I was listening to the John Fredericks Show today and he promised Senator Tom Garrett and a blockbuster announcement. Now I knew Tom when he was an assistant attorney general and he and Rusty McGuire were both working in the same building (maybe same department; Rusty was also an assistant attorney general) and they were both running for Commonwealth’s Attorney in their home counties: McGuire in Hanover (unsuccessfully) and Garrett in Louisa (he won – beat a incumbent) but in an O’Henryesque ending, Garrett victoriously runs for state senate and McGuire, his deputy at the time, ends up the elected CA for Louisa!
Fredericks and Garrett did not disappoint: For Senator Garrett threw down the gauntlet to his majority leader, Senator Thomas Norment – you can be Finance Committee chair or majority leader but not both at the same time. Garrett even cited former senator Chichester as an example of the dangers of too much power. All I kept saying was: Garrett’s Got Guts!
Now you only take on your majority leader if you are foolish or principled and don’t care about the political consequences or you know something. I suspect Tom knows something for he is not foolish. He is principled but he’s interested in a future in politics. In fact he laid another blockbuster: He’s thinking about running for Governor.
I would have to pray hard about Garrett for Governor but I would be inclined to help him. I think Tom Garrett could be a surprise – independent minded, principled, tough, but also willing to hear out the other side. (The senator did vote against Chap’s appellate defender bill but I’ll work on him!) Speaking of Chap, he had nice things to say about Senator Chap Petersen (Sandy’s favorite Democrat) calling him his second favorite Democrat senator (I did not catch the name of Tom’s favorite!) and Garrett also mentioned something I plan to follow up with him on: The $16,000.00 bachelor’s degree. Tell me more, Tom! He wants 67% of the education monies to go to the classroom not to administration! More! More! And who is that favorite Dem?
I hope to follow up after I reach out to Senator Garrett.
Article written by: Elwood "Sandy" Sanders
About Elwood Sanders
Elwood "Sandy" Sanders is a Hanover attorney who is an Appellate Procedure Consultant for Lantagne Legal Printing and has written ten scholarly legal articles. Sandy was also Virginia's first Appellate Defender and also helped bring curling in VA! (None of these titles imply any endorsement of Sanders’ views)
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