House candidates question tactics, experience in forum

NORFOLK

Beneath the stained-glass window in a Baptist church sanctuary, the second debate between three men running for Congress got heated and a little personal Thursday night as they raised questions about one another's experience and campaign tactics.

Before several hundred people in Second Calvary Baptist Church, Republican candidate Scott Rigell said his opponent, U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye, has failed as a leader. Nye failed to know in advance that Defense Secretary Robert Gates was quietly developing plans to close the Joint Forces Command until Gates made his plans known at an Aug. 9 news conference, Rigell said.

Nye, a Democrat, responded that Rigell was only trying to "score cheap political points" and criticized the Republican for airing television attack ads that served no purpose.

Meanwhile, Kenny Golden, an independent candidate, said Rigell should show more respect to Nye but also argued that both his opponents were wasting their time trying to save the command, known as JFCOM.

The three are competing on the Nov. 2 ballot to represent the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Virginia Beach, the Eastern Shore, and parts of Norfolk and Hampton.

When responding to a moderator's question about JFCOM, Rigell, owner of Freedom Automotive, said Nye's failure to know about Gates' plans show that he doesn't have strong enough ties to the officers at Norfolk Naval Station, where JFCOM is based. The station is located in the 2nd District.

Gates had said Aug. 9 - with no early warning to Virginia's congressional delegation - that he wanted to close JFCOM within a year and cut spending on defense support contractors by nearly one-third over three years.

Rigell said, "This was five months in the making and yet our freshman congressman... didn't see it coming."

Rigell said the lack of advance knowledge is poor reflection on Nye but not on another Republican, U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, whose district includes a large JFCOM complex in Suffolk. Forbes didn't know about the impending shutdown, either.

Nye responded that he, the rest of Virginia's congressional delegation and Gov. Bob McDonnell were kept in the dark about Gates' announcement.

They all spoke out together Aug. 9, vowing to work together to oppose the secretary's plans, Nye said, noting that Rigell sent out a news release that day "declaring defeat just to score cheap political points."

Golden, a retired naval officer, said it was useless to talk about saving JFCOM.

"JFCOM is gone," he said, adding that the region's leaders need to come up with a plan to keep the vital parts of the command in the region.

When asked about campaign advertising, Nye was critical of Rigell for running a TV commercial attacking his record in Congress.

"I never saw one ad that solved a problem or got anything done," he said.

Rigell's television spots have pointed out that Nye's first vote in Congress was to elect U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker and that he also voted for the economic stimulus bill.

The Republican stood by his approach.

"Not all ideas are equal. Not all leaders are equal," Rigell said, adding he doesn't consider his spots attack ads if they are truthful.

Golden - who had been active in the Republican Party, including a stint as party chairman in Virginia Beach, before running as an independent - said there's a strong reason why such spots are used.

"Negative ads work," he said.

Bill Bartel, (757) 446-2398, bill.bartel@pilotonline.com