Loyola aims to unseat Northam in 6th Senate District

The race to represent the state's 6th District pits State Sen. Ralph Northam, a first-term Democrat with a reputation for bipartisan compromise, against Ben Loyola, a Republican with Tea Party support.

The district takes in counties and parts of cities on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay - with about 58 percent of the voters in Norfolk, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. It also includes one precinct in Virginia Beach, Mathews County on this side of the bay and Accomack and Northampton counties on the Eastern Shore.

Northam, 52, is a Norfolk pediatric neurologist and a third-generation Eastern Shore native who was first elected in 2007. During his first term, he said he is proud of his work on the restaurant smoking ban which he called a good example of what can get accomplished when both parties come together.

"I have, I think, gained a reputation in Richmond that I do what's in the best interest of the 6th District and the commonwealth, and I'm not shy about working on the other side of the aisle," he said.

He listed his work with a bipartisan caucus to end the stalemate over judgeships in Norfolk and Virginia Beach as another example.

Norfolk has one of the biggest felony caseloads in the state and had three vacant benches in its criminal court at the time, he recalled. Virginia Beach had one.

"That wasn't easy. I took a lot of heat for it," Northam said. "But at the end of the day I think it was the right thing to do."

He said if he is elected again, he wants to focus on finding a sustainable source of revenue to improve transportation. He also said he will continue efforts to clean the Chesapeake Bay.

Loyola, 49, is the owner of a Virginia Beach-based engineering firm that does government contract work. He ran for office for the first time in 2009, coming in second to now U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell in the Republican primary for the 2nd Congressional District. Now vying for state office, his platform still has a national tone.

The federal government's problems are linked to state issues and they are the concerns he said he hears about the most from residents in the district.

The economy and jobs will grow with lower taxes and less government regulation, he said.

On his website, Loyola describes himself as a conservative Reagan Republican.

He states there that he is a life member of the National Rifle Association and a long-time member of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. He says he and his wife call Saturday "God and country nights" because they attend services at a Virginia Beach Catholic church and then sometimes "go shooting at the local gun range."

He is against abortion and marriage of same-sex couples.

Loyola was born in Havana and was a small child when he and his mother came to the United States, following his father, a Cuban Navy officer who fled for his life after opposing Castro's regime.

Both Northam and Loyola graduated from military colleges: Northam from Virginia Military Institute, before going to Eastern Virginia Medical School. He served in the Army for eight years, reaching the rank of major. He now practices at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters and is an associate professor of neurology at EVMS.

He and his wife, Pam, a Virginia Beach science teacher, have a daughter at the University of Virginia and a son at EVMS. They live in the East Beach neighborhood of Norfolk.

Loyola graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was a naval aviator for seven years. He is now a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He started his firm in 1991, which now employs 41 people, he said.

He and his wife, Gretchen, a physician's assistant in cardiology, have a 1-year-old daughter and live in the Chesapeake Beach area of Virginia Beach.

Northam has raised about $289,000, which is about $121,000 more than Loyola and has almost five times the cash on hand for campaign spending, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Loyola's largest contributions so far have come from the Republican Party and the Virginia Tea Party Alliance.

Northam's endorsements include the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, the Virginia Sheriffs' Association, the Virginia Education Association and the League of Conservation Voters.

Loyola's endorsements include the Virginia Police Benevolent Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Rifle Association and Gov. Bob McDonnell. 

Janie Bryant, (757) 446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com