Roanoke Times Editorial: “…yet another signal that Democrats don’t really care about anything outside the urban crescent.”
Buena Vista Democratic Committee Chairman: “I really would like to see them get a little more up close and personal with the broader public rather than just preaching to the choir.”
Yesterday, 2017 Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie participated in the Buena Vista Labor Day Breakfast, the 47th annual Buena Vista Parade, and speeches afterwards, traditionally viewed as the kick-off for the fall campaign season. Democratic nominee, Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam, skipped the long-standing bipartisan tradition, instead choosing to charter a helicopter back to Democratic events. The Lieutenant Governor’s decision to ditch Buena Vista, despite having participated just four years ago, makes clear just how little he cares about rural Virginia.
Watch HERE.
What They Are Saying:
The News Virginian: “Labor Day in Buena Vista is synonymous with Virginia politics, but the 47th annual parade down Magnolia Avenue on Monday had a conspicuous hole: no Democratic statewide candidates. And their absence did not go unnoticed. During the traditional speeches at Glen Maury Park after the parade, supporters of Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie held up signs saying ‘No Show Northam,’ referring to the Democratic nominee for governor, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam.”
Bearing Drift’s Rick Sincere: “For the first time in nearly five decades, the LaborFest — which, like its counterpart in Wakefield, Shad Planking, started as a Democratic Party gathering — was boycotted by statewide Democratic candidates and elected officials. Only one Democratic candidate, for local commonwealth’s attorney, bothered to make a speech, and only one Democratic legislator, state Senator Creigh Deeds, marched in the parade.”
WSLS: “Many of Virginia’s top Democrats came for an early breakfast with supporters but did not take part in the parade or the speeches afterward. The absence of Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie’s Democratic challenger, Ralph Northam, broke from the history, going back to the 1970s, of both major parties spreading their messages.”
WDBJ’s Joe Dashiell: “For almost 50 years, candidates of all stripes have shared the stage here at Glen Maury Park, but this year members of one group were missing, and their absence was noted.”
The News Gazette: “Then the Democratic candidates headed off to events elsewhere in the state while the Republican candidates participated in the parade and the stump speeches in the park.”
Rockbridge Area Republican Chairman Roger Jarrell: “It was always required attendance, and the parade was always a huge part of it.”
WDBJ: “Republican Ed Gillespie greeted the crowd as the annual Labor Day parade made its way through town on Monday morning. So did the LIbertarian Candidate for Governor Cliff Hyra. But Ralph Northam and the rest of the statewide Democratic ticket had already come and gone.”
WHSV’s Bob Corso: “Traditionally, all candidates shared the stage at the Labor Day festival, but this year the democratic candidates left after a democratic breakfast, but before the parade and speeches.”
WSLS’s Tommy Lopez: “But it is a change here today. It is the kickoff in many ways to the start of the fall campaign, at least for Southwest Virginia, but key Democrats, after an early- morning breakfast decided not to come to the parade.”
The News Virginian: “Northam and other Democratic leaders decided to forgo the parade this year, an unusual move for such a high-profile event, to instead attend functions in the eastern part of the state.”
Buena Vista Democratic Committee Chairman Ronald Gravatt: “I really would like to see them get a little more up close and personal with the broader public rather than just preaching to the choir at the breakfast on Monday morning.”
WSET’s Noreen Turyn: “The day’s festivities began with a Democratic breakfast in Buena Vista, but some were upset one of the candidates didn’t stick around.”
The Roanoke Times: “Brown — who described herself as a Democrat-turned-independent — said she was still on the fence about who she would support for governor. ‘I’m just looking for an honest person,’ she added. Asked what message Democratic candidates were sending by skipping the parade, Brown said: ‘Not a very good one.’”
Delegate Ben Cline: “We’re a little worried that Democrats are giving up on rural Virginia. This is just the latest sign of it.”
The Roanoke Times Editorial Board: “It’s also a missed opportunity for Democrats, in spite of the math that counts about 30 times more voters in Hampton than Buena Vista. Rightly or wrongly, this sends yet another signal that Democrats don’t really care about anything outside the urban crescent.”
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