My dear fellow Republican delegates:

We have a wonderful opportunity to choose our Lieutenant Governor candidate this weekend.   I believe that Corey Stewart is head and shoulders above the rest.

Please allow me to share with you why.  

You all know that my interests lay in strengthening local government so that we can govern in accordance with our conservative principles and the Constitution.  Corey comes from a successful local government background. He knows how difficult it is to cut taxes and shrink the size of government when you are dealing with mandate after mandate from Washington and Richmond. He and I have talked about how localities interact with the state and federal governments.  He understands how we get pushed around and he is ready and willing to help us gain more flexibility and autonomy. He and I are on exactly the same page in regard to how local governments should operate.  

I like the way Corey stands up for his principles.  He faced extreme criticism when implementing his illegal immigration reform, but now that Prince William County is reaping the benefits, he is hailed as hero. Since Corey implemented Prince William’s immigration policy, the county has turned over more than 6,000 criminal illegal aliens to ICE and violent crime has plummeted by 47.8%. Too often, otherwise good elected representatives cave as soon as the criticism starts.  Not Corey; he stands his ground.

His election and re-election results richly illustrate that the voters of Prince William County approve of his results. The voters have had several opportunities to vote him out of office, but he continues to win by increasingly larger margins in Northern Virginia’s first majority minority county.  It is unheard of, in this highly partisan world, to win elections by the margins that Corey has. Corey beat his last Democratic opponent by 30 points,winning 72/77 precincts despite the fact he was the only local official in Virginia targeted by the Democratic Part of Virginia.

Please join me in voting for Corey on every ballot this Saturday.  We will gain a very strong conservative who will strengthen our winning ticket in November and localities will have a friend in Richmond when we help him get elected.

Susan Lascolette

District 1 Supervisor, Goochland County

Western Prince William County

Limestone Drive Commuter Lot—Departure 6:30
13710 Milestone Ct Gainesville, VA 20155

Manassas City Hall—Departure 7:00
9027 Center St, Manassas, VA 20110

POC: Kevin Besserer–KBesserer@coreystewart.com, 703-999-7684

Eastern Prince William County

Corey Stewart HQ—Departure 8:40
12425 Dillingham Square, Woodbridge, VA 22192

POC: Kevin Besserer–KBesserer@coreystewart.com, 703-999-7684

Fairfax County

Fairfax County Government Center–Departure 7:30am
1200 Government Center Parkway,
Fairfax, Virginia 22035

POC: Kate Karnes–Kate@coreystewart.com, 571-298-5681

Frdericksburg

Fredricksburg Commuter Lot–Departure 8:30am
Route 3 West and Salem Church Road Exit 130
Fredricksburg, Virginia 22407

POC: Kevin Besserer–KBesserer@coreystewart.com, 703-999-7684

Southern Hampton Roads

Silverleaf Drive Commuter Lot– Departure 7:30am
Silverleaf Drive and S. Independence Blvd
Virginia Beach, VA 23462

POC: Zach LeMaster–Zach@coreystewart.com, 757-503-0156

Peninsula

Old Court House Road Commuter Lot– Departure 8:30 am
Old Court House Road and Route 60
Newport News, VA 23608

POC: Zach LeMaster-Zach@coreystewart.com or 757-503-0156

Roanoke

Tanglewood Mall—Departure 6:30am
4420-A Electric Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24018

POC: Bobby Klancher-Bobby@coreystewart.com or 804-728-0807

Lynchburg

Target Parking Lot -Departure 8:00am
4028 Wards Road Lynchburg, Virginia 24502

POC: Eric Harris–Eric@coreystewart.com or 757-814-0634

]]> http://www.coreystewart.com/2013/05/10/who-needs-a-ride/feed/ 0 http://www.coreystewart.com/2013/05/10/setting-the-record-straight-on-john-gray/ http://www.coreystewart.com/2013/05/10/setting-the-record-straight-on-john-gray/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 14:42:56 +0000 admin http://www.coreystewart.com/?p=3458 It’s not easy running for political office. Candidates are scrutinized on almost every level, and at the end of a long campaign there is a winner and a loser. John …

In hard-fought party primaries, broadcasting negative ads not only sucks up a lot of Republican donors’ money, such public infighting also provides Democrat nominees with pre-sold and often false information to use against our Republican nominees in the following general elections.

In the race for our 2013 nomination for lieutenant governor, a lot of negative information is circulating about some candidates – some openly from some of our candidates themselves, some from anonymous sources, and some from attackers who identify themselves but don’t reveal that they intend to help certain candidates by hurting other ones.

At least these current attacks are mostly limited to mail, email, and robocall communications to delegates to the convention, several thousand people, compared to the approximately two million people who will vote in November.

In a nomination contest among many candidates, such as Virginia Republicans now have for our nomination for lieutenant governor, one doesn’t always need a scientific poll to know who are the leading candidates. Some whose campaigns are running behind think they can help themselves by attacking other, stronger candidates.

So I suppose I should take it as a good sign that the candidate for lieutenant governor I support, Corey Stewart, is the target of some strongly worded attacks.

There are many reasons Corey is correctly seen as a leading candidate.

Corey has stood up against the liberal media at the local and national levels. They target him for his conservative principles in leading Prince William County in his fight for prosecuting criminal, illegal Immigrants there. What he has done in Prince William County on this issue has caused a drastic reduction in crime there.

The Washington Post went after Corey for slashing the Social Services budget in Prince William County.

It is fair to say that Corey Stewart’s outspoken opposition to county tax increases was a key reason why he was elected chairman of his large county’s Board of Supervisors.

His rapidly growing county is the number one county in Virginia for job creation and ranks third in the nation.

When Corey was challenged in 2011, his was the number one Democrat-targeted local-office race in all of Virginia. Democrats poured over $500,000 into the race against him. What happened? Corey won his re-election by 30 points and won 72 out of 77 precincts in Prince William County, a majority-minority county.

And in Prince William County, Corey has governed in a way that the taxes today are the same as they were five years ago, while adding money for transportation and hiring more police and fire personnel. That’s conservative leadership, and some in Richmond would benefit from noting this.

Corey has never backed down on his pro-life position, nor has he backed down on marriage as being between one man and one woman.

He has an enviable reputation for getting things done. That’s not easy to do for a conservative Republican in Northern Virginia. And, yes, Corey keeps getting re-elected.

Corey has held true to his conservative principles. And that’s impressive in a part of the state where some Republicans are fearful of standing up for principle.

Yes, some people are attacking Corey Stewart. Some of what they say is false, even ridiculous, but all of their pot-shots are because they know Corey is a leading candidate for nomination at the state convention.

Attacking other candidates in a seven-person contest at a convention is not so smart. Whoever wins our convention’s nomination will almost certainly have to get support there from some delegates who currently support other candidates. Smart candidates should be trying now to make friends with all the delegates and the candidates they now support.

I have seen a lot of great results from Corey Stewart in Prince William County, and I firmly believe he will do great things for all Virginians as lieutenant governor, presiding over the state senate and helping to lead conservatives across Virginia.

Please join me in supporting Corey Stewart for Lieutenant Governor this May 17-18 at the Republican Convention. Let’s send this experienced and successful conservative leader to Richmond.

Cordially,

Morton Blackwell

When two of Virginia’s key grassroots conservative organizations supported my candidacy, I knew outrageous attacks wouldn’t be far behind. The Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation and the group Middle Resolution, which works to restore individual rights, recently vetted the candidates for Lieutenant Governor and gave their full support to my candidacy. That opened the floodgates for desperate and baseless accusations.

I’ve had ridiculous claims made against me before. False accusations are what some political operatives rely on when they lack a positive agenda and real ideas. But even I was a little surprised at being called a drunk Catholic. Yes, I am a Catholic. No, I’m not a drunk Catholic.

In fact, let’s clear the air: I’ve never been on the wrong side of the law. I’m happily married with two great sons. My life’s record as an employee and an employer is unblemished. And, while I have compassion for those who struggle with addictions, I’ve never undergone treatment for alcohol or drugs. There’s no place in Virginia politics for the kind of false personal attacks that have been leveled at me in recent days.

You may have seen the wrong-headed second-guessing that was posted against me recently about Holly Acres, a mobile home park in Prince William County. Unfortunately, Holly Acres was located in a floodway, which can become like a small river at the height of a storm. It was built long before anyone knew what a floodway was, but in 2011 part of Holly Acres was literally washed away during a tropical storm. Prince William County public safety officers had to rescue 20 people by swift boat.

A constituent of mine, who goes by Tito the Builder, thinks Prince William County should have moved those flood victims right back in harm’s way. And now he’s grandstanding and trying to make it into a property rights issue.

Here are the facts: In order for Prince William County to maintain its participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, the county could not rebuild homes in any area that is in a floodway and has experience damage of more than 50% of its value. If I had ignored the facts and supported the rebuilding of Holly Acres, all 425,000 residents of Prince William County would have been prohibited from buying flood insurance.

Leadership in government demands hard decisions. And, while my heart broke for the residents of Holly Acres who lost their homes, I had to look at the bigger picture to protect them and all of the people of Prince William County.

I’ve been looking out for Prince William County since I ran for district supervisor in 2003. As a candidate I signed a Prince William Taxpayer Alliance pledge on property tax bills, and I’ve kept that pledge. John Gray, who has run against me and lost three times (as an Independent, a Republican, and a Democrat) has been trying to poke holes in my fiscal record.

That fact is that as a district supervisor I fought and voted against every tax increase proposed by my predecessor. Upon becoming Chairman, I led the board in making deep cuts in spending. In a single year, the Board cut average tax bills by 10%, resulting in annual savings of $300 for the average homeowner. Since I was elected Chairman, 320 county positions have been eliminated and $143 million in spending has been cut. Administrative costs are at an all-time low. Among jurisdictions in Northern Virginia, Prince William County has the lowest tax burden and the fewest number of full-time employees, and our per capita spending is below what it was in 1992, not even factoring in inflation.

By reducing overall spending, focusing on priorities, and fostering economic growth through tax cuts and regulation reform, Prince William County has been able to fund the core functions of government — including adding 500 teachers, 129 police officers, 173 firefighters, 12 new schools, and $300 million in new roads – all without raising average tax bills. In fact, in real dollars, average tax bills are down 8.5%, and average property tax bills are, on average, 30% lower than the rest of the region.

That’s why conservative grassroots organizations are endorsing me, and that’s why my opponents are getting desperate. So, just to be sure…

I wasn’t on the grassy knoll.

I’ve never met Monica Lewinsky.

I have left the country with my wife to visit her family in Sweden, but not to see a mistress in Argentina.

And, finally, I was never a community organizer.

Over the next couple weeks, some may waste time with cheap shots, but I’ll keep standing on my record in Prince William County and my plan for serving the Commonwealth as Lieutenant Governor.

Less than three weeks before the 2013 Virginia Republican Convention, the GOP candidates for lieutenant governor faced one another at Benedictine College Preparatory in Richmond for what may have been a final, 90-minute debate.

Before a crowd of about 200, the two women and five men on Tuesday evening made their case for why they should be on the Republican ticket with gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli in November.

But delegates at the convention face a tough choice, as the candidates mostly agreed with each other, uniting behind the same conservative principles and priorities.

Foremost, they agreed that the office of the lieutenant governor should be given the power to assign bills to committees and that higher education in the commonwealth is in urgent need of reform.

They also shared the view that Gov. Bob McDonnell’s milestone transportation legislation was a mistake.

In order to shake things up and win future elections, Republicans must change the way they deliver their message, all candidates said.

“We have allowed the Obama campaign to define our party,” said Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, wife of former Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R-11th, and director of McDonnell’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs in Washington.

“As a party, we need to listen and we need to come across as we care,” Davis said. “The Democrats have made people feel that they care about them. That’s what we need to address to them, and sometimes we speak over their heads,” she said.

Peter A. Snyder, a Northern Virginia business executive with no legislative experience, said Republican principles in 2013 are “rock solid” and do not require changes.
Snyder said the GOP must not allow Democrat pundits to water down the party’s values. “We are doing a lousy job at showing people how our conservative principles will make their lives better,” he said.

Chesterfield Republican Stephen H. Martin, who has 19 years of experience in the state Senate, following six years in the House of Delegates, also said that the Republican message is not what needs to change.

“If we are to take a solid majority in the Senate, we’ve got to nominate people who are consistent,” Martin said. “We need to know how to recruit and run a candidate who wins. Nominate someone with a record that is consistent with the message.”

Susan B. Stimpson, chairman of the Stafford Board of County Supervisors in Stafford, urged Republicans to get out of their comfort zone.

“If we don’t start engaging the culture and take out our message to them, things won’t change,” Stimpson said.

E.W. Jackson, the only African-American among the candidates, said Republicans should address minorities.

“We know we have the truth, we know it works,” said Jackson, who unsuccessfully ran against George Allen and others in the U.S. Senate primary last year. “We got to be unafraid to go into these districts. We got to engage people and make sure they know we are not against them, that we don’t hate them, because nothing could be further from the truth.”

Corey A. Stewart, who recently picked up an endorsement by the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation, touted his record as chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and urged Republicans to “play hardball” to get conservative legislation passed in the Senate.

Stewart said that if Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe wins, all legislation from the conservative House of Delegates “will stop cold in the Senate.”

In that case, a Republican lieutenant governor would have to “outmaneuver” McAuliffe, Stewart said. “I don’t think he’s a very bright guy; I think he’s a clown.”

Also from Prince William, Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, who was recently endorsed by former Congressman Allen West, added a dose of patriotism to the debate.

“When I was young, I would have never imagined standing before you tonight, as your candidate for lieutenant governor,” Lingamfelter said. “America is a great place.”
Lingamfelter said that Republicans needed to engage today’s culture if they want to win. “We need to engage the truth, we need to engage principle,” he said.

Moderator Scott Lee, co-host of the Lee Brothers radio show on WRVA, kept the debate civil and within schedule, allowing the candidates to mingle with the crowd after the 90 minutes were up.

The contest for lieutenant governor will be the one of the most important races of this election season with the outcome potentially determining whether Republicans keep the upper hand in the legislature.

The part-time job can be summed up in two duties: One, to fill the office of the governor in case of vacancy, and two, to preside over the state Senate, which currently is evenly divided: 20 Republicans, 20 Democrats.

With Bill Bolling as lieutenant governor, Republicans have 21 votes, giving them a majority of the chamber. Republicans could lose this momentum if one of the two Democratic candidates wins in November.

The group also gave its blessing to state Sen. Mark D. Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg), who received more support than Del. Rob B. Bell III (R-Albemarle) in the race for attorney general.

Mark Daugherty, chairman of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation, said about 200 people picked Stewart from a crowded field of Republican candidates in a forum that involved live interviews with each candidate at Life Church in Mechanicsburg. Middle Resolution PAC members also participated in the two-day vetting process Friday and Saturday.

Each of the nine candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general appeared alone on stage at the church to answer about 30 questions from a moderator, Daugherty said. Participants scored the candidates based on responses that embodied the group’s ideals of limited government based on a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

“The beauty of this is . . . they have to prevail or sink on their own answers to the questions, on their own merits,” Daugherty said.

Each candidate’s final score also took into account surveys distributed and evaluated by a subcommittee that assessed each campaign’s viability in terms of fund-raising, resources, volunteers and paid staff, Daugherty said.

Daugherty and Angie Parker, executive director of Middle Resolution PAC, said more than 1,000 delegates will now draw on the results from the vetting process before heading to the Republican Nominating Convention in Richmond on May 17 and 18 to select nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general.

In addition to Stewart, the contenders for lieutenant governor include former state senator Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (Fairfax); Chesapeake minister E.W. Jackson; Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter (Prince William); state Sen. Stephen H. Martin (Chesterfield); technology entrepreneur Pete Snyder; and Susan Stimpson, chairwoman of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors.

The GOP’s nominee for lieutenant governor would face either former U.S. chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra or state Sen. Ralph S. Northam (Norfolk) following the Democrats’ June 11 primary.

Though unlikely to steal the focus from the gubernatorial battle underway between Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) and businessman Terry McAuliffe (D), the lieutenant governor’s race has generated more interest than usual this year because the lieutenant governor presides over the evenly divided Senate.

The Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation as well as Middle Resolution, a Richmond-based, conservative political action committee, are backing Corey A. Stewart and state Sen. Mark D. Obenshain as Republican nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general.

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors chairman and the state senator from Harrisonburg placed first in a joint vetting session last week, held by Middle Resolution and 30 of the 46 tea party groups in the commonwealth.

Mark Daugherty, chairman of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation, a coalition of local tea party organizations, said Monday that each tea party group can decide for itself whether it wishes to endorse a candidate, at any level.

“Many Virginia Tea Party Federation groups have told us they don’t want to endorse, but we have found some acceptance of the word ‘support’ for candidates, such as Corey Stewart and Mark Obenshain,” Daugherty said.

Stewart faces one GOP competitor, while Obenshain faces six. Republicans will nominate their candidates at a statewide convention next month.

“The lieutenant governor race has been very competitive with a field of excellent candidates. We are pleased that Corey Stewart demonstrated a strong grasp of the constitutional principles of limited government and individual liberty during his questioning,” said Angie Parker, executive director of Middle Resolution PAC.

Obenshain delivered an outstanding performance during his interview, Parker said. “This proven strength, combined with a vigorous statewide campaign, places Mark in a good position for both the nominating convention and Nov. 5 general election,” she said.

More than 200 Virginia tea party and Middle Resolution members participated in the vetting session, each completing scorecards based on the candidates’ responses during live interviews, according to a statement released by the tea party federation.

Some tea party groups declined to take part in the vetting.

Laurence “Larry” Nordvig, executive director of the Richmond Tea Party, said in an interview last month that his group does not endorse candidates.

“We trust that when the voters understand the principles by which our republic should be governed, they will choose the candidate who best represents those principles. We don’t need to tell anyone how to vote,” Nordvig said.
Both candidates welcomed the endorsements.

“I am proud that they were willing to support my candidacy and have taken notice of my record of cutting taxes, reducing spending, and shrinking the size of government while I have governed Virginia’s second-largest county,” Stewart said.

Obenshain said that the announcement represents “a major development in the nominating contest” for attorney general.

“Throughout this campaign, I have built a broad coalition of supporters, crossing many traditional lines and uniting longtime Republican activists, leaders in the business community, economic conservatives, pro-family conservatives, and liberty-minded voters. I am delighted to welcome this coalition of tea party groups to our team,” Obenshain said.

The tea party says that more than 1,000 delegates from their respective groups will support Stewart and Obenshain at the convention on May 17 and 18 in Richmond, where Republicans will pick a nominee for lieutenant governor in a multiple ballot process. The nominee for attorney general will be determined by a single ballot.

Lieutenant governor candidate Corey Stewart and attorney general contender Mark Obenshain, both Republicans, have won support from two key conservative groups ahead of the May 18 Virginia GOP nominating convention.

The Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation and the Middle Resolution political action committee have endorsed those two after members from both groups interviewed GOP candidates for statewide office — seven are running for lieutenant governor, two for attorney general.

Candidates were asked their views on constitutional principles principles, policy, and political philosophy during an evaluation process that also factored in “campaign viability,” the groups said in a statement.

Based on that vetting, more than 1,000 like-minded delegates expected to attend the Virginia Republican convention next month will be encouraged to support Obenshain and Stewart in the nomination process.

The Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation is a coalition of 46 independent groups in Virginia, while Richmond-based Middle Resolution PAC works to elect leaders focused on limited government and individual rights.

These principled, conservative individuals and groups are joining my campaign as we continue to build serious momentum down the stretch toward the convention on May 18th.

I earned the support of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation / Middle Resolution which included a comprehensive vetting process consisting of over 200 Virginia Tea Party and Middle Resolution members from 31 groups across Virginia, and involved an intense questionnaire and live interview. In a statement, the group recognized my, “…strong grasp of constitutional principles of limited government and individual liberty…” and “…my campaigns strong organization and financing…”

I firmly believe, besides my grasp of the Constitution and the strength of my campaign, what has separated me from the other candidates and allowed me to win the support is my extensive record of implementing conservative reforms in the Commonwealth’s 2nd largest county which has a population of over 425,000 residents.

The Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation / Middle Resolution realized that with a 20-20 split in the Senate, we need to nominate the strongest possible candidate. We need a candidate who has, and will not, back down in fighting the liberal media and Northern Virginia Democrats like Gerry Connolly and Jim Moran, just as I have done in my 7 years as Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors.

I have cut $143 million from the Prince William County Budget, reduced taxes by 8.5% and eliminated 320 government positions. These are the same type of conservative principles that I will bring to Richmond and, no doubt, has been noticed by the groups involved in deciding to support my campaign.

In addition to those fiscal reforms, I have also led the nation’s toughest crackdown on illegal immigration which has led to the handing over of 6,000+ criminal illegal aliens to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and has caused violent crime in Prince William County to drop 47.8%.

I have never strayed from my conservative beliefs, despite the fact that I have been governing in a county that Barack Obama won handily twice. I have stood firm in governing as a conservative and have been able to win three times county wide with increasing margins, including the last time when I beat my Democratic opponent by 30 points and won 72/77 precincts in the county.

I need your vote on May 18th so I can be your strong conservative leader in the Virginia Senate. I will fight any attempts to weaken our Second Amendment rights, raise taxes on Virginians or participate in Obamacare. We cannot afford Obamacare in Virginia, and if you nominate me I will deliver a win in November to make sure you have a strong conservative as your Lieutenant Governor. I will lead the fight as I have demonstrated time and time again, in Prince William County, to cut spending, reduce taxes, cut the size of government, uphold our Constitution and protect our sacred freedoms and liberties.

I thank the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation, Middle Resolution and the more than 1,000 freedom loving Virginians that are supporting my campaign for Lieutenant Governor as a result of this process. To all my supporters and new supporters as a result of this, I pledge my support and resolve for our shared values and principles of liberty.