Yesterday, July 22nd, the Washington Post strongly endorsed Barbara Favola in the Democratic Primary in the State Senate’s 31st District. Despite very little (ok, no) acknowledgement by the vast majority of Blue Virginia readers, the Post’s Editorial Board viewed the race as a competition between one candidate who is an experienced legislator, positioned to be an effective representative of 31st District voters, and another who will say all the right things…and have far less chance of actually getting anything done in Richmond.
As the Post so eloquently put it:
“The second major Democratic primary is in the 31st Senate district, which takes in much of Arlington and a strip of Fairfax County along the Potomac, including Great Falls and part of McLean, as well as the northeastern corner of Loudoun County. There, a political veteran is in a tough primary against a relative newcomer to replace Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple.
Although the newcomer, Jaime Areizaga-Soto, has a solid legal background in private practice as well as in the Army National Guard’s Judge Advocate General Corps, his track record of involvement with state issues is relatively recent and thin. The veteran, Arlington County Board member Barbara Favola, is clearly the stronger and more substantive choice, and would make a better senator.
Ms. Favola has served on the Arlington Board since 1997, including three one-year terms as chairman. She has also lobbied in Richmond on behalf of Marymount University, making her deeply conversant with the challenges facing higher education. She is steeped in Northern Virginia issues to the point of wonkishness; we mean that as a compliment, because a grasp of local affairs can translate into legislative savvy. While Mr. Areizaga-Soto’s campaign has stressed hot-button and partisan social issues, Ms. Favola stands a better chance of making headway on education, transportation and other areas critical to her constituents.”
Read the full endorsement here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/…
Voters decide races, not newspapers, but endorsements matter, particularly in primaries where voters tend to be less engaged and the substantive differences between candidates on the issues are fewer. Just ask Creigh Deeds how much the Post’s endorsement mattered in the ’09 Gubernatorial Primary.
Let the dissenters commence in 3, 2, 1…
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