Democratic Party of Virginia Chairman Richard Cranwell campaigned for gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds in Southside on Tuesday as part of the “Hope and Opportunity Tour” through the area this week.
After some confusion about whether Deeds would be in town for the tour — he was not — about a dozen supporters gathered outside IKEA’s Swedwood plant in Ringgold to hear Cranwell, who previously served 30 years in the House of Delegates.
The Danville Register & Bee incorrectly reported that Deeds would be in Danville and Martinsville on Tuesday. Deeds was never scheduled to visit the area; he was campaigning elsewhere in the state Tuesday. Instead, the “Hope and Opportunity Tour” served as a surrogate tour, featuring Deeds’ supporters campaigning for him throughout Southside.
Cranwell praised Deeds as the top candidate for economic growth in Virginia, citing Deeds’ plan to give a tax credit for each job created, as opposed to Republican candidate Bob McDonnell’s plan to give a tax credit for every 25 jobs created.
“Hooray,” Cranwell said sarcastically of McDonnell’s plan. “Eighty percent of businesses here have less than 20 employees … Do you think Bob McDonnell is really on your side?”
According to his Web site, part of Deeds’ plan is to give a federal payroll tax refund — through a state tax credit — to businesses for any increase in federal payroll taxes in the previous year.
According to McDon-nell’s Web site, part of his plan would provide a $1,000 tax credit per job to businesses that create 50 new jobs, or 25 new jobs in economically distressed areas.
The Deeds for Virginia campaign held the event at Swedwood because of its ties to the Governor’s Opportunity Fund. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine approved a $3 million grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund in 2006 to assist Danville and Pittsylvania County attract the project.
“Creigh Deeds was a chief architect in crea-ting the Governor’s Opportunity Fund,” Cranwell said, adding that McDonnell has voted to cut the fund in the past. Both candidates support doubling the fund if elected.
Cranwell heavily criticized McDonnell’s conservative views on women and education in his 20-year-old thesis and called recent criticism of Deeds’ “rural” way of speaking “elitism.”
“I have never seen the choice as clear as it is in this part of the election cycle,” Cranwell said. “… The ability of the next governor to understand what it takes … is critical.”
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement