As part of the Democratic Primary Debate Series, three of the four candidates for the Democratic attorney general nomination met last night in the Chemistry Auditorium in a debate sponsored by University Democrats.
Consensus on many key issues characterized the debate. Candidates Del. Donald McEachin of Henrico County, Sen. John Edwards of Roanoke, and Sylvia Clute of Richmond participated in the debates. Del. Whitt Clement, who is also a candidate, did not attend. The four candidates are competing for a position on the ticket that will include Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Warner.
The candidates debated a broad spectrum of issues including gun control, abortion, the death penalty, the war on drugs and genetic privacy.
Edwards criticized the fiscal policy of the Commonwealth's Republican leadership. "The Republican takeover in Richmond has squandered resources," Edwards said.
Edwards stressed the need to assert Democratic values more clearly by taking a hard stance on reproductive rights, crime and the environment.
McEachin spoke about the need to defend civil rights and to keep guns out of schools. "We need to provide child safety locks that work," McEachin said.
Clute commented on the growing problem of the Commonwealth's response to crime. "I am concerned about our response [to crime] that is increasingly punitive."
Clute stressed the need to increase the scope of "drug courts" given low costs and effectiveness at deterrence.
The debate moderators, led by Alexander Theodoridis, chief of staff of the Center for Governmental Studies, questioned candidates regarding the role of current Republican Attorney General Mark Earley in the car tax reduction and the ensuing budget freeze at institutions of higher education in Virginia.
"There is no room in the attorney general's office for politics, and that is what's been going on for the past eight years," McEachin said.
Edwards also criticized Earley's role in the budget freeze as "politicized."
"The attorney general is the person who can set standards of accountability," Clute said.
She said the office of attorney general should be more responsible to the people.
"Any one of us will be better than the current office holder," McEachin said.
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