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

Dear Editor,

Last fall, I had the honor of opposing Morgan Griffith for the Virginia House of Delegate seat he currently holds. Del. Griffith of Salem (6th Congressional District) is now the Republican candidate opposing Congressman Rick Boucher (9th Congressional District) for the U.S. House of? Representatives. My, how times have changed!

Speaking to a Roanoke Times reporter last fall, Griffith stated that I was less qualified to represent the people of Salem and Roanoke County because I had only recently moved to the district. Despite having grown up in the district and having lived there the previous two years, Griffith claimed I lacked knowledge of the particular needs of the people I’d be representing—knowledge gained only by living and working within the district for many years.

“Being a product of the district,” Griffith told the Times “… helps me understand where constituents will be on an issue. I’ve operated a business here on Main Street for 25 years,” Griffith continued, “[and] that gives me a feel for the community.”

So last fall, Griffith tried to convince voters he was more qualified because he had lived in the 8th House of Delegates District longer than I. Now he is trying to convince voters that his failure to live even a day in the 9th Congressional District is completely irrelevant.

There’s no shortage of blame for our country’s current problems. But if the citizens of Virginia’s 9th knowingly elect a bald-faced and unapologetic hypocrite to Congress, they’ll have only themselves to blame for the problems surely to follow.

Carter Turner
Salem, Virginia

Dear Editor

I write this letter concerning the upcoming 9^th District Congressional election where Rep. Rick Boucher will be running for a 15^th term as the representative for the 9^th District. However, I believe that most if not all those currently living in the 9^th District know about Rep. Boucher and all that he has done for the district in his over 20 years of service to the 9^th District. So I am going to address something about his presumptive opponent that I personally have immense concern over and I believe all those voting in the election should be fully aware of.

House of Delegate member Morgan Griffith has recently announced he will be challenging Congressman Boucher in the 2010 election, something that I have no problem with. Competition is never a bad thing especially in politics; it allows for new ideas to be introduced and gives people a chance at seeing the American Democracy in action, a truly beautiful thing to witness. What does concern me is the fact that Morgan Griffith lives in Salem, Va., an area not in the 9^th District but in the 6^th District, a district currently represented by Congressman Bob Goodlatte. His current House of Delegates district is composed of Salem and Roanoke, more urban areas not even close to 9^th District rural counties like Wise County or Bland County.

 I do not understand how Del. Griffith can represent an area that he does not live in, especially an area as vast and complex as the 9^th District. If he truly has ideas on how to improve America, and believes he can be an excellent Congressman, why not challenge Rep. Bob Goodlatte in the 6^th district, the district he currently resides in. I do not believe it is fair that the 9^th District could possibly not have a House of Representative member fighting for the rights and interests of the thousands who live in the 9^th District, in counties such as Wythe, Grayson, or Montgomery, if Del. Griffith has his way and beats Rep. Boucher.

I also cannot honesty believe that if an issue arises that puts the interests of the 9^th District against the interests of the 6^th District that Del. Griffith will vote for the people he would represent and not the district that he would reside in. It would be a travesty for Southwest Virginia if the 6^th District got two votes in Congress while the 9^th District got zero, eliminating the voices of around 600,000 residents of the 9^th District from the halls of Congress

 I believe every person who casts a ballot in November should understand that one of the candidates on the ballot does not live in the 9^th District and could very possibly not have the interests of the citizens of the 9^th District at heart, instead desiring and prioritizing his own political interests.

Sincerely,

Charles Midkiff
Radford

Dear Editor:

H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem), the current Majority Leader for the Virginia House of Delegates, has decided to run for Congress. And he wants to represent us here in the Ninth District, even though he’s never actually lived in the Ninth District. I guess after getting little Willie Morefield elected out here with their money, Republicans from the Eastern part of the Commonwealth think they can just start sending us their candidates! Well, as a resident of the Ninth District, I resent it. (more…)

Dear Editor,

Historically, in spite of political differences, the citizens of the “Fighting 9th” have worked together shoulder to shoulder volunteering our time and contributing resources to serve our communities.

To ensure that our hard work and dedication is mirrored by our congressional representative we need someone who understands our way of life and empathizes with our local issues.

We have been well represented by Congressman Boucher. He is a moderate and as such he represents all of us in the 9th: Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. Rick Boucher is one of us.

Just because Morgan Griffith can see the 9th Congressional District from his house does not mean he understands the unique challenges and needs of Southwest Virginia.

His determination to represent the 9th, even though he lives in the 6th district, exemplifies his arrogance and epitomizes the very definition of a carpetbagger. We, in the 9th, already suffer from the misconception that Southwest Virginia ends in Roanoke. We do not want and do not deserve to be represented by a political opportunist who, by this action, demonstrates this common faulty perception is his belief.

Sincerely,

Janet Hylton Tate
Laurel Fork, Virginia

Mary Hughes
Christiansburg, Virginia

Dear Editor,

This letter is in response to an item published on September 23, 2009, titled, Voiceover: Come on Down! In this article you invited several officials in Virginia’s higher education system to “make their way to Radford University as soon as possible—unannounced to the administration—and start having conversations with the faculty, staff, and students at RU.”

As the Executive Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), I was among those you specifically mentioned. While I appreciate your invitation, I think it would be more effective for me to explain how Virginia’s system of higher education works in order to help those who hope to affect change.

SCHEV is the Commonwealth’s coordinating board for its system of over 100 colleges and universities. According to the State Code of Virginia, the agency’s mission is “to promote the development and operation of an educationally and economically sound, vigorous, progressive, and coordinated system of higher education in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

SCHEV does many things including administering $70 million in grants and appropriations, evaluating new academic programs, and submitting an annual tuition and fees report. SCHEV also acts as a source of reliable and accurate information and policy expertise for institutions, legislators, the Governor’s Office, national organizations, the media, and the public.

One thing SCHEV does not do is intervene in the administration of individual institutions. That is because section 23-9.6:1 of the Code of Virginia explicitly prohibits SCHEV from taking part in personnel decisions on college and university campuses. This prohibition is echoed in the code language of every public college and university in Virginia, including Radford University.

This language makes clear the General Assembly’s intent when creating SCHEV as a systemwide advocate for higher education in Virginia. It is not appropriate for SCHEV to get involved in the administration of an individual institution just as it is not appropriate for SCHEV to put any single institution’s needs above another.

Sincerely,

Daniel J. LaVista, Executive Director
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)
101 North 14th Street
Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 225-2627