Democrat Carter Turner announces decision to challenge Del. Morgan GriffithPassenger rail. Yeah. That'll excite all twelve people who will ever take advantage of it.
By Pete Dybdahl, Roanoke Times
With 99 days till the November election, a new Democrat has entered the race for the 8th District seat in the House of Delegates.
He is a political newcomer named Carter Turner, a Glenvar resident and Radford University assistant professor with the kind of Salem pedigree that one local Democrat termed "instant appeal."
Turner formally announced his candidacy outside the Roanoke County Courthouse on Monday, calling for "solution-oriented politics" and bipartisanship in Richmond. And he recounted his involvement in the recent effort to block an asphalt plant that had designs on Glenvar.
For boosting the local job market, he pointed to tax incentives for business and an expansion of rural broadband services and the Governor's Opportunity Fund.
He also said he would make a "common-sense" evaluation of the Standards of Learning curriculum. As for transportation, he mentioned a long-term goal was passenger rail. [link]
Tax incentives for business might be a good idea though. Perhaps Turner could get a list of potential incentives from Griffith and coordinate their efforts.
Or, better yet, he might simply start planning his next summer vacation. A wiser move, indeed.