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Cox seeks state senate seat as Democrat
BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
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MONTEREY - "I think this is the most beautiful district in all of Virginia and they need strong representation in Richmond," said state senate candidate David Cox. "There are a number of issues of great concern that require forthright leadership."
This year, Cox challenges incumben Sen. Emmett Hanger in the 24th house district representing Highland County.
"The Highlands are a state resource of great value that we all need to cherish and help to protect. There is a lot that a senator can do to help out individuals. People need an advocate. I will be an advocate for people," he said.
Cox questions Hanger's role as such an advocate. Specifically, Cox addressed this year's controversial abusive driver fees legislation. "Mr. Hanger said he voted against them. If he is opposed to them why didn't he stand up in the Senate? This is an issue that really needs to be pushed. Sometimes you need somebody that is willing to push without offending others. In the long run, that is what counts."
Cox said he showed the kind of leadership he thinks the district needs in a situation that occurred in Lexington. "One of the big things that I did while in Lexington was to lead the fight to get a continuing care retirement facility. That took an awful lot of pushing. Sometimes I was gentle. Sometimes, behind the scenes, it got rather heated," he said.
Cox, an ordained Episcopalian minister and pastor of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Hot Springs, said, "People in the church know that I will stand up for what I believe in. In the last big meeting of the diocesan council I felt very strongly about how money should be raised in the congregation was wrong in its method. I was one that led in the effort to say no. Basically, the issue was to create a tax rather than to continue with the practice of voluntary giving. In the church, I believe a tax is not appropriate."
Top issues
"The most immediate issue (not necessarily the most important) is to get rid of the unfair traffic fees," said Cox. "Beyond that, the entire transportation bill needs to be reconceived. It is inadequate. We need more money for maintenance and new construction. The rail solution on I-81 would reduce traffic by putting trucks on rails - more efficient, less costly than other options.
"The best solution of all to avoid pollution, polls and over-paving is the rail solution. That certainly is my conviction, I will be urging that at every level," he added.
Cox said the deeper problem is how to find a balance between conservation and development. "Beneath the transportation issue is the big issue: how do we conserve and protect this land, culture and quality of life that we cherish while moving ahead? How do we improve transportation without destroying what we love? How do we develop land without ruining land for farming or the vistas that we cherish? How do we provide an economic base that will allow our sons and daughters to remain in the area where they grew up and where they want to stay? That, I think, is the overriding issue for the whole district and indeed for the whole Valley. The transportation issue fits into that larger issue.
"We can't say no to development, that is not realistic, but we can encourage development to enhance what it is that we really value," he said. "We know we have to upgrade our transportation system, but we can insist that that be done in a way that enhances what we cherish. We know that we need some economic development, but we want to make sure that it is the kind of development that will enhance what we cherish."
He said, by way of example, that Mead Westvaco wanted to build a distribution plant in Buena Vista a couple of years ago. "It would have seriously affected Buena Vista's whole quality of life," said Cox. "The people of Buena Vista stood up and said no, this form of economic development is not worth what we would have to pay for terrible air quality, damage to our roads and unsafe conditions for our children. I think their attitude is shared in Highland County, Rockbridge and elsewhere."
Wind energy
Highland's controversial wind energy project pending at the state level is something Cox says residents know more about.
"I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to the people in the locality that know the area the best and have the most to lose if it (industrial wind turbines) doesn't work," said Cox. "I think Richmond has to listen to that with extreme care. The danger is always that people come into an area with preconceived notions and I've seen situations in which state agencies turn a deaf ear to very legitimate concerns on the part of local citizens. I've also seen situations where they've listened very carefully and come up with excellent solutions. (As for wind turbines), I don't want to rule out anything arbitrarily, but it takes a careful amount of scrutiny and study."
Cox pointed to how industrialization has affected West Virginia and the coalfields of southwest Virginia after big corporations became established. "They really ruled, taking actions that may be destructive to the land or the people," he said.
"I was out in California and saw thousands of turbines at wind farms," he added. "I just can't imagine that here."
Unfunded mandates
"I am in principle very much opposed to unfunded mandates, but there may be a case to do that, but in my opinion, if it is important enough for a level of government to require something, then they ought to come up with a way to support it. I believe the state should pay for it; it's as simple as that. Nobody would argue against it, but they keep voting for it. It's like saying, 'We balanced our budget, but we unbalanced yours.' That's phony.
"One step further: If Highland County is like every place else I've ever been, people are very concerned about property taxes. I would do everything possible to eliminate unfunded mandates that wouldn't directly lower taxes, but would lower expenses."
Agriculture
"The only way somebody could become a millionaire (from their farmland) is to turn it over to developers," said Cox. "Another way is to remove that land from farming. I am worried for our farmers. We need to support farming as much as possible. It's not impossible to think of a day when we are as dependent upon other countries as we are for fuel. What happens when it costs too much to import beef from Argentina and it is not safe to import food from China, and we don't have the farmers to produce it? Even as a matter of national security, we need to support our farmers.
"There is no one silver bullet, there is a series of things. One thing I hear from farmers is their inability to get affordable insurance. A lot of people that is true for. If we solve that for everybody, we solve the problem for farmers.
"Second, (high) land prices make it very difficult to go into farming. The Farm Bureau has some programs under way and I support those. Also, some programs like purchase of development rights and conservation easements make it possible for farmers to find sources of capital without having to sell their land," said Cox.
"I would point out that we rely on land. We presume land equals wealth; we tax land accordingly. That isn't necessarily the case. You have millionaire farmers on middle incomes at best. How do we fund government? The day may be coming when the 18th century property tax may have to be revised. I'm not suggesting any alternative at the moment, but we may have to take a look at it in the long term."
Cox said Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts are also inadvertently having a negative effect on farmers. "Do (those cleaning up the bay) provide proper relief for the cost of meeting the environmental concerns?" he asked. "If we drive farmers out of business, who is going to feed the nation?"
Overall, farm programs need to be studied to make sure they truly help farmers, he said. "Some programs need to be tweaked, some need to be replaced, and some need to be eliminated. In some circumstances we need to start over," he said.
Education
As for improving school systems, Cox said, "I don't have any ready answers. I agree with how important schools are. They are important as a real community center. How telling that the Highland County fair was held on school grounds. That's a statement how central the schools are," he said.
The composite index - the formula that determines how much the state pays for school divisions - is a method that affects not only Highland County, but other localities in the district.
"Highland is not alone," said Cox. "The formula does not reflect the reality of many communities. I was trying to do the same with Rockbridge what Sen. Hanger did for Highland. (Hanger worked on legislation that linked the composite index for Highland to that of Augusta, at least for education, reducing the local required effort or amount the county had to pay for education.) The formula is extremely complicated. School systems want and legitimately need more money. Coming up with something that is equitable is extremely difficult. It needs serious reexamination. How does the state support its schools, especially in remote locations where education is more expensive due to its remoteness? What kind of economies can be made by reducing regulations? What can we do to reduce expenditures, can we combine jobs, or something to lower the cost per pupil. We don't want to sacrifice anybody's well-being."
Cox also addressed student population. "One of the keys here is how many kids go to school in the district," he said. "People that opt out have an effect on everyone else. All three of our children went through the public school system. We have been very pleased with the education our children got. In one case we had the option of one of our children going to private school and we said no. We are very glad that he did not go to private school. I recognize that other families, for their own very good reasons, want the freedom to choose. Thank goodness we have that freedom. But it has a wider effect. I am hesitant to support vouchers. The state has the responsibility to provide education for everyone. Public education is the great equalizer and the great advancer so that people can find their way in life and excel as they can. That is vital to our democracy. We have an obligation. Plus, where that especially affects people is among the poorest. They are the ones that need public education the most, they don't have as many options otherwise."
Cox is not a fan of the federal No Child Left Behind Act and its role in education in Virginia. "Here is the greatest example of an unfunded mandate - the federal government creates arbitrary benchmarks and unrealistic expectations, demands that they be met, and then only pays for part of it," said Cox. "It is simply absurd to think that every school is going to reach 100 percent by 2013-14. Life doesn't work that way. How do we balance the need for accountability with the practical realities and the local control that have always been the hallmark of American education? There are no easy answers, but we have to ask the questions and address them seriously."
About the candidate
David Cox was born in Washington, D.C. but grew up in Virginia in the Washington area.
He received a B.A. at the University of Virginia and went on to Yale Divinity School, after which he served Episcopal churches in Connecticut.
He is married with two sons and a daughter.
In 1987, he returned to Virginia to become the senior pastor of R.E. Lee Memorial Church in Lexington, where he served until 2000. Subsequently, he was interim pastor at three churches in Virginia, and is current pastor of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Hot Springs.
He is the author of a book on marriage and a book on the ministry. He teaches courses in ethics and in American history at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College and Southern Virginia University.
In 2005, he ran for the House of Delegates in the 24th district.
He serves on the Rockbridge Community Foundation, the Rockbridge Area Community Services Board, and the Rockbridge County Public Schools Foundation. He is a member of the Lexington- Rockbridge Chamber of Commerce.
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