Virginia Beach’s Lanteigne continues to mystify
By JR Hoeft | Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 | PoliticsSheriff Paul Lanteigne is the most confusing (or perhaps confused) man in Virginia politics.
First, the former aid to Democrat Frank Drew, was rumored to be a challenger to Rep. Thelma Drake in a Republican primary. Then, it was a possibility that he might switch parties and challenge as a Democrat.
He decided (smartly) not to do so and bought a house in Florida.
Then, while employed as the sheriff, he sought employment in North Carolina government.
He wasn’t hired.
So, with this setback, Lanteigne was going to retire and head off into the Florida sunset.
Now, Bearing Drift sources state that Lanteigne has decided he wants to be a Delegate, but doesn’t know if he wants to be a Republican and challenge newcomer and heir-apparent in the 81st, Barry Knight in a primary, or, whether he will run as an independent in the special election to be held Dec. 9 or 16 of this year.
Regardless, Lanteigne knows how to keep himself talked about, but will he ever decide what he wants to be when he grows up?
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Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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4 Responses to "Virginia Beach’s Lanteigne continues to mystify"
Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that Lanteigne, elected as a Republican, refused to endorse then-Del. John Welch last year and has endorsed former Gov. Mark Warner for the U.S. Senate this year. I recall also that he sought the GOP nomination in the 2nd District in 2004, after then-Rep. Ed Schrock withdrew, but the 2nd District Committee selected then-Del. Thelma Drake instead. As you write, he contemplated running for the 2nd District in 2006, but ultimately decided against it.
The Republican nomination for the 81st special election will be decided by a convention, a mass meeting, or a party canvass (firehouse primary), since primaries cannot be held for special elections unless such a primary would fall on the date of a regularly-scheduled primary election. Based on his history, I would imagine that Lanteigne would have a difficult time securing the GOP nod in a process dominated by the party faithful. If he is interested in running in the 81st District, I would imagine that running as an Independent would be an easier way to go for him.
With the troubles the far right are having across the country, it kind of makes sense for a moderate repub like Lanteigne to take the seat. I know this is a heavily favored R district, but Lanteigne has been around that area forever, I bet he would win as an I too…maybe even a D. It would be in the best interest of the GOP to endorse him, you know he would vote with them a majority of the time. This whole story should be interesting…
Also, careful with the ‘grow up’ comment, reminds me of when welch said lanteigne wasn’t “man enough” by his words…
cbl…true enough on the “grow up” quip.
To an outsider, such as myself, if just seems Lanteigne is capable on a whim of changing what he wants to do with his life.
As a man already close to retirement, I find his indecisiveness ironic.
I don’t think Lanteigne does what is “easiest.”
The “easiest” thing to do all these years would have been to endorse people like Welch and Gilmore.
In the world of politics there are people that look at their party as a sports team–having to cheer their team to victory blindly. So let’s look at this in a sports context: maybe you love Derek Jeter–everything about him: he’s a standup guy, very philanthropic, and he makes your team look good… but if he was traded to the archrival Red Sox, then what? You have to decide which is more important..your distaste for that team in red or your love for the player and the guy you saw him to be…
Okay, maybe that’s a little far-fetched. Ultimately, that’s what Lanteigne does. It’s as though he places each candidate’s bio and voting records in front of him, erases the names and party affiliation, and takes out a highlighter.
Lanteigne doesn’t take the “easy” way and just go with whatever Bob or Jane the Republican party selects as their figurehead for a specific election. Virginia Beach may be a very Republican city and Lanteigne has the true unwaivering values of a Republican, but when we Beach Republicans are too comfortable with having “easy” wins in the Beach and simply cough up anyone that we can throw a few dollars behind–Lanteigne’s going to call us out. Rightly so.
Now, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we Republicans can swallow our pride for the errs of the past with this guy…or we can look at our nearly 10 year hold of an additional (R) seat in the Beach manifest to an (I). I guarantee you that the Dems are loving this one. We, Beach Republicans, are about to hand them a -1 (R) seat in the House over something so simple. There’s no way the Dems would put some Jane or Bob against Lanteigne if he ran as an (I) which would divide the Republican votes between Knight and Lanteigne…and give Lanteigne the Dems vote, too. Let’s do the smart thing here, swallow our pride, and put that (R) behind Lanteigne’s name….If he will even HAVE us at this point.
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