More on Mitch: the "Conscience of the House" Retires

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a great article today on Delegate Mitch Van Yahres, who is retiring from the Virginia House this year.  The article reminds us of what a huge loss this will be:

In the 2004 General Assembly, veteran legislator Mitchell Van Yahres urged his colleagues to go on a "welfare diet."

Under his bill, legislators would volunteer to buy their food for two weeks using the same amount of money allotted in food stamps to a single individual to better understand "the dire circumstances of thousands of Virginia families." The bill was killed in committee and even laughed at.

But the bill was a classic shot at the rich and comfortable by a politician who has always thought of the poor and powerless as his constituency.

"You've got to be in somebody's life situation to understand what they're going through," said Van Yahres, a Democratic delegate from Charlottesville who announced he was retiring last week after more than two decades in the General Assembly. "It really upset me that they laughed at it. . . . These are the real moral values."

Van Yahres' seat in Charlottesville is considered a "safe" Democratic one, as is the seat in the 45th district, including parts of Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax, vacated by Marian Van Landringham, who has to leave the House for health reasons. 

The question for us now is what kind of Democrat will we choose to run in these "safe Democratic" districts?  Will we choose someone like Mitch Van Yahres, someone who would be willing to serve for decades if his constituents approve?  Someone who will use her power to stand up for the poor and the powerless?  Someone who will risk being laughed at to do the right thing?

Senator R. Craig Deeds, current candidate for Attorney General, said of Mitch Van Yahres:

"Mitch has been the conscience of the House...He always stood for things that were less popular. He stood up for things even when he knew he was in the minority. You have to have people like that."

Yes, we do.  We need to have Democrats who will be proudly, unapologetically progressive, especially in safe Democratic districts.  We need Democrats who will not only reliably vote the "right way", but who will take risks and introduce legislation to do what is right, even if that legislation might fail in our current political climate.  We need more conscience in the House.  That is our challenge in choosing candidates in the 57th and the 45th this year.

(Thanks to the Virginia Progressive for the lead on the article.)

 

Comments

[Adam J]

Although no one can replace Van Yahres, I think David Englin in the 45th is putting together the campaign that will make all Deaniacs proud. Not only he is right on the issues, willing to fight for them, but he is making the case for what Democrats in safe districts should be doing - building the party! Check him out at www.davidenglin.org

[Elizabeth]

I'm the 45th district too, and haven't picked a candidate to support yet. There are several good candidates.

[kathy]

"Safe seats" are good opportunities to get visionaries in the pipeline. I love what you say about conscience.

[Erin Skinner]

David Englin is our best bet for Van Yahres' seat! He is running a grassroots campaign built from the ground up by young people and veterans of VA politics. He inspired me, a 23 year old novice in state politics, to get actively involved in bringing back progressive values to our state.

[Duke]

There is no better progressive Democrat for the 57th District than political activist and blogger Waldo Jaquith. He, like Mitch Van Yahres, is not afraid to "speak truth to power". Now, if we can only convince him to run.

[Waldo Jaquith]

David Englin is our best bet for Van Yahres' seat!

Uh. Y'all at the Englin campaign might want to think through your astroturfing. :) If you think David Englin is "our best bet for Van Yahres' seat," you might want to take a long look at a district map of Virginia.

[Erin Skinner]

No astroturfing - just quick typing without paying attention while posting surreptitiously at work! :-) I know the diff. between the 45th and th 57th - David Englin is the best bet to take up the mantle of Van Yahres on the conscience front - hopefully he'll have company with whomever wins in the 57th.

[JT]

I agree with Maura. We need people from safe Democratic areas to push the envelope, to voice progressive values without apology. David Englin is a person who can do that, and the 45th would be lucky, indeed the state would be lucky, to have him in Richmond. I have watched other candidates in that race try to find out where people are on an issue before they will say what they believe. Not David. He's out there, and in a good way.

[ro11ck]

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