Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell got a commuter's tour of the Fredericksburg area yesterday, including a stop at the Falmouth intersection.
After a stop in Alexandria, McDonnell's campaign RV drove south on Interstate 95 at rush hour to visit volunteers at Stafford County Republican Headquarters, perched on the corner where U.S. 1, Butler and Warrenton roads intersect.
I-95 traffic wasn't too bad, McDonnell said, slowing only in Dumfries where High Occupancy Vehicle lanes come to an end.
McDonnell pledged to reinvigorate the I-95 high occupancy toll lanes project if he's elected, extending carpool lanes down to the Spotsylvania area.
Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer recently called for a delay to the project, citing difficulty getting financing for the public-private work, and community objections inside the Capitol Beltway.
McDonnell said the delay was a mistake, especially since toll lanes are under construction from Springfield to Tysons Corner on the Beltway. "By canceling this project now you're going to have people paying extra money to go 10 miles in a hurry and then they're going to hit the same problem at the mixing bowl."
Also, the Virginia Department of Transportation has made "too many excuses" about why road projects in Virginia are delayed. "When I'm governor, we're going to have a much more aggressive approach to public-private partnerships. We're not going to make excuses like we've seen here with the HOT lanes."
McDonnell's opponent, Democrat Creigh Deeds, has also expressed support for the I-95 HOT lanes project.
Transportation was one policy topic McDonnell addressed while speaking to several-dozen spectators at the headquarters. Enthusiastic volunteers turned out to shake the candidate's hand, wave signs, take pictures and exchange a few words.
Wearing a navy-blue Bob McDonnell T-shirt, Debbie Curci of Spotsylvania was excited to meet the man she's been talking about for so many weeks.
So far, Curci has made 4,750 phone calls to potential voters, averaging 200 calls a day and working from the Stafford headquarters six days a week. Curci plans to make 10,000 calls by Election Day. She said she was inspired by McDonnell's anti-abortion stance and his commitment to less government.
"You have to do what you believe in. Sitting on your couch and complaining, I don't buy that," Curci said. "If I want Bob McDonnell as my governor, then I have to do something about it, and so does everybody else."
Sunny Reneau of Stafford, a paralegal and mother of four school-age children, makes time to log a few hours at the campaign's phone bank when she can.
She was unfazed by media reports this week of McDonnell's thesis, written for a master's degree 20 years ago, that contained statements expressing disapproval of working mothers.
McDonnell has said he no longer agrees with such statements, and has pointed to numerous members of his staff who are working women and mothers, and his daughter, who served in Iraq in the U.S. Army.
Reneau said she was drawn to McDonnell's fiscal conservatism, and expects to hear more in coming weeks about how he intends to help working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
"I think he understands and respects both of those roles, and is encouraging women to get involved in the political spectrum," Reneau said.
Workers kept calling voters right up until McDonnell's visit, and were back on the phones immediately after he left. A "Top Ten" ranking of volunteer callers kept score on a dry-erase board.
McDonnell gave volunteers a pep talk before climbing back in the RV.
"Every election ultimately is decided by people on the ground that care about the candidate, care about the ideas, and will put their time behind the candidate," McDonnell said. "And that's why what you're doing here is so important. Making phone calls and knocking on doors are the two most important things you can ever do in politics."
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com