McWaters for state Senate

Lawmakers assemble in Richmond next Wednesday for two months of debate on spending - a grim task given the more than $3 billion hole in the state budget. Among those joining the General Assembly for the first time will be a Virginia Beach senator whose victory is a few hours old.

On Tuesday, two men, neither of whom has sought public office before, are on the ballot to replace Ken Stolle in the state Senate: Republican Jeff McWaters, Amerigroup Corp.'s founder, who easily won his party's nomination last month, and Democrat William Fleming, who owns a small technology business and filed to run at the last minute.

Fleming is undeniably a long shot. The district, which encompasses the easternmost sections of Virginia Beach, is overwhelmingly Republican, and Fleming has only a tiny percentage of McWaters' campaign money. As of Jan. 1, McWaters, who has contributed to conservative causes and Republican candidates for years, had raised $371,000 and lent his campaign another $450,000. Fleming had raised about $21,000, nearly all of that his own money.

Fleming, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, is earnest and public spirited but has little grasp of how to solve the state's transportation or budget problems. He's passionate about establishing free medical clinics for the poor. He advocates increasing the number of days public school is in session and raising teacher salaries a corresponding 11 percent. He wants basic health benefits for part-time teachers at community colleges.

Unfortunately, he doesn't know how he'd pay for any of that, much less find more than $3 billion to fill the gap in the budget.

McWaters, retired chief executive of Amerigroup, which employs 1,700 in Virginia Beach, has experience in recruiting businesses and reining in spending. Trained as an accountant and specializing in providing medical care for the poor, he would immediately be a go-to guy in the Senate as the state looks for ways to cut spending.

He understands the need to improve Virginia's roads to protect the ports, tourism and businesses and to allow safe evacuations during emergencies. He points out that his company's expansion plans were curtailed because of a poor transportation infrastructure, so transportation - along with creating jobs and making Medicaid and Medicare more efficient - would be his focus in Richmond.

Unlike Fleming, he supports the purchase of the Norfolk-Southern right of way along Virginia Beach Boulevard to preserve that corridor for future transit uses. In business and in his campaign, McWaters has shown the ability to ask the right questions and solve problems. He has the ear of the state's top leaders, and Stolle, now Virginia Beach's sheriff, has endorsed him.

McWaters offers voters the best chance for leadership in Richmond. They should send him.