Great article in the Rappahannock Times today.
Check it out by clicking on "Read more."
-Scott
Town Resident Seeking Bid
by Erin Kelley
The Rappahannock Times
November 18, 2009
Town Resident Seeking Bid
by Erin Kelley
The Rappahannock Times
November 18, 2009
Tappahannock resident Scott Robinson has come out swinging in his pursuit of the Democratic nod to challenge Rep. Rob Wittman next year.
“From a leadership perspective the First Congressional District is bankrupt” Robinson said.
The Congressional election is still a year away, but Democratic candidates are gearing up a full-throttle campaign for the seat, which has been in Republican hands since 1977.
Robinson, a recently retired U.S. Army colonel whose last assignment was a Senior Military Advisor in the Office of Secretary of Defense is vying against King George native Krystal Ball for the nomination. Both want a shot at unseating Wittman, a Republican from Montross who was first elected to Congress in a December 2007 special election to fill the seat left open with the death of Jo Ann Davis.
“We don’t need nice guys in DC, we need leaders. We need people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work” Robinson said.
Robinson said the primary focus of his candidacy would be his vision to bring jobs to the 1st Congressional District. Situated in a triangle surrounded by the fifth largest port in the country at Norfolk, the state capitol and the nation’s capitol, the first district is an ideal location for business growth Robinson said.
“The geography is perfect, the location, the educational facilities: it is all right here in this venture triangle,” Robinson said.
Robinson said he wants to work to bring better infrastructure to the district and help attract those businesses. He believes the region, particulary the Northern Neck, needs increased broadband Internet access to help lure businesses.
“ All that vision that I have cannot happen until we bring technology to the district” Robinson said.
Robinson grew up in Northumberland County, fishing and pulling crab pots for spending money during his school years.
He majored in chemistry at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. where he became active in the Reservee Officer Training Corps. Following graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, where he served for 25 years before retiring in July.
Robinson and wife Sandy moved to Tappahannock in June, shortly before he announced his candidacy. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, a way to continue serving,” Robinson said.
In addition to jobs, Robinson said he is concerned about the growth of the national debt.
“We cannot pass this on to our children. We have to control spending,” Robinson said.
“We’re almost on the verge of owing the Chinese a trillion dollars; that worries me very much,”
Robinson wants to see the establishment of a series of independent commissions to examine expenditures across all categories of federal spending and make recommendations to congress about what cuts should be made.
“There is too much special interest in DC,” Robinson said. “We’re going to have to make some hard choices”.
However, Robinson said some of those tough choices might include increased expenditures in targeted areas.
“We don’t spend enough of the GDP on education,” Robinson said. “It’s one of those mandates, you just have to do it. We need to make investments inside this country.”
