According to the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, former Chairman of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors Susan Stimpson has formally announced her intention to challenge 28-year incumbent Speaker of the House Bill Howell for the GOP nomination in the 28th House of Delegate District. [read_more]
Friends, this is huge, and will be the marquee race among several interesting contests this spring. After all, it’s not every day that a sitting Speaker of the House in any legislature gets a serious primary challenge. The Bull Elephant broke the story that Stimpson intended to make this run nearly a month ago. What makes this more interesting at this moment is that several observers of the race, including some in Stafford County, did not expect Stimpson would actually make things official.
But she did, and from the news account she is attempting to make the race about the bedrock conservative issues of taxes and spending:
Bill Howell has been a friend, but we have profound policy disagreements,” she said in the statement. He “repeatedly sides with the liberal Democrats and The Washington Post editorial pages and thinks government needs more money. The truth is Richmond has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.”
She characterized Howell as a “consistent force behind every major tax increase in Virginia in the last decade,” saying “they are his legacy. Simply put, Bill Howell has lost his way and is the chief architect of a tax-and-spend agenda that rewards the politicians and punishes the middle class. It is time for a change.”
(As an aside, FLS reporter Scott Shenk isn’t on the ballot this fall, so we’ll cut him a break this time, but when he says the 2013 tax hike and transportation spending package was “seen by many conservatives as a tax hike,” it might be because it actually was a tax hike. It’s not like higher tax bills are simply the figment of fevered conservative imaginations).
This race is just getting started, and there is definitely more to come about it’s opening days. Stay tuned this evening for an update.
30 comments
[…] in the more numerous house of a state legislature. Together with Stimpson’s solid rollout and sharp focus on bedrock conservative issues, this promises to be the Virginia race to watch this year. (Full Disclosure: Bull Elephant Media […]
How about a link where we can donate to her campaign.
http://susanstimpson.com/contribute/
Thank you!
Can you really call it breaking a story when the company that owns this website created Stimpson’s website?
Exactly. Anything else you’d like to say in the spirit of full disclosure?
lol, good one, but I feel he’s more of a “partial disclosure” opinion blogger anyway, but most are already well aware of his vested interests, so just be upfront. Wagging your finger at others when you are standing in your own glass house is never a credible approach.
Yes, Bruce..will be posting something soon.
Speaking of full disclose Bruce, why do you always seem to be aligned with the tax and spend, establishment Republican’s?
Who is buttering your bread?
ha. you don’t know him
Nope, I am in the dark?
You can discuss that with me privately. This article isn’t the place for it.
Lol!!
I mean, really. Haven’t you gotten tired sick of that character’s non-germane comments? He’s this quarter’s version of “Jim Portugal”.
Thanks for the compliment Bruce! I am staying focused.
Stimpson ’15!
Yes, by definition.
Link: “Break a story”
That’s a layman’s definition. A more accurate one would be to actually get the scoop, as in some work was put in to get the information. Someone posting something on Twitter isn’t breaking a story. Someone taking a snipped from Twitter and backing it up with facts and sources is. Granted work was put in to get this story, but it was of the paid consulting kind. Nobody from Bull Elephant had their ear to the ground for a story about Stimpson challenging Howell, the ear was apparently in place looking for web development business.
“According to multiple sources close to the matter, former Lieutenant Governor candidate Susan Stimpson has made the decision to challenge Virginia House Speaker Bill Howell (R-Stafford) for the Republican nomination for the 28th House of Delegates district.”
The Bull Elephant’s version of “breaking the story.” I guess it wouldn’t have been as interesting if they had said, “Given that we are developing a website for her campaign, its clear Stimpson is going to challenge Howell.”
Haven’t most of the Stimpson supporters attacked Bearing Drift for supposedly doing this kind of thing?
I would imagine that Stimpson likely gave the “ok” to TBE to “break” the story. We don’t know the chicken/egg of this….if the information was learned before or after the discussion about web development. Its entirely possible that TBE had the info before any decision to actually run was made.
You’re right, I don’t know which came first. I just hope in future posts its made clear that whoever runs this website is doing paid work for her campaign.
That’s entirely fair. If think that its pretty transparent because Stimpsons website actually has TBE as the web developer info, which links directly to the site. Its not some vague consultant name…its right there in plain sight.
Yes, Eric, that’s exactly the point. It’s a different story if we were to do the work anonymously and blog about the candidate without disclosure.
“Was,” not “is,” Max. We were contracted to do the website, and it was after we broke the story (not sourced from Stimpson directly).
Pro-tip:
Disclosure prevents these kind of akward questions.
Why should I trust what you say now when you couldn’t be trusted to disclose your business relationship without someone asking?
Max, we did that work well after we broke the story Stimpson was in the race.
Oh no, interlocking directorates (oops websites).
If Speaker HB 2313 Howell can call “his” largest tax increase in Virginia history a “transportation plan”, and then open the door to spend the money elsewhere, I would think BE could easily call “it” a breaking story. Don’t you think?
Steve, thanks for having the courage to keep the readers informed about the Stimpson campaign. I think she is on message, and there is not much for me to ad to her quotes in your article. Right on target!
But while I am here, please let me say this, there is something wrong when the “signature accomplishment” of a Republican is the largest tax increase in Virginia history on middle-class Virginians, as it is with Speaker HB 2313 Howell.
Every time I go to the gas pump starting in January, I will feel the Speakers hand in my pocket! And it doesn’t feel good. The “Howell gasoline tax” is wrong for Virginia’s hard working middle-class. Let’s make “our” pockets “our” pockets again. How do we do that? It’s easy!
Say “yes” to “no” with Susan Stimpson. “No” to more tax and spend Speaker Howell style governing in Virginia! “No” to financing more Virginia government with tax increases!
Stimpson 15′
“Madam Speaker Stimpson” -> has a nice ring to it. Unfortunately Howell has lost his Conservative way and is now a Dem-lite; he needs replacing.
Have a feeling this one will turn ugly if Howell is pressed as Stimpson is fully able to do if she runs a smart campaign. The knives will be out in force with the governor adding his unique chaos from the sidelines. The new chair needs to be in place as soon as possible.