Democrats at Crusade for Voters forum back restoration of voting rights

The three men seeking the Democratic nomination for governor stopped in South Richmond tonight to discuss jobs, education, health care and their support for restoration of felons' voting rights.

More than 150 local residents, city politicians and campaign operatives gathered at the Southside Community Services Center on Hull Street for a forum sponsored by the Richmond Crusade for Voters. The predominantly black voter-mobilization group has traditionally supported Democratic candidates.

State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds of Bath County, former Del. Brian J. Moran of Alexandria and former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe of McLean took turns making their pitch for votes and answering questions from the audience.

"No one is better prepared to be governor than I am," said Deeds, who pledged to address the state's unemployment rate, which in March stood at 6.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, Virginia's highest rate since 1983.

Deeds told the audience that education "has got to be the first priority," and he outlined his support for restoration of voting rights.

"You ought to have a clear path back to society," he said.

Virginia is one of the few states that doesn't allow felons, once they have served their time and finished probation, to qualify automatically for the voting rolls.

During his turn to speak, a more-animated McAuliffe rallied the audience, promising to "shake up" the way government works with "outside-the-box thinking" that focuses on creating jobs and reinvesting state resources in education as opposed to incarceration.

"We're spending billions of dollars in our prisons and not taking care of children in our classrooms," said McAuliffe, who advocated automatic restoration of voting rights. He also said he wants to shut down every payday-lending store in the state.

Moran, who portrayed himself as a fighter for Virginians, emphasized the importance of a health-care system that provides preventive care and covers every child in the state. "It's a moral responsibility as well as an economic necessity," he said.

Moran also promised to double minority participation in state contracts and to automatically restore voting rights to nonviolent offenders who have successfully completed their probation.

During the 90-minute forum all three Democrats took passing shots at Republican candidate Bob McDonnell. They also dropped President Barack Obama's name and said they want to carry on the legacies of the last two governors, Democrats Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaine.

Attendees also heard from the three Democrats seeking the party's nomination for lieutenant governor: former Virginia Secretary of Finance Jody Wagner; Russell County supervisor Jon Bowerbank; and lawyer Mark Signer, a former deputy counsel to Warner.

Bowerbank said he is running to promote jobs in alternative energy and infrastructure. Signer said he would work to promote "social justice and economic fairness" for everyone in the commonwealth. Wagner pledged to carry on the work of her two previous bosses -- Warner and Kaine -- to create jobs in a state in which more than 300,000 people are unemployed.

The gubernatorial candidates' whirlwind series of joint appearances continues Thursday in Hampton with a debate sponsored by the Virginia Education Association. The candidates are expected to square off at least five more times before the June 9 primary.

Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or .