Letter to the Editor: Don't Play Games With State Budget

Dear Editor,

My reason for writing is to express my distaste with the Senate Democrats in Richmond regarding the state budget issue. Virginia has been nationally ranked as one of the best managed states in the country because our attitude for cooperation and strong bipartisanship. Recently, however, the state budget was blocked in the Senate by the Democrats, which may turn into a repeat of what happened in 2004 and 2006, where political stalemates endangered our state with a government shutdown.

I was curious as to why the Democrats would obstruct something as important as the state budget, and according to Senator John Edwards (D-Roanoke) the rationale behind it was in regards to, “make a statement that we need bipartisan government.” Another reason that was given was that the budget did not address certain issues that they wanted—but they would not clarify what specifically they wanted addressed.

Are the Republicans meant to play a guessing game until the Democrats are satisfied, or to give them what they want so they will do what is right for our state? Either way, risking the paychecks of our teachers, librarians, and first responders or a government shutdown is not the way adults make “statements.”

Sean Twombly 

Centreville

Letters to the editor may be sent to mary.stachyra@patch.com. Please include your full name and city of residence, along with a phone number for verification purposes. Letters should not exceed 500 words and may be edited before publication.