Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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| What would you ask the candidate? |
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
Given the opportunity, many area residents would ask Sen. Barack Obama about the economy and federal trade policies. But terrorism, same-sex marriage and health care also are concerns.
Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee for president, will hold a town hall-style meeting this morning in Henry County at an undisclosed time and location. He will speak on trade and the Bush administration policies and then will take questions and comments from the audience.
Admission is by ticket only. About 300 tickets were distributed to people who had lost their jobs, or had a family member who lost a job, because of trade agreements.
Because only a few people will have a chance to question Obama, the Martinsville Bulletin surveyed area officials and others to determine what they would ask him if they had a chance.
Mark Heath, president/CEO of the Martinsville Henry County EDC, referred to an Obama political commercial being shown during the Olympics that claims 5 million jobs would be created in an Obama administration. Heath, this area’s chief industrial recruiter, said he would “like to know where the projected 5 million jobs are coming from.”
Heath has prior commitments and will be unable to attend today’s Obama meeting. But, Heath said, job creation “is a subject that is close to my heart” and given the opportunity, he would ask Obama how the creation of millions of jobs will be accomplished and how it would impact this community. “I want to know what the vision is.”
Paula Burnette, Iriswood District representative on the Henry County Board of Supervisors, said she wants to question Obama about federal trade policies and how to quiet the “great sucking sound” of American jobs heading overseas.
Burnette said Ross Perot coined that phrase during his run for the presidency, and she believes it is appropriate.
The questions are, “How do we stop it? What do we do? How do we keep a community alive and healthy when federal policy (NAFTA) keeps pushing us underwater?” Burnette said.
“I don’t know if the treaty can be eliminated or not, but the great sucking sound has not gone away” as more and more jobs continue to go offshore, she said.
Martinsville City Manager Clarence Monday said NAFTA has “devastated our local economy,” and he understands Obama wants to end tax credits for companies that ship jobs overseas.
Obama may have a comprehensive plan to encourage companies to stay in the United States, Monday said, “but that plan has to be supported” by Congress. He would ask Obama if he has that support.
Henry County Administrator Benny Summerlin also wants to understand Obama’s position on the current federal trade policies.
Summerlin said he would like to know Obama’s thoughts about ways the federal government can respond or help communities hard hit by job loss “to deal with the transition from manufacturing jobs to other job sectors.”
“Obviously, we can’t lose jobs by the thousands and get them by the hundreds” and expect to make progress, Summerlin said.
Barry Dorsey, executive director of the New College Institute, said he is interested in learning more about how Southside could be revitalized under Obama’s proposed energy program.
“I think there are a lot of opportunities there,” Dorsey said.
With respect to higher education, Dorsey wants to know what could be done to make it easier for students to obtain loans or other financing to pursue their educations.
Mable Finney, a director of For The Children, said she wonders how important human services are to Obama. Poverty, teen pregnancy and a host of issues are related, she added.
Finney also would like Obama to look at the No Child Left Behind mandate on public education standards because “I don’t think the standards are great.”
Assistant Henry County Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Smith said he is interested in Obama’s “master plan for dealing with terrorist threats.”
While the state of the economy “obviously” is a concern, “if we get blown up, it really doesn’t matter what the economy is doing,” Smith said.
Fifth District U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Rocky Mount, said he would first ask “general questions and then detailed follow-up questions” on some of Obama’s positions.
For instance, Goode said Obama does not support a federal marriage protection amendment, and “I would like to hear his arguments” for supporting same-sex marriage.
Goode also is curious how Obama would justify the “huge cost” same-sex unions would have on taxpayers and the Social Security system “if his position were adopted.”
Under Obama’s proposal, Goode said, if a same-sex marriage partner receiving Social Security benefits dies, the other partner would be entitled to those benefits.
Goode said Obama outlined those positions in campaign material during the Virginia primary. “I wonder if he still retains those positions in the general election,” he added.
Kim Adkins, executive director of the Workforce Investment Board, said she is curious whether Obama supports “current work force investment strategies.”
Virginia King of Martinsville is concerned about the high cost of health care and insurance, and she would ask Obama, “How should that be resolved?”
Henry County resident Shirley Holland said she is curious why Obama failed to open the meeting to anyone who wants to attend.
“This is a slap in the face” to Martinsville and Henry County voters, she said. “It was mismanagement all around. ... He made a big mistake.”
Noting the fact that his appearance in Lynchburg is open to the public, Holland wonders, “What’s wrong with Martinsville and Henry County? He has excluded Martinsville and Henry County almost in its entirety. ... If he is nominated as president, will he be a secretive president?” |
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