1) I have contacted all of the Candidates Running for Congress in VA-11 (Both Democrat and Republican) and I am in contact with two other campaigns about interviews and will be taking the same general format. I will be putting theirs up as I conduct them (and I am very excited about it)
2) I spoke to Doug Denneny prior to the recent events with Byrnes and the "Responsible Plan" situation. So that was not covered.
The goal was to introduce my readers to the candidates, and go over some of the issues that I felt was important.
Here are some excerpts
On how he sets himself apart from the others in the race:
Bringing up his military credentials became routine during our interview. Casting himself as a "career public servant" instead of a "Career Politician" he spoke very positively about his experience in the military to separate himself to the other candidates. "I served 22 years in the US Navy, attaining the rank of Commander, leading sailors in battle and serving in a high-ranking Pentagon post. I am a life-long public servant with Capitol Hill experience, and I am the best Democratic candidate to defeat any Republican in November." He states as some of his defining qualifications to represent the district. He continues on. "I represent change, not the status quo. As the Congressman from the 11th Congressional District, I will use my hard work, exceptional leadership skills and extensive experience at the local and federal level to serve the people of the 11th District and the nation."
Also, I asked him of his former employment with Boeing and the recent news concerning military contracts with European owned "Airbus"
...Another issue that I talked with the campaign about, and received an answer later from Doug is the idea of impartiality in Congress. Since leaving the military, Doug has worked with Boeing. In recent news, Northrop Grumman, partnered with European owned Airbus, won a key contract with military tanker plans, causing many people to become worried that we could be outsourcing military secrets to foreign companies. The issue has gotten some attention on Capitol Hill, and I wanted to make sure that though Denneny has been affiliated with Boeing as a employee, that he would show proper impartiality with the company as a congressman, by recusing himself from anything involving the company. In his statement, he writes:"I wasn't involved with the Boeing tanker program. But I believe in fair, open competition and that American defense contracts should be awarded to American companies. We can't have our nation held hostage by the inability of a foreign company to deliver products on time, under cost, or on products that don't meet our specifications. I also want to keep U.S. jobs, and minimize U.S. jobs going overseas on American defense projects that are paid for by U.S. taxpayers' dollars.
As a member of Congress, it is impossible for me to recuse myself from everything Boeing works on - the company simply works on too many vital projects. I will be working for the people, not for Boeing, and I will have no financial ties to Boeing."
The rest are found at Politicallypurple.com
Enjoy!
Aaron C.