Return to story

House district friendly to GOP

October 21, 2007 12:36 am

BY EMILY BATTLE

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.

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.

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.

During a 26-year Navy career, he served in 1998 as a White House Fellow, working in the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton administration.

Del Toro and his family moved to Stafford County 10 years ago, and he runs his own business, SBG Technology Solutions, out of his home.

Cole, 49, grew up in a small town in Kentucky, and moved to Spotsylvania in 1985.

He served five years in the Navy, and 19 in the Naval Reserve.

Cole held a seat on the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors from 2000 until he entered the House of Delegates in 2002.

In 2007, successful bills that he sponsored included a law that allows school boards to make their buses available to transport private-school children for a fee.

That bill faced loud opposition from school districts around the state, even after the governor signed it.

Cole also introduced unsuccessful legislation that would have:

made it a Class 1 misdemeanor for an illegal immigrant to be in the state of Virginia

allowed governments to keep confidential the names of people who write to their elected representatives

begun the process of approving a state constitutional amendment to turn Virginia's legislature into a unicameral body.

Del Toro has been saying for months that Cole's not doing enough to solve the real problems that folks in the 88th District deal with--primarily transportation.

One of his top priorities, he says, is getting high-occupancy-vehicle lanes extended to Massaponax.

But Del Toro has focused on one bill that Cole did not really have a lot to do with.

In public comments, mailings and telephone messages, Del Toro and his supporters have sought to link Cole to a bill that made Virginia the subject of international ridicule during the 2005 General Assembly session.

That bill, sponsored by Norfolk Democrat Algie Howell, would have imposed a civil penalty on folks who wear their pants too low.

A Del Toro mailer reads: "Mark Cole on illegal immigration: Make them wear tighter pants!" and goes on to imply that Cole thinks tighter pants are the answer to all of Virginia's woes.

"I had nothing to do with the baggy-pants bill," Cole said at a recent meet-and-greet. "All I did was vote for it when it came to the floor."

The money race

Early in his campaign, Del Toro's staffers were calling media outlets, touting his early fundraising advantage over Cole.

As of the Oct. 15 reporting deadline, Del Toro had out-raised Cole nearly 2-to-1 during this election cycle.

Del Toro has gotten a lot of his money from individuals he knows who live outside of Virginia. 48 percent of his money comes from outside the state. One of his first fundraisers was held at New York City's Harvard Club.

Cole, on the other hand, has received all but 8 percent of his contributions from inside Virginia.

When this came up at a debate, Cole called it a "serious weakness" in Del Toro's candidacy, but Del Toro said it was simply a testament to the fact that through his Naval career and other ventures, he has made a good impression on people all over the country.

Del Toro has also attacked Cole for voting "no" on a lot of legislation, including this transportation bill.

"My opponent has voted no on more legislation than just about any other delegate," Del Toro said at a debate at the University of Mary Washington. "It doesn't take any creativity to do that. I want to work with my members in the House of Delegates and across the hall in the Senate to come up with legislation that is going to positively impact your lives."

Cole sees his negative votes differently.

"It takes a lot of courage to stand up when you think the General Assembly or the governor is going in the wrong direction," Cole said at that same debate. "But that's what I've done. Despite pressure to go along to get along, I think I've taken principled stands."

Voters will make their choice in a little more than two weeks.