Dear Editor:

Morgan Griffith continues to surprise, particularly in his disregard for the ability of voters in the 9th District to see through his hypocrisy.

I read with interest the letter from Mr. Carter Turner, who ran against Griffith in 2009 for the Virginia House of Delegates seat in the 8th District. Griffith is asking voters here to believe that he can represent the 9th District even though he has never lived here and does not plan to move here even if he is elected.

However, Turner’s letter quoted Griffith as saying in 2009 that his years as a resident and business owner in the 8th District helped him understand “where constituents will be on an issue” and gave him “a feel for the community.”

I, of course, verified the statement that Turner cited, and you can find it easily on The Roanoke Times website. The article, published Oct. 21, 2009, was titled “In 8th District, Turner Takes on a Local Titan in Griffith.” So last October Griffith believed that a special sense of a place and its people derives from actually being a part of that place. But now, less than a year later, he is asking me as a voter to believe he can serve the 9th without ever having been among us at all or ever intending to live here.

His “then” and “now” statements reveal him to be a political opportunist, able to change his stripe at will. The voters of the 9th can recognize a hypocrite, and Griffith has proven once again that he deserves the title.

Sincerely,

Sarah Williams
Bristol, Virginia