Kick-Off in Lynchburg
At Governor Warner’s kick-off event at Monument Terrace Lynchburg today, Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Chapman talked about the need to support our troops not only when they are in combat, but once they are home.
Chapman, a Purple Heart recipient, served a year in Iraq between 2005 and 2006 and was tasked with training the Iraqi Army during combat missions.
Standing in front of a statue honoring a World War I doughboy, Governor Warner thanked Chapman for his service and said that our country was doing a disservice to our veterans by not giving them first-class health support once they come home. “We owe them that debt of gratitude,” he said.
Before Chapman spoke, a group of veterans, led by Steve Bozeman, presented the colors and led the crowd in the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance, a ritual they do every Friday at the Monument in support of the troops.
The Governor was introduced by former Republican State Delegate Preston Bryant, who currently serves as Governor Tim Kaine’s Secretary of Natural Resources. The Lynchburg News & Advance reports:
“I am a Republican, and I am supporting Mark Warner for the United States Senate,” Bryant said, to cheers from a crowd of about 250 at the foot of Monument Terrace during Warner’s noontime campaign stop in Lynchburg.
He talked about Governor Warner’s desire to work with members of both parties to make government work and to meet the needs of Virginians. He also gave the Governor credit for turning around the “economic mess” his administration inherited from his predecessor while still investing in Lynchburg’s schools and fire departments.
Delegate Shannon Valentine introduced Secretary Bryant, and talked about how excited she was about the Governor’s run for the U.S. Senate.
Del. Shannon Valentine, who now fills the House seat Bryant previously held, said she has “great hope for our country because of a man named Mark Warner.” She said Warner’s election as governor seven years ago opened the door for new leaders in Virginia.
Lynchburg Mayor Joan Foster was on hand, along with former State Senator Elliot Schewel, who delivered a fiery speech about the budget mess left by Governor Warner’s predecessor:
“He left office with one of the lowest approval ratings of any governor in recent history, and he left Mark Warner with the worst budget deficit in the history of our state.”The budget crisis turned around during Warner’s four years in office, partly because Bryant and a hand-ful of other Republicans supported a tax increase that Warner proposed.
“Mark Warner ended his term with a surplus,” and “one of the highest approval ratings of any of our gov-ernors in recent years,” Schewel said.
From left to right: Delegate Shannon Valentine; Governor Warner’s wife, Lisa Collis; Governor Warner; Lynchburg Mayor Joan Foster. Photos courtesy of Frank Poytner