Jody Wagner's Voting History Questioned

From the Signer Campaign:

"WAGNER EXPLANATION FOR SKIPPING HISTORIC VOTE “DOESN’T PASS THE BLUSH TEST”

Richmond VA – Over 900 thousand Virginians voted in the historic 2008 Democratic presidential primary last February, but not Jody Wagner. Wagner said that she missed the vote, the most critical Democratic primary in a generation, because of traffic. “That just doesn’t pass the blush test,” said Mike Signer’s spokesman Christian Rickers. “It’s a bit like telling your teacher that your dog ate your homework.”

And the voters agree: “That’s pretty bad,” said Richmond resident Dominique Taylor after the hearing the news. “Anybody that’s supposed to be into politics, especially if you’re a strong Democrat, should have no excuse for not voting in any kind of general election or primary election. And given how historic and important this primary was she should have wanted to go vote.”

Rosaleen Bullock, also of Richmond, said “If you’re a public official, you’re supposed to vote every time. Every time. If you expect us to vote for you, and support you, and get you in, then you are supposed to vote. I don’t know what the reason was but, to me, there is no reason not to vote.”

Tens of thousands of Virginians waited for hours in the rain to cast ballots that day, including thousands in Virginia Beach. “The fact is,” said Rickers, “Wagner’s failure to vote fits a disturbing pattern – she also skipped the 2004 and 2005 Democratic primaries.”

Wagner claims that traffic on her return from work in Richmond prevented her from casting a ballot, and yet every other member of Governor Kaine’s cabinet voted in the 2008 primary.

“Democrats need a passionate advocate who will fight for Democratic values. That means someone who exercises their voice even when it’s hard, even when it’s raining and even when there’s traffic,” said Rickers. “Jody Wagner should have made it to the polls for that historic Democratic primary, as nearly a million other Virginians were able to do.”

I covered this issue last July. I think it certainly deserves more discussion and I am glad to see Mike raising it.

Comments

[Not Aaron Lyles]

Guess who Sam Rasoul is backing in the 11th District. If you look on Facebook, you'll see that he's a friend of Martin Jeffrey.

[A fighter who can win]

Jody Wagner has some splaining to do. She didn't vote in the Democratic primary in 2005 or 2004. She voted in the Republican primary in 1996...for who...Bob Dole?

[Anonymous]

1996 Republican primary

I don't actually think voting in the Republican primary in 1996 is such a big deal. The Democratic primary wasn't particularly exciting that year and you had the opportunity to pick Clinton's opponent.

I do think that looking at the trend overall is fairly concerning. Particularly 2008. If you didn't think you could make it to the polls on election day, do an absentee ballot. If you have a meeting in Richmond at the end of the day, vote earlier in the day. It's not that hard.

[Sunnyj711]

For the past 10 years, there's been a lot of time, money and energy spent convincing America's youth that it is important to vote. Who knew we also needed a campaign to educate our government officials on the importance of voting?

[Molly]

I was thinking of voting for Jody in the primary, but I don't think I will be able to - there might be a lot of traffic on the roads that day...

[Not Larry Sabato]

The 1996 Republican Primary was not for President in Virginia- it was for U.S. Senate between John Warner and his right wing primary challenger. Lots of Democrats voted in the 96 GOP Primary for John Warner.

[Lisa Gallik]

I can't understand how anyone can claim to lead the party, while she refused to support Senators Obama or Clinton.

You have all day to vote, was she "stuck in traffic"...all day?

[Rick Wanroy]

Well done Mike and NLS--I want a better story than that. I can't bring myself to vote for someone that's too busy to participate in state-wide politics.

[Not the Prince of Darkness]

Why does this surprise you guys.

Isn't this the same Jody Wagner, as Secretary of Finance failed to budget money for the 2008 presidential primary?

[Big Mac]

TEST

[Quarter Pounder]

It's crazy that JODY WAGNER ACTUALLY USED MCCAIN IN HER ADS!!

Check out this from NLS in July '08: "Democrat Wagner has utilized the name of the Arizona Republican in her campaign. Hailing McCain as 'a public figure with a strong commitment for doing what is right,' Wagner told cheering supporters in April that 'his own party may have rejected this message, but I embrace it.'"

JODY ENDORSED MCCAIN

http://notlarrysabato.typepad.com/doh/2008/07/give-jody-credi.html

[John]

That is really bad in my mind. No excuse for missing the primary last year - or any year - but especially last year. This definitely sews up a vote for Mike from me.

[Reggie Love]

What Democrat in America didn't have a passionate view on either Hillary or Obama?!?!

What a joke...

[Jody's democratic spirit]

So she probably wouldn't even show up in her own Likely Voter target lists for outreach? hahaha thats pretty funny

[Not Sam Rasoul (Praise Allah!)]

Sounds a lot like Sam Rasoul, who voted in the 2005 Republican primary.

[A fighter who can win]

And why did she also skip the 2004 and 2005 Democratic primaries??? Every other member of Kaines cabinet, even Republican Preston Bryant made it out to vote in the 08 Primary...not Jody.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone checked to see if Signer has missed any primaries???

[VirginiaYD]

This is exactly why I am voting for Mike Signer. Jody Wagner seems a bit shady if you ask me.

[A fighter who can win]

The Arlington General Registrar has the only official record of Mike's voting history (VAN is incomplete). The campaign will make it available and we feel confident that party activists will agree that Mike is the best Democrat in the race for LG.

[kelley in virginia]

Christian Rickers is from Kenbridge Va.! woo hoo!

[silent hahas]

Ok, Just one question, what genius made this person the Secretary of Finance?

[Not Hussein]

I thought Christian was from Lunenburg.

[NotChristianRickers]

Kenbridge is in Lunenburg County NH!

Isn't this the same Christian Rickers who was responsible for Signer not having his petitions done correctly ?

How in the world does he talk about anyone else missing anything if he missed that on what had to be a hundred or more petition forms ?

[NoVA]

You're comparing missing an address on ballots to missing 4 elections??

Thank God Mike has an infrastructure upgrade as part of his jobs plan to help Jody vote.

[ashleeP]

For those of you out there who are so enamored with Mike Signer, have any of you actually stopped to look at what his resume actually says? The guy is only 35 and has bounced around so much between different jobs and grad schools that he’s never actually stayed anywhere long enough to accomplish much. For example:
1995: Graduated from college
1996: ???
1997: Legislative aide to Creigh Deeds for less than a year
1997 – 2001: Grad school – PhD
2001 – 2004: Grad school, again – law school
Fall 2004 – Spring 2007: Worked for WCPHD (law firm) for about 2.5 years. But, wait, didn’t he actually work for Warner for the last 6 months that Warner was in office, in 2005? So it’s unclear how long he was actually at the law firm. And btw, if he were so important to Warner, why didn’t Kaine want to keep him on in the new administration? (From what I’ve heard, he wasn’t even working for Warner directly. Instead, he was in a mid-level position reporting to Bob Blue, Warner’s head of policy matters.)
2007: Teaching at VA Tech for a year
2008: Advisor to John Edwards (mid-level position somewhere in Iowa, not in VA) / Advisor to Tom Periello / Think Tank advisor
I’m sorry, Signer may be a nice guy, but nothing about his resume tells me that he’s ready to be LG for Virginia. If we put him up as our candidate, the Rs will trounce him as the “Sarah Palin” of VA politics. The guy may be likeable, but he’s just not ready to be Governor should the Governor die or leave office. He talks about creating jobs, but, unlike Bowerbank or Wagner, he’s never actually created a single job in anything he’s ever done. At least Bowerbank and Wagner have started their own businesses and have real business and government experience to rely on. And for those of you who think it’s unlikely for the Governor to leave office, look at what a mess NY and IL have become in the last year.
And to really put his lack of experience in perspective, consider this: In 2002-2004, Signer was still in law school, while Wagner was managing the state’s finances as Treasurer of Virginia and Bowerbank was running his 220 person family business in Southwest VA. So, please, people, open your eyes to the fact that this guy really is not qualified to be LG. Maybe he should follow Pat’s lead and consider running for a more reasonable “entry-level” political office instead (but of course not bail on that like Pat did).

[Daniel]

allow me to correct you ashleeP, for your view of Mike Signer's resume is extremely skewed.

1: Mike has never claimed to have worked directly for Gov Warner. He always states, which is the case, that he was a deputy co-coucnsil to Gov Warner, not THE counsil. None the less, I have seen Mike and now Sen Warner interact on numerous occasions throught this campaign, and there is a true level of genuine respect.

2: Mike was by no means "mid-level" on John Edwards' campaign; He was his national security advisor. Your statement discalaiming Mike Signer's level of involvement in that campaign shows your lack of understanding of how Presidential campaigns function. Nearly all of the candidates' people went to Iowa for an extended period of time to conduct GOTV operations. And by the way, they were headquartered in North Carolina, not VA.

So, I guess ashleep, you will never vote for anyone under the age of 50 for anything because overt experience is so important to you. That is fine, but now, based upon your skewed statements about Mike Signer, I am curious; who did you vote for, President Obama or Sen McCain?

Here's a lesson I learned in middle school: get your facts straight before you attack someone. You may find yourself vulnerable to attack. Have a great weekend.

3: Mike Signer served as an official surrogate to Tim Kaine during his Gubernatorial campaign. Mike not taking a job in the Administration is not a reflection upon his abilities or Tim Kaine not "liking" him.

[Voter Protection Worker]

2004 - Ran the Protect the Vote effort in Virginia. Widely acknowldeged as the best voter protection effort in the US that year.

[sungleDem]

OMG...she mentions M-M-M-McCain..what a turn coat.

In 2008 she donated to VA Democratic Candidates..and the Virginia Democratic Party:
Nye, Feder, Warner, and the Democratic Party of Virginia.
Didn't see any M-M-MMcain donations...
www.opensecrets.org

[truthnjustice]

Ashlee To compare Mike in any way to Pat is laughable -- and you also fail to address the fact that Signer's positions are far better articulated, far more substantive and far more bold (in the positive sense) than Jody's