WELCOME back to the Old Dominion. For the rest of the country, it has been a summer relatively free of serious political debate in the news. Aside from periodic media scrutiny of flavor-of-the-month Democratic presidential contenders and the tabloid-esque political theater of the California recall, news networks have been forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel to feed viewers their daily installment of political drama. However, Virginia is unique among most states for having off-year elections that fall between federal contests. As the November election draws closer, when every seat in the General Assembly will be up for reelection, issues abound on op-ed pages decrying their legislative neglect. This coming November, the future health of the Commonwealth hangs in the balance. The following can be read as the idiot's guide for filtering the news reports as they appear.
Last week, longtime financial oracle, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and cosponsor of the recent General Obligation Bondreferendum, John Chichester, R-Fairfax, alluded to the dilapidated state of the Commonwealth in a speech to a state business group. In a rare moment of political independence, Chichester bucked the anti-tax panic that has gripped a majority of members in the Republican-dominated Assembly when he stressed the decaying state of so many services thanks to recent neglect by the General Assembly. Naming public schools, colleges, transportation and health care, he cautioned: "I fear the stealth damage we're doing to our infrastructure by letting these things go dormant -- damage that we won't see today, or a year from now, but that we will see five to 10 years down the road." Clearly, much is at stake this fall.
This is hammered home right here in Charlottesville. While the false appearance of a thriving -- and growing -- physical institution abounds, with omnipresent construction fences and excited bright students preparing for a new year at Mr. Jefferson's University, hidden from view are the rising tuition costs, a laundry list of necessary capital improvements that will likely go unfulfilled, a growing cohort of college-age students in the Commonwealth and rapidly shrinking general fund support from the state treasury (now down to less than ten percent of the academic operating budget). The University's national preeminence is clearly at risk, along with the very existence of peer state schools that lack alumni support to fill in the holes.
This is but one of many examples of how the General Assembly under funds its own legislative mandates, as k-12 education, healthcare, transportation and many others fill out the list. Chichester, as one of the most senior legislators in either chamber, should hardly be casually discarded as a tax-and-spend liberal. His preaching for restricted spending and fiscal prudence echo over a century of fiscally conservative Virginians before him. However, the new breed of anti-tax reactionary seems to be gaining rather than loosing traction with the average voter, much to the detriment of state services and institutions.
While screams of panic and rage from Democrats across the aisle have been ignored by the hefty Republican majority, dissenters within the GOP have been seriously punished by voters at the prodding of anti-tax and slow-growth interest groups in Northern Virginia and Tidewater. Jack Rollison, R-Prince William, former chair of the House Transportation Committee, was recently defeated at the hands of an anti-tax adversary in the district's Republican primary. This came as retribution for his sponsorship of the Northern Virginia sales tax referendum that would have added millions of dollars in transportation improvements for the region. This reactionary short-sightedness will only further engender the neglect and decay of a once healthy state government and economy.
Such economic engines as transportation and education require competent stewardship from the Governor and General Assembly. Speaker of the House Bill Howell (R-Stafford) believes that an economic rebound, once it arrives, will naturally refill the Commonwealth Treasury. However, this neglects the damage already done by dramatic state budget cuts and layoffs. The Commonwealth has been left reeling and is in desperate need of increased state action to even regain ground lost within the last two years of a slow economy.
The vote this fall will act as a referendum on the direction of Virginia. While the flash and glamour of the California recall may be intriguing for many nationwide, it should be hoped that Virginians are moved by politics closer to home. The issues at stake this November touch on the very direction of government in the Commonwealth, and the future of this University may very well hang in the balance. Chichester's denunciation is a frightening indication of what may be in store for Virginia in decades to come.
Preston Lloyd is a Cavalier Daily columnist. He can be reached at plloyd@cavalierdaily.com.)
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