By Anna Akins
At a candidate’s forum held at Lexington’s Hampton Inn Wednesday, Oct. 21, candidates for the 24th District House seat presented two distinct paths. Del. Ben Cline (R) offered a hands-off style of government while challenger Ellen Arthur (D) advocated for tighter government regulations in certain areas.
On Nov. 3, Arthur is facing Cline in a contest for the 24th District House seat, which Cline has held since 2002.
Virginia’s 24th House District includes the cities of Lexington and Buena Vista, parts of Amherst and Augusta Counties and all of Bath and Rockbridge Counties.
Cline is an attorney in private practice with offices in Lexington, Harrisonburg and Amherst. He and his wife, Elizabeth, reside in Rockbridge County with their two daughters.
Cline was unavailable for an interview and declined an invitation from Washington and Lee University’s journalism department to debate Arthur in public. But he expressed his positions and recounted his record at candidates-night forums in the Rockbridge area on Oct. 15 at the Palmer Community Center and last night at Col Alto.
Arthur opened a solo family law practice in Lexington in 1988 and retired last year. She lives on a 13-acre farm in Rockbridge County that she manages herself, with her two horses, three dogs and two cats.
Arthur agreed to an interview.
She says she entered the race because she felt that Virginia was headed in the wrong direction.
“I decided to run because I felt like I had an obligation to the voters,” she said. “I don’t believe that the people of this district are as backward as its current policies.”
Healthcare, jobs and energy are at the forefront of this race. Cline said he wants to minimize government intrusion while also making it more efficient in its central functions.
Arthur proposed increased government regulation in some areas, but not in restricting women’s reproductive rights and would accept federal dollars to cover more Virginians with Medicaid.
Last year, the Virginia General Assembly rejected Medicaid expansion, with a 64-33 vote in the House of Delegates. Cline defended his vote against Medicaid expansion.
“In 2002, Medicaid was about 11 percent of our budget and now it’s over 25 percent,” Cline said. “We need to make sure that we fund our core functions of government first.”
Cline said that in order to expand Medicaid and also maintain a balanced budget, funding for education and infrastructure would have to be cut drastically.
Arthur believes that Medicaid expansion would benefit the state.
“There’s no downside at all to this,” she said. “It would insure 400,000 Virginians and would add nearly 30,000 new jobs to the economy.”
The candidates also diverge in their positions on reproductive rights. Cline said that he has and will continue to support pro-life policies.
“I believe that life begins at conception,” he said. “I have always voted pro-life and will continue to support the protection of human life.”
In 2012, he co-sponsored a bill that required all women, except in cases of rape or incest, to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound prior to having an abortion. The bill was later modified to require women to receive a transabdominal ultrasound if written consent for a transvaginal ultrasound was not obtained.
Arthur opposes such measures, saying that they “blackmail” women by bringing religion into the healthcare realm.
In regard to jobs, Arthur believes that increasing the minimum wage will play a critical role in helping low-income Virginian workers. Virginia’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Arthur said that, if adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage should be about $10 an hour.
“If you’re only making $7.25 an hour, that means you’re bringing in just over $15,000 per year,” she said. “Virginians earning minimum wage are impoverished and struggle to support themselves as a result.”
Throughout her campaign, Arthur has promoted an energy plan that will shift Virginia away from fossil fuels and move toward wind and solar as the dominant forms of energy production. She has been especially critical of Cline’s relationship with Dominion Virginia Power.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project’s website, Cline has received nearly $13,000 in donations from Dominion since 2002. Arthur has received the majority of her donations through private donors and none from big business.
Cline said that he supports incentive programs to develop alternative energy methods, but also supports coal, natural gas and offshore drilling.
Arthur admitted that it will be difficult to beat Cline in this race. However, she believes her campaigning approach will work in her favor.
“Throughout my campaign, I’ve personally called and visited as many people as possible and have told them why my policies are better for them,” she said.
Arthur has encouraged those who cannot make it to the polls to vote absentee. Absentee by mail applications are due by Tuesday, Oct. 27, and absentee in-person applications are due by Saturday, Oct. 31, to constituents’ respective voter registration offices.
She recently sent emails to her supporters asking them to purchase newspaper ads for editions close to Election Day.
All regular polling places in the 24th District will be open Nov. 3 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.