Thread: Va.-Cole wins re-election in runaway

11/07/2007
Cole wins re-election in runaway
By: Kelly Alm

Republican incumbent Delegate Mark Cole, who has represented the 88th District since 2002, will maintain his seat in the House next term.
Advertisement


Cole easily beat Democrat challenger Carlos Del Toro, winning snearly 63 percent of the district vote according to an unofficial tally from the state board of elections.
Cole handily won each of the five precincts he represents in Fauquier County, showing consistent strength across the board. (See chart, page a-14.)
"I think my conservative message resonated with the voters," Cole said Tuesday night. "I've always run as a fiscal and social conservative and done well in the election."
Cole also attributes his victory to the fact that his campaign was a culmination of his work in the district over the past six years. "I've had good constituents whom I've served and kept in contact with over the years," he said. "I've done my best to represent their interests in Richmond."
Cole says there was some concern over the amount of money that Del Toro raised, but he believes Del Toro's negative campaigning had an impact. "The early results show that voters saw through that," said Cole. "It was the meanest campaign I've ever been through."
The issues that most obviously distinguished Cole from Del Toro during the campaign are his conservative values, Cole claimed, and what he deemed constitutional rights that should be protected, including the right to life and the right to bear arms.
Among a handful of issues addressed during his campaign, Cole says he plans to continue fighting to increase transportation funding and greater transportation efficiency, support tougher restrictions on illegal immigration, work for a balanced and responsible state budget, oppose tax increases, and support increased teacher pay and high educational standards.
During his previous terms as delegate, Cole claims to have made a number of steps to improve transportation, including passing legislation to permit localities to issue bonds for their own transportation dollars in order to jump-start needed transportation projects, and supporting land-use and growth reforms to reduce sprawl and congestion.
However, in addition to criticism from Del Toro, who said Cole wasn't doing enough for transportation, The Washington Post, which endorsed Del Toro, accused Cole, of being "among the die-hards who opposed the $400 million annually in new transportation funding."
Immigration is an issue about which Cole has been strident. "The big issue is illegal immigration," he said. "I have a proven track record of being tough on illegal immigration, and I think that helped." Cole opposed "amnesty" efforts in the U.S. Senate, and helped passed legislation denying state and local benefits to illegal immigrants. He also sponsored unsuccessful legislation to make it against state law to be in Virginia illegally, and co-sponsored legislation to allow state and local law authorities to enforce immigration law.
In regard to balancing the state budget, Cole has supported legislation to control growth in government spending and opposed tax increases and abusive driver fees.
While Del Toro accused him of sponsoring a tax bill in Stafford, Cole claims it was at the the request of several citizens in North Stafford in response to Dominion Virginia Power's proposal to run high power transmission lines through the area. The bill supposedly added Stafford to the list of localities that can set up a service district to pay to bury the lines.
Education has also been a key issue for Cole. He led the fight to get additional state funds to increase teacher pay for our schools, and has also supported efforts to ensure the state fully funded its share of the education budget.
Before running for delegate, Cole served in the U. S. Navy as an ordnance and missile officer on board the USS Mississippi (CGN 40) for five years, after which he worked in the Navy Reserve as a project manager and systems analyst for Northrop Grumman for 20 years.
Cole is a graduate of Mary Washington College, Germanna Community College, and Western Kentucky University with degrees in computer science and civil engineering technology. He lives in Woodbridge with his wife and four children.





©Times Community Newspapers 2007
http://www.zwire.com/site/tab2.cfm?news ... 7590&rfi=6

jimpasz - That avatar!