Kick-Off in Charlottesville
About 300 people from the Charlottesville community – from students to business leaders to elected officials of past and present – joined us for the kick-off event on the Downtown Mall this afternoon. Charlottesville Mayor David Norris, who took time out of his Election Day schedule, joined Councilman David Brown to help introduce Governor Warner.
The Governor was introduced by Bill Crutchfield, an online consumer electronics entrepreneur from Charlottesville – and a Republican. “We need more bridge builders like Mark Warner,” he said.
From the Daily Progress:
At Tuesday’s rally, University of Virginia Medical Center cardiologist Dr. George Beller said Warner is the right choice for expanding health-care coverage and reducing the high costs of medical care, which threatens to put America at a competitive disadvantage with other countries. Beller’s late wife, state Sen. Emily Couric, is the namesake of UVa’s future clinical cancer center, a project funded in part by Warner’s administration. “Sen. Warner will quickly emerge as a bipartisan leader in ensuring that every American will have access to high-quality, affordable health insurance,” he said.
The Governor also talked about his relationship with retiring U.S. Senator John Warner, whom he ran against in 1996 but whom he now considers a great friend. From The Hook:
“When I was governor, on every issue, Sen. Warner was right there with me on the tough ones,” said Warner. When reporters asked him to elaborate, he said, “I have a bipartisan focus on results, the same way he’s led the United States Senate. The last thing we need is another partisan extremist.”
WCAV gave a great summary of the event: