If you live in Virginia, please vote tomorrow. For any number of entirely uninteresting reasons, I’ve pretty much skipped covering the primary season in Virginia politics. People like Mike@Blueweeds, Waldo, Vivian, and Steve have given you pretty much all you need to know, though.
I’ll be voting for Brian Moran for Democratic nominee for Governor, Michael Signer for Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor, and Miles Grant for Democratic nominee (i.e., general election winner) for delegate in the 47th District.  My first two choices are, perhaps, obvious. I think Terry McAuliffe is a charlatan of the worst kind, and cringe at the idea of defending him against neo-troglodyte Bob McDonnell in the general election. See the link to Waldo, above, for more about that. As to Deeds, I refuse to reward pandering to bigotry when I have other choices. No matter the infinite ways his supporters try to spin it to you, this man put our fundamental rights up for a popular vote when he supported the Marshall-Newman (anti-equality) amendment in 2006. So, despite the fact that I think he is generally decent on all other issues and stands a good chance against McDonnell, I simply cannot vote for him. That leaves Brian Moran. Moran is a reliable and thoughtful Northern Virginia Democrat. That means, to me, that his policy positions meet my threshold tests for most important issues (even while he fails in some, like the death penalty, or occasionally panders, as with the asinine move-Gitmo-detainees-to-NoVA matter). Further, in my limited personal interactions with him, he strikes me as confident without being demanding or needing affirmation (an important quality in a candidate, I’ve decided.) Further, I am confident that, given the chance, he can beat Bob McDonnell. On the matter of Mike Signer, I’m going with him because Jody Wagner hasn’t given me any particular reason to vote *for* her. My personal and public knowledge of Signer – as a competent individual who wants to try to use the generally-useless office of Lt. Gov. as a bully pulpit on some issues – gives me the comfort I need in casting that vote.
And that leaves us with the 47th District for the Virginia House of Delegates. In conversation, I’ve termed my dilemma as being faced with “an embarrassment of riches.” We have five candidates seeking the Democratic nomination, the gaining of which will almost certainly secure them the seat this fall. Every candidate has appeared at my door (tho’ I haven’t always been around to answer it) many times. I have, truthfully, wavered amongst four of the five candidates throughout the primary season. And the only reason that that isn’t five out of five is that I think Parkhomenko needs some additional time on this planet before he can really represent the 47th (that may sound condescending, tho’ I really don’t mean it to be. I expect good things out of him, and can imagine supporting him in future efforts). Every one of the other candidates have strengths that I respect and would like to see brought to bear in Richmond. That said, I can only cast my vote for one. And that one will be Miles Grant. To say that I’ve disagreed with Miles on many things would be an understatement.   I have never, however, been given reason to question his sincerity or commitment to his positions. And be sure of this – his positions are Arlington’s positions. There is no watering down of our ideals so they can past muster in Richmond or at some fundraiser on the southside. In the course of the primary I’ve seen him articulate – forcefully – the idea that Arlington needs to send an outspoken voice to Richmond. While I think that Tobar, Hope, and Howze would all do fine jobs, Grant’s willingness to act as a pointman for decency and forward-looking policy is what gains my nod. I truly have no idea who will win this contest tomorrow, but I hope that the winner will seriously examine the constituencies of each candidate and bring them into not just the general election, but his ongoing representation of the 47th District.