Our congressman: Randy Forbes
I’ll admit, I have gotten awfully jealous at times with some of my colleagues on BD who have seemed to have their ear to the ground in Virginia Beach and have thought they had it all taken care of. No names named are necessary.
That said, there is a sleepy community just to the west of “the beach” that happens to have more than 200K people, many residents who are dedicated military personnel, that live in an economically vibrant and agricultural/industrial environment.
Yes, Chesapeake might actually have some conservative “Hoo-YAH!” to bring to Hampton Roads.
In this case, it would appear some Virginia Beach residents feel the same:
Dear Congressman Forbes,
As elected officials and business leaders in Virginia’s Second Congressional District, we join with Congressman Scott Rigell in encouraging you to consider a continuation of your service to this region as a representative of the Second Congressional District.
The recent ruling of two federal district judges and a California law professor to redraw the congressional maps in Virginia has put Hampton Roads at risk of losing one of its most valuable assets – your leadership as a senior member and a Chairman on the House Armed Services Committee.
We understand that your desire is to continue serving the Fourth Congressional District. We recognize, however, that should the U.S. Supreme Court not reverse this lower court decision, the composition of what was the Fourth Congressional District will be radically altered with hundreds of thousands of residents, comprising nearly 50% of the original Fourth District, redesignated to adjoining districts. We do not need to tell you that the political composition of this “Special Master” district – should it stand – would be insurmountable for any Republican candidate.
Your leadership to protect the military assets in this region has been unmatched in its effectiveness and the absence of your Subcommittee Chairmanship on the House Armed Services Committee would result in immediate negative impacts on our region. As you know one in three jobs in our community are tied to the military; 80,000 men and women in the Armed Forces and another 43,000 DoD civilians call Hampton Roads home; nine billion dollars in annual economic impact to our region is generated in support of our national defense. We are the largest military community in the world and we would be foolish to fail to protect the seniority that you have so effectively wielded in support of our region and our nation’s defense.
We know your character and we have seen your commitment to service, and as such, we have confidence that your decision will reflect what is right for this region – your home – as well as what is right for this nation and her security. We thank you for your service. Know that as you weigh this important decision we stand ready to partner with you should you choose to continue your service by seeking election in Virginia’s Second Congressional District.
With respect and admiration, we are,
Yours truly,
B. Rod Rodriguez, CEO, Bay Mechanical
Jason Miyares, Delegate, Virginia House of Delegates
Shep Miller, Chairman, KITCO Fiber Optics
Art Sandler
Tom Godfrey, CEO, Colonna’s Shipyard, Inc
RADM. Jack Kavanaugh, USN (Ret)
Cheryl McLeskey, CEO, McLeskey and Associates
Bobby Dyer, Councilman, City of Virginia Beach
Tom Taylor, Owner, MFB Marine
Helen Dragas, President and CEO Dragas Companies
Ben Loyola, President, Loyola Enterprises
Scot Creech
Wait? Was one of those names actually a former leading candidate for the 2nd District race in 2010 or did I read that wrong?
All of these people are leaders in the Virginia Beach community and this kind of letter matters.
We’re all one community here in Hampton Roads. We have a huge community of interest in maintaining the port and seapower/military supremacy both here and abroad.
Randy Forbes knows this. And these business and community leaders in Hampton Roads know it too.
