Give Riggleman a Chance
Earlier this week, Nelson County Distiller and Air Force Veteran Denver Riggleman announced that he would throw his hat into the ring for Governor. Riggleman has stated to the Washington Post and to me in an interview that his key issue would be transparency.
However, WaPo was not very transparent about telling the story of Denver Riggleman, nor were they willing to talk about his background other than his occupation. Therefore, I felt it necessary to state my thoughts on the man I have interviewed.
Riggleman is passionate, but not the blind passionate that some people have without the knowledge to back it up. Mr. Riggleman is a smart, quick-witted, and downright charming individual. Most importantly, he’s genuinely honest. In the Washington Post article, Mr. Riggleman compares himself to Dave Brat or Donald Trump. In my opinion, Mr. Riggleman isn’t like them. People like Brat and Trump would say anything just to get a vote. I truly believe that when Mr. Riggleman says something, you can believe what he says.
Secondly, I think he made the smartest move any upstart candidate in Virginia can do. He hired “The Boy Wonder” Zach Werrell. I’ve known Zach for a few years. We agree on very little, but I will be the first to admit Zach is a very talented and smart individual. I don’t say that because of his win of Dave Brat; I say that because I’ve seen him take a candidate and mold him to a message that works. He did an excellent job with Congressman-Elect Tom Garrett’s campaign, molding the message that experience does not equal establishment. He (by some miracle of God, and it had to be a miracle) got Mark Berg elected. Werrell is an incredibly bright young man with the potential to take Riggleman to the nomination.
Lastly, Mr. Riggleman is advocating for transparency. He believes that all Virginia elected officials should have to publically own up to their donors and should have to put it on their office door. It is true that all donations in Virginia over $250 are made public via VPAP.com. However, it is important that the people know who their elected officials are getting their money from. It is imperative that Virginia have an open and transparent government. If Virginia politicians do not want to publicize their donors, they have no business running for office. We need to know who supports who in Virginia government. I’m not saying all lobbyists and donors are bad people, but we should be able to know who gives money to whom in Virginia.
Some may be scratching their heads at this point because it’s well known that I am an ardent supporter of Mr. Riggleman’s opponent, Ed Gillespie. I’m not writing this article to build up Mr. Riggleman. I’m writing this to ask that you give Mr. Riggleman a chance. Listen to what he has to say. He’s not like Trump or Dave Brat. He’s a completely new commodity, something like which many of us have never seen before. He told me in the interview in Richmond he wanted to “drag the vampires into the sunlight.” Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to drag out some vampires.
It is my hope that when you hear Mr. Riggleman, give him a chance to be listened to. He’s very smart, passionate, and most of all genuine.
Most of all, and I believe we can all agree on this, he has the coolest day job out of all the candidates. Making whiskey for a living just sounds awesome.
