10th Senate District Special Election Primer

Counties, Candidates, Circumstances, and a bit of Commentary. Opinion

The 10 Counties in the 10th State Senate District:

Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Cumberland, Goochland, Powhatan, Fluvanna, and parts of Louisa, Hanover, and Prince Edward.

A Mass Meeting has been called by the Legislative District Committee to nominate one person on the Special Election ballot to be held in early January (date to be set).

· Friday, December 13, 2024.

· Registration: 4:30 to 6:30 pm.

· You must be in line by 6:30 pm, or you cannot vote.

· Come prepared for a long evening (snacks, water).

· Location: Goochland Sports Complex, 1800 Sandy Hook Rd, Goochland, VA 23063.

The seven candidates in alphabetical order (click the name for their website):

Duane Adams, Amanda Chase, Alex Cheatham, Luther Cifers, Jean Gannon, Bryan Hamlet, Shane Snavely

VPAP shows all seven have filed: https://www.vpap.org/offices/state-senate-10/elections/?year_and_type=2025special

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One Democrat is running, Jack Trammell. He also ran for Congress in 2014 in CD 7 against Dave Brat. Trammell got trammeled (link is to an article I wrote on Trammell years ago on the Hanover Conservative Caucus Blog), getting only 37%. His VPAP. Check out his X – www.x.com/jacktrammell. The Post-election posts are the best. He keeps telling you that he is on BlueSky and wants you to donate to him through ActBlue. He pretends to be an author as well- Diverse subjects.

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The Candidate Debate that wasn’t: “No fireworks and much agreement at the first Republican candidate forum for Senate District 10.”

https://cardinalnews.org/2024/11/23/no-fireworks-and-much-agreement-at-the-first-republican-candidate-forum-for-senate-district-10/

It’s hard to debate when all the candidates buy their postcard talking points from the same supplier, just like Orange Cat Bad. Ok, maybe different printshops, but they all use the same basic platitudes, and none ventured outside the comfort zone of these—use this article’s summary of the November 23rd debate to compare them. Well, at least 6 of them.

Chase was a no-show. Article: “Amanda Chase did not confirm that she would attend the event, according to organizers. On Saturday, she wrote to Cardinal News that she had another campaign event on the same night.” Chase is known for dodging events, and I will post the details on that habit shortly. Her November 12th email failed to mention any schedule conflict.

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These six attended the debate alphabetically: Duane Adams, Alex Cheatham, Luther Cifers, Jean Gannon, Bryan Hamlet, and Shane Snavely.

Quote in the article: “Six of the seven Republican candidates seemed largely good-natured and at times even jovial as they shared their ideas and campaign platforms with the audience in the pine-scented event space that was lined with twinkling Christmas trees at Spruceberry Farms.”

The “debate” was bland; the candidates were clone-like. The six agreed on just about everything. Adams called out Chase for the no-show, as anyone who aspires to represent the people should show up. The problem is that Adams has told the taxpayers of his own County that ‘he doesn’t listen to others when making decisions.’ More on that next post.

REDUNDANT ANSWERS:

· How to handle a potential state budget deficit in 2026? Reign in government spending.

· Do they support right to work? All said yes.

· Would they vote for the proposed amendment to enshrine access to abortion in Virginia’s constitution? A resounding no from all.

· School choice? All for it.

STATE-LEVEL IMMIGRATION POLICY NOTIONS:

· Cheatham - bar undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits.

· Hamlet agreed with Cheatham, and wants to revoke driver privilege cards.

· Snavely concurred with both.

· Gannon suggested legislation that would compel local law enforcement to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

· Cifers agreed with those before him.

· Adams suggested cutting off state funding for sanctuary cities.

THEIR FIRST LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY:

· Hamlet said a bill regarding election integrity was at the top of his list, but he didn’t provide specifics on what he planned to put forth.

· Snavely pushed back. He noted that Virginia’s elections are secure and Gov. Glenn Youngkin has “cleaned up the voter rolls.”

· Snavely’s first bill would be focused on parental rights in education.

· Gannon said she did not have a specific piece of legislation in mind but was open to hearing from constituents on what they would like to see.

· Cifers said his first bill would be focused on affordable homes for first-time buyers.

· Adams said his first piece of legislation would be to require photo IDs for voters to cast their ballots.

· Cheatham said he would put forth a bill to decrease the automobile property tax for individuals.

5 & DIME TAKE:

· Snavely seems uninformed about progress in cleaning VA’s voter rolls. Is he appealling to Youngkin’s popularity?

· Snavely mirrors Youngkin’s win with the “parental rights in education” because he thinks he can win by copycat?

· Gannon was unprepared to give one overriding priority. But gets points for showing that she places constituent views over her own. A refreshing approach.

· Adams and Cheathum said what they believe people want to hear. A stale approach,

· Adams – Democrats aren’t voting to change the voting laws they installed. The State Senate has a Democrat majority Duane, surely Louisa has internet?

· Cheathum – we all want to end property tax and many campaigned on it (who?), but it isn’t going to happen with Republicans in the minority and it brings in big money.

· Cifers’ priority benefits his business. Using govt. for personal gain. Why not become a lobbyist?

Cifers in a Farmville Herald interview: “Today, he is working to create affordable housing solutions by bringing innovation and efficiency to the home building process, with a goal of reducing the cost of single-family home construction by 30%.”

The article has a short summary of Chase’s history and mentions Gannon as well.

Cifer’s campaign website speaks to his advocacy for his business interests under “About” and then scroll down to the bullets.
· Currently building residential construction company to use waste elimination methods and technology to reduce cost of residential homes by 30%.

People may not want tiny houses built in their vicinity or neighborhood because they will pull down values of standard housing, especially in Counties like Hanover. Imagine such as these built next door and your house sinking in value below your property assessment and mortgage value!

More to come!

Five & Dime VA/HCC is an opinion blog. I employ satire, commentary, and fact to entertain and convey my opinions on religious, cultural, and political issues.

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