Putting VA-05 on the Map: Part I

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with the man that will be the Democrats' flagship candidate for 2008 - Tom Perriello, running against turncoat Virgil Goode in Virginia's rural fifth district. Organizing heavily in the southern part of the district, using creative and productive campaign techniques like "tithing" his campaign's volunteer hours to the community, and raising boatloads of money from donations large and small, Perriello has grabbed the attention of Virginians, and the DCCC, which has VA-05 listed as a Red to Blue race.  Enjoy!

Q: Tell me a little bit about the 5th district of VA. [h/t Colbert]

Perriello: The 5th district is central and south-side of Virginia. It's a massive area, its 22 different counties. And while it does center on Charlottesville and Albemarle, much of it is an area that has been hit incredibly hard by the global economy. This was once the area that drove the Virginia economy, textiles, furniture, tobacco farms - some of the best in the world. We got walloped in all 3 areas in the 80s and 90s with massive job losses. So this a classic area of where both parties in Washington have left the working class and middle class behind, and haven't provided that kind of a response that brought in a lot of good jobs.

Q: Do you want to give a little bit of history on Virgil Goode and his candidacy, and what you bring to the table moving forward?
Perriello: I'll let Congressman Goode define himself, but I think its fair to say from what I hear all over the district but that he spent many years in the state legislature sticking up for the little guy, and really something happened when he got to Washington. Nobody knows quite what it is, that he started voting much more with the corporate interest, and not with the interest of working families. But I'll let you figure out from him why he made that switch.  He did switch from being a Democrat to a Republican. And this is a district that's very independent, and went for Gov Kaine and Gov Warner - two amazingly successful Democratic Governors here, and initially elected [Goode] as a Democrat. So it's a district that looks at the person, and looks at what they can do, and they haven't seen a whole lot of results.

Q:How does your organizing reflect that in the district?

Perriello: I believe in people powered politics. Part of that is about netroots and part of that is about grassroots. In a district this large we simply can't knock on every door, but we can get out in the communities. So we've already opened up 3 regional offices in Danville, Franklin County, Charlottesville, to start covering this area.[Note: That number has already increased to seven!] Were doing something modeled on the old freedom summers called the "Common Good Summer" where we're trying to recruit over a dozen students from the community Colleges and colleges in the district to go out and do voter registration and education throughout the summer. So we're going do it through good old fashioned hard work, with more and more hours together.

Q:So if people want to come and help whats the best way for them to get involved?

Perriello: They can certainly come to the website, perrielloforcongress.com, and you can call us down at our office and just let us know. We want people volunteering right away. Knocking on doors, writing letters to the editor, the whole bit.

Q:What I keep hearing is that the 5th district is a Republican district and that there is no chance a Democrat could win a Congressional seat in this district.
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Perriello: Not only do we think it has a shot, and I'm not the most objective about that, but the national party has made us one of the top target races in the country. They look objectively at 435 races and decide which ones are worth following and they said this is one of the ones we can win, and flip this seat. And we were very flattered because they said one of the major reasons was how strong the challenger is. So it's not so much about me as much its about the movement we are apart of. For the first time in my lifetime we see people believing politics is a place that can make a difference in peoples lives, and I think that's the moment we are stepping into.

Q:In your personal career you have made your name as someone who goes after results,who can bring people to the table and hash out a compromise that works for everybody. Do you think that that's accurate?

Perriello: I do and I think its kind of a part of this whole new generation of politics that puts our sense of right and wrong ahead of the old rules of right and left. And part of that is that so many of us who wanted to make a difference in the world felt like the best way to contribute was through the non-profit sector, through our church communities, through our non-profit organizations. I had friends who did Teach for America or worked in bridge ministry in prisons. Or worked with at risk kids.  There was something very concrete about having to look into the eyes of the people you are trying to help and say at the end of the day, is their life better or not. And if its not, that's your bottom line, and so I think its instilled in me the importance of results. It doesn't matter if you have the best heart in the world if you cant get it done for people then you shouldn't be stepping up to lead in this game.

Q:Do you think the youth demographic has an important role to play in national campaigns and in your campaign as well?

Perriello: I think young people have a tremendous role to play. Right now I believe the average portion of the national debt that each child carries is $30,000. And that's probably matched by the amount of student loans most people have to pay out of college. So I think there is a tremendous amount at stake for the younger generation.
I think to what's interesting is that younger voters are coming in not caring about a party, they're caring about results. So this is an election where they are seeing a new type of candidate come in. Not the traditional corporate lawyer or that type but the folks who have been in the community really gotten their hands dirty trying to make a difference and it gives people the sense that maybe these folks are serious about what they are saying, its not just a bunch of the same.

Q:What role do you see the faith community playing in your campaign?

Perriello: I think faith voters are, lets face it, the vast majority of Americans in every district are people of faith. And I think one of the more wonderful things that's happened in recent years is that people are voting their values. I think some people complain and yak on about "oh you should vote your self-interest over your values." Our values and our principles are one of the most cherished assets we have. I think its wonderful that voters are looking and saying "Well, what is the question of right and wrong?" But we've also seen this a dramatic shift of Catholic voters and evangelical voters from Republicans to Democrats in some of these areas. What people see is the moral urgency of  30,000 children dying every day around the world dying of hunger and preventable disease and genocide. Of people who are working full-time in this country but cant afford a house for their families. What does it mean, what signal do we send values voters, people who work hard and play by the rules who can't afford a house? So there's a moral urgency to that sense that I think is bringing values voters to the fore. I've been able to work with evangelicals and Catholics, conservative religious leaders and liberal religious leaders on issues like torture and genocide on issues like poverty and healthcare. Because there is that sense of a moral urgency of how we treat the least among us.

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More to come on Tom soon. For now, please visit his page at ActBlue and help us win VA-05!

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