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Big shoes to fill, as Senator Colgan retires

Senator Chuck Colgan (D) is retiring after 30 years of faithful service to our community. He’s known for having a sense of fairness, protecting taxpayer dollars, and exercising sound judgment when dealing with countless political challenges and controversies over the years. As Democrats in the 29th Senate District, we have a responsibility to choose a Democratic nominee in the June 9 primary who will carry on Colgan’s tradition of responsible leadership. It’s critical that we pick a nominee who will run strong in November and not be vulnerable to GOP attack.
 
Jeremy McPike is one of the three Democrats competing in the primary, but he has a work history that should give us pause. A simple Google search on his name brings up a series of stories questioning his conduct as an Alexandria City employee. In 2011 he fired a whistle-blower who raised questions about financial record keeping and the performance of a construction company with an $81 million government contract. The employee sued the city for wrongful termination and was awarded over half a million dollars in damages as a result of Mr. McPike’s retribution.
 
We need government leaders who encourage whistle-blowers to expose waste, fraud and abuse in government. However, Mr. McPike tried to protect a contractor he was friendly with and ruin the career of a government employee who was just trying to protect taxpayer dollars. If Mr. McPike becomes our nominee, the Republican ad makers will have an easy time disqualifying him right out of the gate. Democrats cannot allow that to happen. It’s critical we choose a strong nominee who can keep this seat in Democratic hands, and help win a Democratic majority in the Senate that will work with Governor McAuliffe during his final two years in office. 
 
 
*Patricia Richie-Folks is a former candidate for Manassas City Council.

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