It’s official — Virginia Beach Commissioner of the Revenue Phil Kellam has filed with the FEC to establish an exploratory committee to run for Congress.
I’ve been chewing this over for a few weeks, since I first found out he’d be running. On the one hand, I’m impressed by David Ashe, the Democrat who ran against Republican now-Rep. Thelma Drake last year. (That was to fill Rep. Ed Schrock’s seat, after the virulently anti-gay Republican got caught soliciting sex from men via a telephone dating service. Don’t miss
Sometime down the line, I’ll have to write a bit about the rise and decline of the Kellam family as a political force in Virginia Beach. You know the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel? That’s officially named the Kellam Bridge Tunnel. Consider, too, Kellam High School, Kellam Road, and, oh, the city of Virginia Beach itself. (Witness this year’s SJR 523.) Suffice it to say, having the last name “Kellam” will do him a world of good in this race.
Anyhow, I’ve made up my mind that I’m supporting Phil in this race. I’m not sure that my support means a bloody thing — I don’t have any money and I don’t live in his district. But I intend to say a lot of nice things about him in the coming months.
As a graduate of Kellam High (actually built on land the Kellams donated), I can attest to the power old Judge Kellam once wielded over my hometown. Well, it’s fair to say he ran the place. The City has changed a lot the past 40 years or so, but the stories about old Princess Anne County are quite amusing. One of my English teachers was from a family that were political rivals of the Kellams and she had some very interesting tales about how things used to get done at the Beach. She also said her father never forgave her for working at the school bearing *that* name :)
i really like david ashe too, but the bottom line is fielding a candidate that will beat that hack thelma drake, and if kellam is that person – them I’m all for kellam!
I like Ashe: he’s a fantastic guy. I don’t know if he will go ahead with his run and face a primary against Kellam. Ashe might well be able to defeat Drake in a rematch: he’ll have vastly more resources this time around. But Kellam would have even more: money, a pretty important name in VB, and generally someone who can get a lot of crossover. So, I’m sort of torn. Two great candidates. One obnoxious lady to unseat and help save Congress. Dunno.
David Ashe for US Senate against George Allen?
hmmm Lowell, not a bad idea!
I think the Democrats would be better off recruiting former Secretary of the Navy James Webb to run
against Allen. Ashe sounds like a great guy, but I am a little concerned about his performance in
2004. Drake didn’t even start running until after Labor Day, and she still beat Ashe rather handily.
Now she’s an incumbent Congresswoman. Kellam seems like the stronger bet.
I do think there is a place for someone like Ashe, though, just trying to figure out
what it is…
Kellam looks like the stronger guy to win. I’d back Ashe on the strength of his service in Iraq, except that he lost last year in a race that wasn’t particularly close against a last-minute replacement candidate for an incumbant that was shamed out in a gay sex scandal. If he can’t win in that situation then he can’t win. Kellam looks like the kind of serious candidate that comes out to play when the pros smell blood in the water.
In this primary situation, you almost inevitably have the likable, heroic guy who was tilting at windmills in the previous race up against the seasoned pro who picks his fights carefully and will look like a bully to the grassroots. The seasoned pro almost always wins the primary and is more likely to win the general election. It sucks, but it’s the way it is.
Ashe is a good guy and would make a good Congressman if he could get elected. I’d like to see him in office but I don’t know how that could happen right now.
As for a candidate against Allen for Senate, former Secretary of the Navy James Webb is the man Virginia needs. Without a guy like Webb representing us, Tidewater’s economy will collapse as the Republican party continues to strangle the Navy and close bases. John Warner is not going to live forever. Anybody with a defense-related job in Tidewater better hope that Webb runs.
I’m now getting excited about my move from Loudoun to Virginia Beach! I’ve been looking for something to sink my teeth into since beating Dick Black (although we might be now trying to keep Black’s son-in-law Mick Staton, aka Black Lite, out of what might be Senator Mims’ vacated seat). I need to learn more about Drake. Is she “Drake the Snake”?
Eileen, you taking on Thema Drake, like you did Dick Black, would be something I’d buy ringside tickets to see. :)
Eileen- After I met a fellow Clarkie from your area at the WesPAC annual meeting, I tried to reach you thru your blackout pages, but I haven’t heard from you.
The Virginia Beach Democratic Committee sure would like for you to join..
Phil Kellam is a member and definitely a mover and shaker in the VBDC, and it would be a great way for you to meet a bunch of kindred spirits.
Please be in touch.
ppander @cox.net
I don’t think David Ashe’s previous loss should disqualify him this time. Iraq war veterans these days (especially democrats) have a panache they didn’t have in 2002 – e.g. Paul Hackett. I’m willing to give him another chance.
I like David, too, but every time his name gets mentioned in the newspaper it always reads like this: “David Ashe, who lost to Drake in 2004….” I respect and appreciate his military service, but it’s awfully hard to run as a veteran when the public sees you running as a perennial candidate.
I would point out that Paul Hackett lost his first time as well, to Jean Schmidt, in a conservative district. Sound familiar?
Under the “Free Advice” department: I offer you the following:
Democrats have waged open war on White Men since the Johnson Administration. Democrats created the era of “political correctness” that poisons our workplaces and schools, and has nearly destroyed the work ethic that is at the very core of the American success story; that being that if a citizen has MERIT and is willing to work hard, anyone can make it here in the USA.
Because of the creation of favored minority status for negroes by Democrats and the creation of still more government directed, race and gender based programs that grant a status that any reader of Animal Farm would recognize as “some citizens are more equal than others.” Democrats seem to have forgotten about the White poor. According to recent census data, there are more White Americans living in poverty than either the ENTIRE negro population or the ENTIRE latin population. By contrast, if you take the African American population alone, as an independent country, their income ranks them as the twentieth most prosperous country in the world (according to data published by the Washington Post).
While I understand that Democrats have tried to use political correctness and minority hand-outs to cobble together political coalitions over the past several decades, the long term result is to drive White, working class Men away from the Democratic Party.
If you take a stand where you support a return to, “Equal treatment under the law” and champion the return to merit based hiring and promotion practices, you will carve out the middle class working men from the Republican ranks, and if handled properly, your base will remain solidly behind you as well. Based on discussions of this topic all across our nation, I consistently find that people from all genders and races strongly support MERIT based hiring and promotion and generally view the various set-asides and quota programs as un-American (even when some of the respondents had benefited from these same programs).
Additionally, Thelma Drake will come out with the generic Republican blather about putting more people in jail; longer mandatory sentences, and the typical appeal to the evangelicals in your area. All you need to do to neutralize the evangelicals is to take a stand in favor of limiting infanticide to the greatest extent possible and to offer to stand up for the working class by helping to secure more career quality jobs. On this latter note, one interview I heard had a fellow describing how Republican job growth had produced all the minimum wage jobs you could find; in fact he currently worked three of those jobs just to get by. By emphasizing a commitment to attracting career-quality jobs, not just the Wal-Mart greeter jobs that the Republicans have left us with, you will pull the grassroots rug right out from Thelma’s generic Republican campaign.
On a final note: Don’t forget to make several personal appearances with the Phillipino community. Phillipinos are a wildly successful segment of our population (the highest concentration of doctors and allied health professionals) and they feel stung by the fact that others get favored minority status, while their achievements on merit alone, is consistently setting the bar for the rest of the other minority groups; a moderate tone on abortion and commitment to merit only based hiring will pay big dividends with this very wealthy, active and influential segment.
I’m not trying to be too anally PC but, “negroes”? Come on.
Giving the benefit of the doubt, I’m assuming that the writer is considerably over the age of, say, 70.
I’m just going to ignore that comment above. Ashe is seeking the Democratic nomination, but he’s highly unlikely to recieve it. I’ve got some inside info, and Owen Pickett, the last Democrat to hold the seat, is going to endorse Kellam in a primary. The DCCC has already told Ashe that they want Kellam to be their candidate, and they’ve asked him to drop out of the race. Ashe still insists that he can win a primary, but insider polls say quite a different story. I’ve spoke with both candidates, and you can see the difference. Kellam is confident. Ashe is nervous.
For all those who are big Ashe fans, I understand. I like him a lot myself. But remember, there’s only one Democrat in Virginia Beach who hold’s office. Kellam has a history of beating Republicans, Ashe doesn’t. Plus Ashe didn’t come close last year, he got beaten badly. 10 points isn’t close.
You’re the guy from NLS, right Monkee? You said that stuff before.
First, I agree that 10 points isn’t close. That’s why I support Kellam. But where are you getting that information? As far as I’m concerned, I was under the impression that Pickett wouldn’t get involved just yet. Though I do think that Kellam would be a lot more like Pickett as far as ideology would go. Who’s you source?
Just like Not Larry Sabato, Dan, I can’t tell you my source. If I tell you his name we could both get in trouble. Not worth it.
But you are right. Pickett and Kellam should be pretty similar.
I have to agree with Sarge and side with Webb for Senate. I’m also a big Kellam fan as far as the 2006 CD elections. I do think Ashe should remain in politics. As a Democrat in the 2nd District, I’d like to see him run for City Council or something of that nature.
As a union memember and someone who is from Va Beach and who’s family has been in Princess Anne County for many many years, Phil Kellam is a spoiled rich kid, and I cannot in good conscious support someone that comes from such a background as his. Besides, we need a true Virginia Democrat, not another liberal, loser. Ashe is by far a better candidate!
Um…Kellam is in no way a liberal. He’s actually much more center than Ashe could ever pretend to be. Kellam is a Tim Kaine, Ashe is a Leslie Byrne. Which one won office? Kellam is more like the “old Virginia Democrats” that Warner was able to remind people of. Ashe, to me it seems, is a little more “new Democrat.”
“Phil Kellam is a spoiled rich kid, and I cannot in good conscious support someone that comes from such a background as his.”
You aren’t going to support Kellam simply because he comes from a historical family that you apparently don’t like? You’ve got to be kdding me! That’s a real mature way to pick a candidate.
Why don’t you go online and look up the issues before you make that statement. Tell me A)Why Kellam is “liberal”, and B)Why Ashe isn’t. Personally, is you read Kellam’s record, it’s mostly full of Tax Cuts and Government Reduction/Efficiency. Kellam has got experience in Government. Ashe, sad to say, has none.