In a Stafford County living room on a recent Sunday, Del. Mark Cole gave a campaign pitch to about a dozen voters.
He rattled off his points, rooting them all in a theme of strong conservative beliefs about how government should work.
"I've been working to contain the bureaucracy in Richmond," he said.
He added that Virginia's high marks as a business-friendly state are thanks to "good conservatives who are trying to be watchdogs for your tax dollars."
On a hot Saturday back in June, Carlos Del Toro, Cole's Democratic challenger for the 88th District House of Delegates seat, was spreading a different message about Cole's record.
"I don't believe we have a delegate who's as engaged as he should be," he told one homeowner.
He told neighbor after neighbor in his Hampton Oaks subdivision that Cole voted against the 2007 state transportation bill, which brought more money for road construction to the region--along with the much-maligned "abusive-driver fees."
"It wasn't a perfect bill, but it was a step in the right direction," Del Toro said in June. "I don't understand how you can live in this community, with as many problems as we have, and not vote for at least more resources to go toward transportation."
Cole has said he supported the added funds, but disagreed with imposing the abusive-driver fees.
A right-leaning district
The 88th House District was created back in 2001 by a Republican-led General Assembly, during the redistricting process that follows a U.S. census.
It includes chunks of Fauquier, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, and has voted strongly Republican in every House election.
Cole, despite being outspent by Democrat Bill Jones, grabbed the seat with 66 percent of the vote in 2001.
His results in years since have been similar. Cole won 71 percent of the vote in 2003, and 62 percent in 2005 against Democrat Chuck Feldbush.
Now he faces a new challenger in Del Toro.
Both had naval careers
Del Toro, 45, was born in Havana, Cuba, but came to the United States at age 1 after his father, an anti-Castro activist, was paroled just in time to get exit visas to the U.S.
He grew up in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City, and attended the U.S. Naval Academy.
ADDRESS: Wilburn Farms subdivision, Spotsylvania County
POLITICAL PARTY: Republican
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Virginia House of Delegates, 2002-present; Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors, 2000-02
AGE: 49
FAMILY:Wife, four children
OCCUPATION: Program manager/systems analyst
EDUCATION:
B.L.S. in computer science from Mary Washington College, 1993; B.S. in civil engineering technology, Western Kentucky University, 1980; A.A.S., computer information systems, Germanna Community College, 1990
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES:Colonial Baptist Church, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Gideons, Ruritans; former church trustee, Sunday school teacher and youth soccer coach
HONORS, AWARDS WON: Virginia Community Colleges distinguished alumnus; Mount Olive Baptist Church Community Service Award; Navy Commendation Medal (three); Navy Achievement Medal (two); AEGIS Excellence Award
THREE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES IN THIS RACE: 1. Transportation--rapid growth and development have overwhelmed our roads. We must continue to increase transportation funding while streamlining our transportation processes and more closely linking growth and transportation planning. 2. Stopping illegal immigration--the federal government has simply not done its job to secure our borders and enforce immigration laws. This has placed a burden on state and local governments. We need to train state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration law and deny benefits to illegal aliens including not allowing them to enroll at our colleges and universities. If the federal government is not going to do its job of stopping illegal immigration, I want to make Virginia an unattractive destination for them. 3, Education--We need to continue to improve our schools and education system. We need to raise teachers' pay while streamlining the education bureaucracy to get more resources to the classroom where it is really needed.
NAME: Carlos Del Toro
ADDRESS: Hampton Oaks neighborhood, Stafford County
POLITICAL PARTY: Democrat
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE:
none
AGE:
45
FAMILY:Wife, four children
OCCUPATION: President and CEO, SBG Technology Solutions Inc.
EDUCATION: B.S., electrical engineering, U.S. Naval Academy, 1983; M.A., national security studies, U.S. Naval War College, 1996
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES:Member, St. Francis of Assisi Church; former Scoutmaster and current assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 121; member, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council; member, Military Affairs Council; member, Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce
HONORS, AWARDS WON: 2002 Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipient for contributions in service to the nation; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; 2004 Department of Defense Joint Distinguished Service Medal
THREE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES IN THIS RACE: Transportation, education, protecting our quality of life.
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 10/21/2007
We Need A Change...NOW(posted by
JesseJames88
, Oct. 21, 2007 12:19 pm)
We've had six years under Mr. Cole. Our transporation situation has gone from bad to nightmarish. In the 88th, we've been represented - if you want to call it that - by a guy that votes against practically everything. We need LEADERSHIP. I've had enough, I want our problems fixed, and this time I'm giving Del Toro my vote.
Del Toro's Immigration Policy(posted by
Mojomama
, Oct. 21, 2007 11:07 am)
# Hiring 100 new state immigration officers to step up the enforcement of laws against illegal immigration.
# Conducting random checks at companies across the state, especially those notorious for hiring illegal immigrants over hardworking Virginians.
# Imposing stiff fines on corporations; $10,000 for each offense if they are found knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.
# Shutting down boarding houses that harbor illegal immigrants
# Require everyone to learn and speak English, as it is essential to succeed
DelToro on immigration(posted by
Mojomama
, Oct. 21, 2007 11:06 am)
Hootie -- Your comment borders on racist -- just because Del Toro was a legal Cuban refugee Shame on you for deliberately raising his ethnicity as an issue. Here is Del Toro's policy on immigration from his website: # Hiring 100 new state immigration officers to step up the enforcement of laws against illegal immigration.
# Conducting random checks at companies across the state, especially those notorious for hiring illegal immigrants over hardworking Virginians.
# Imposing stiff fines on corporations;
No mention(posted by
HootieBoy
, Oct. 21, 2007 10:26 am)
Del Toro doesn't mention anything about curbing illegal immigration. And being hispanic, he probably supports all of them coming over here and making this a hispanic nation. And he really needs to not call himself Commander on his political signs. We have tons of retired military in this area and I don't believe they are all that impressed.
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