Delegates tackle community issues in electoral fight for Liberty’s voting district

• Incumbent Republican Delegate T. Scott Garrett and Democratic candidate Natalie Short hope to represent needs and concerns of members of Virginia’s 23rd District.
• Economic growth, Medicaid, strengthening education and employment growth are issues the candidates hope to address if elected in November.

The Nov. 7 elections are hitting close to home, as the seat for the Delegate of the 23rd District, Liberty’s district, is in contention between incumbent T. Scott Garrett and Democratic candidate Natalie Short.

Garrett has held the seat for eight years — four consecutive elections — getting into the position in 2009 when he narrowly beat Democratic seat holder Shannon Valentine by 209 votes.

Short is fighting an uphill battle — running as a Democratic candidate in a heavily Republican district — but has not been deterred.

“The challenges I face are based on the fact that my district is terribly gerrymandered, the lines were drawn intentionally to keep anyone other than a Republican from winning,” Short said. “That’s the way these politicians decide who gets elected, instead of the people deciding. That’s a frustrating challenge and the reason Mr. Garrett has been unopposed in all previous elections.”

Garrett said he has an advantage running as the incumbent because of his relationship with the community.

“The advantage of running as an incumbent is not simply because you’re an incumbent, the advantage is because you understand the needs of this community,” Garrett said. “We put out a survey every year and get feedback from folks about what they want us to be focused on so that I don’t just assume I have the right answer or the right solution. We can stay current and up to date with issues as they evolve.”

Short, a stay-at-home mom and Democrat campaigner said the community is not being accurately and fully represented by Garrett.

“(Voters value) my connection to the community and my understanding of what they really need and what they want to see happen,” Short said. “While I was out registering voters last year during the presidential election, I spoke to hundreds of people in our area about their concerns.  I heard their frustrations with our current representation and repeatedly heard that they don’t feel represented.  I have a very good sense of what my community wants to see happen.”

Garrett said his priority in office is to encourage economic and employment growth.

“The number one thing is getting Virginians back to work again,” Garrett said. “We still have lingering recessionary pressures. We still have the overreach and crushing burden of Obamacare that has forced small business owners to keep their numbers of employees to less than 50 so that they’re not now in a different category or different classification and therefore have even higher financial penalties.”

Garrett said he does not believe the commonwealth of Virginia has provided adequate employment opportunities to its citizens.

“The governor wants to make the case that he’s done a wonderful job of getting people employed,” Garrett said. “Well they may be employed, but they’re employed in a fashion in which they are more underemployed than they are fully employed.”

Garrett, who worked as a surgeon in the area before retiring 12 years ago, also is focusing on Medicaid and the effect he believes it has on Virginians.

“Simply insuring a group of people does not in and of itself result in better healthcare outcomes,” Garrett said. “Giving you a plastic card that says, ‘I am now a Medicaid-covered life,’ does not get you a healthcare provider or get you the treatments that you need. It’s an economic tool that you can utilize to help you get those, but in and of itself does not provide you services. If you want to expand Medicaid for expansion’s sake, you’re giving a false commitment and false promise to those folks.”

Short, on the other hand, plans to encourage the expansion of Medicaid, believing it is a benefit to Virginia citizens.

“Strengthening and funding our public education, which includes introducing universal pre-K and expanding Medicaid to cover the 400,000 people who need it most, are the policy issues I get asked about — which leads me to believe that those are the two most important issues to the people in our area,” Short said. “If that’s what’s important to them, then that’s what I’m passionate about too.”

Short said she wants to make herself known as a reliable figure in office, and to make herself accessible to the voters.

“This election will make and shape history, so I hope that everyone votes,” Short said. “I hope that anyone who thinks we need new ideas and policies that help bring better security, healthcare and opportunities to everyone equally will get out and vote for me.  I’m not running because I want to be in office as a politician, and I won’t just be a faceless delegate seat.  I want to be a voice our people can count on.  I will fight for what we need to move us forward.”

Garrett said people need to recognize the power in a vote.

“If you come out and vote your values, number one, regardless of the outcome, you at least know you’ve done what you can do,” Garrett said. “The world is run by those who show up.”