Rural Virginia Needs a Delegate Like Wat Abbitt

Lynchburg News & Advance

Sunday, October 28, 2007

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Watkins Abbitt is a legislator of the old school, and we mean that as a compliment of the highest order.

“Public service” is in Abbitt’s genes: His late father, Watkins Sr., represented Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District in the House of Representatives for years.

Abbitt’s taken to heart his dad’s example of service to the public. He’s former president of the Appomattox County Chamber of Commerce. He’s served the commonwealth as a member of the State Water Control Board, the State Water Commission and the State Coal and Energy Commission.

He also understands the needs of and challenges facing Virginia’s small-business owners. As owner of Abbitt Realty and Conner-Abbitt Insurance Agency, he’s long been a fixture in the Appomattox business community.

He knows how to create jobs for local people: He’s done it … literally.

He knows how to run a profitable business on a budget: He does it every year; he knows the value of a dollar.

He knows the importance of small business to the American economy: He’s a small businessman himself.

And he’s also a public servant.

When localities and residents in his district have needed his services, he’s been there to answer the call. And the accolades he’s received prove it: river conservationist of the year (Virginia Wildlife Federation); legislator of the year (Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts) and distinguished service awards from the Virginia State Police Association, Central Piedmont Action Council and the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association.

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Wat Abbitt knows rural Virginia and its residents. He knows the character of the people of this part of the state and is an effective voice for them in the corridors of power in Richmond.

For Wat Abbitt, the mark of a successful legislator is not how many bills and resolutions you introduce each session into the legislative hopper. You won’t see dozens of pieces of legislation every year with Abbitt’s name attached. Thankfully, he’s a legislator who believes that not every problem or issue can or should be addressed by a new law or regulation.

People who believe you can measure a legislator’s effectiveness by the extent of his legislative agenda are deluded.

Instead, Abbitt’s philosophy of government - a philosophy we whole-heartedly support, by the way - is that government should have a limited role in society. That’s not to say there is no place whatsoever for government; rather, government is not the be-all-and-end-all it is for liberals.

While Abbitt doesn’t see government as the savior of mankind, he’s learned over the course of a lifetime how to maneuver its corridors on behalf of his constituents. Twenty-two years in the General Assembly have given him the political clout to go along with his innate knowledge of the system.

That great deal of seniority is nothing to be tossed aside lightly.

After years of toiling away in the Assembly, Abbitt’s reached the upper tiers of the legislature, serving as a member of the all-powerful Appropriations Committee, the primary budget-writing panel in the House. On that committee, he serves on three subcommittees that directly benefit residents of his district and all of rural Virginia: public safety, agriculture and natural resources and government and technology. He also serves on the Rules, General Laws and Commerce and Labor committees.

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Seniority in the Assembly means a lot to any district. It means that the legislator’s phone calls on behalf of his constituents are promptly returned. It means that needed services, highway projects and programs are easier to obtain or get OK’d.

At the age of 62, Abbitt has a long legislative career ahead of him, with his clout and influence only growing over the years.

Over the course of the last decade and a half, a slew of veteran legislators from rural Virginia has left office, leaving a huge void of leadership and power. For the most part, they’ve been replaced by able, competent folks, but there’s no substitute for legislative seniority in Richmond.

As one of the longer-serving legislators, Abbitt’s Southside drawl is one that’s listened to in Richmond. Whenever some Northern Virginia senator threatens to change the state’s road formula and take highway money from rural Virginia, Abbitt’s there. When some Tidewater delegate wants to divert money from rural schools to his own region, Abbitt’s there … there to remind them all that rural Virginia’s still here and to keep our part of the state at the legislative table.

On Nov. 6, vote Watkins Abbitt for delegate in the 59th District of the House of Delegate; it’s an investment that will only increase in value over the years.

Paid for and authorized by Abbitt for Delegate

Each session of the Virginia General Assembly witnesses the accumulation of more and more power in the hands of legislators from the state’s booming Northern Virginia and Tidewater regions. And that’s not good news for rural Virginia.

Since 1986, Del. Watkins Abbitt, 62, has represented the 59th District in the House of Delegates, working to keep the issues important to rural Virginians on the front burner in Richmond. He’s become a key non-urban legislator over the years and a valuable friend of Central Virginia in the state capital.

This November, the Appomattox independent is facing yet another Democrat trying to unseat him. Connie Brennan, 64, a member of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors, has run a tough race against the veteran legislator, focusing primarily on the issues of education and health care.

In our opinion, though, Watkins Abbitt is the person who can more effectively represent the district in the Assembly; The News & Advance strongly endorses him for a 12th term in the House. The 59th District needs him in Richmond; indeed, all of rural Virginia needs him in Richmond.