that have undercut America’s image abroad; and restrictions on embryonic stem cell research despite its medical potential.

The good news for Sen. Allen is it did not mention anything about “Macaca” this time.

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Brian September 18th, 2006

The two candidates for U.S. Senate met yesterday on NBC’s Meet the Press for their first televised debate. A second is scheduled for today in Fairfax.

Here is the Meet the Press video:

I thought Webb did very well. Folks have to remember that Webb has not spent his entire adult life running for an office like Allen. That being said, Webb really has improved on the practice of politics and I think that showed in yesterday’s debate.

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Brian August 11th, 2006

Here is one of my favorite Congressional challengers this year. Hurst is taking on a big challenge - going after Tom Davis - and will need our support.

Hurst for Congress

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Brian August 7th, 2006

Here is some good news for Tazewell County.

Jennmar Corp. of Virginia, Inc., a subsidiary of Frank Calandra, Inc. & Subsidiaries and a provider of quality roof and standing support products for the mining and tunneling industry, will invest $6 million to build a new facility in Tazewell County[.]

. . .

Jennmar . . . chose the State of Virginia due to many positives for a manufacturing facility. Virginia has a fair state corporate tax structure, is politically corporate friendly to include workmen’s compensation and environmental laws and is pro-active in enhancing future business. Tazewell County offers excellent banking and municipality services.

Congrats to Tazewell. Not to take anything away from them, but I am more than ready to see some companies investing in Dickenson County like this.

This project will also get a nice boost from Governor Kaine, in the form of a $150,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund.

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Brian February 2nd, 2006

Today, Governor Tim Kaine announced that he had formed a new PAC, called Moving Virginia Forward.

Why, you ask?

Moving Virginia Forward PAC was formed to promote Virginia’s results-oriented governing tradition by supporting initiatives and leaders that show a strong commitment to making Virginia the best place in the world, to live, go to school, raise a family, work, retire, and do business.

Who can argue with that?

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Brian January 4th, 2006

Yesterday, I eagerly watched all the coverage as Mine Rescue teams worked to locate the 13 lost miners in the Sago mine in Tallmansville, WV.

Then last night, before I went to bed, I was thrilled with the great news that 12 of the 13 miners had been found and were all alive.

This morning, unfortunately, I woke up to find that the previous reports of survivors were incorrect and there is just one sole survivor.

Tragedy in coal mining is all too familiar to folks around here and we know what they are going through.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the miners and their families.

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