Last night at a fundraiser for Del. Patrick Hope’s reelection, Virginia House Minority Leader David Toscano (D-Charlottesville) spoke about the recently concluded General Assembly session, which Toscano jokingly described as the “grand old time in Richmond.” A few more thoughts from Minority Leader Toscano:
*The “grand old time in Richmond…started very early when Gov. McDonnell introduced a budget which had draconian cuts in the social safety net for those people who are most vulnerable, who need the most help in a time of economic challenge, that shortchanged education funding…”
*We talk about Virginia being the “best state to do business” is “all wonderful,” but “we can have a state which has the lowest tax rate in the entire country but it ain’t going to help us if we’re not investing in K-12 education so we can create opportunities for our young people to be able to compete in a global economy in the years ahead…if we’re not doing the investments in…transportation infrastructure.”
*”Right now, a lot of what’s going on down in Richmond is a focus on this narrow, socially conservative agenda…”
*We need to “regenerate a Democratic Party that stands for things that we can speak out for…we are the party of job opportunity, economic opportunity, and growth…we are the party of science…we are the party that honors our commitments…we are the party of fiscal responsibility…”
*Del. Patrick Hope “is the go-to guy on healthcare” in Virginia.
Also, check out the “flip” for video of Del. Toscano responding to questions about how we plan to gain seats back in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2013. According to Del. Toscano, “we do have a plan” and he understands that “you can’t win if you don’t play.”
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