Important Endorsements for Steve Shannon in AG's Race

Congratulations to Steve Shannon on winning two important endorsements. First, the Democratic candidate for Attorney General of Virginia won the nod from 40 police and first responder groups including the Virginia Police Benevolent Association, the Fairfax Coalition of Police, the Fairfax Deputy Sheriffs Coalition, and the Virginia Professional Firefighters. Here's the press release from Shannon's campaign announcing these prestigious endorsements:

Fairfax - Steve Shannon, candidate for Attorney General, has announced the endorsements of 40 law enforcement and first response organizations and officials and across the state, including the Virginia Police Benevolent Association, the Fairfax Coalition of Police, the Fairfax Deputy Sheriffs Coalition, the Virginia Professional Firefighters, seventeen city and county sheriffs, six Commonwealth's Attorneys, and twelve other leaders in Virginia's law enforcement community.

"I've known and respected Steve for a long time, as I've followed his career as a tough prosecutor, a strong advocate for children, and a steadfast supporter of law enforcement officers," said Beth Arthur, Arlington County Sheriff. "As a prosecutor and a legislator, he has worked closely with the law enforcement community to crack down on the criminals who threaten Virginia's kids, and to keep our towns safe for families. Steve is experienced, committed, and focused, and I know that as Attorney General he will be a strong leader for Virginia's public safety community."

"I am humbled and honored to have the support of these brave men and women," Shannon said. "Our law enforcement officers and first responders put their lives at risk every day in order to keep our children and our communities safe. Virginia needs an Attorney General who will put public safety ahead of his own personal political agenda and work with our law enforcement to keep families safe by cracking down on gangs, drugs, and Internet predators who target our kids."

Shannon's career in public safety began when he and his wife Abby helped create Virginia's first AMBER Alert program, a public safety initiative that uses the broadcast media to help police recover an abducted child.

Following that experience Shannon went to work as a Fairfax County prosecutor where he prosecute hundreds of cases involving drugs, drunk driving, gang violence, and Internet crimes against children. In 2003 Shannon was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates where he helped passed numerous pieces of legislation making Virginia safer.

In this year's Attorney General's race Shannon is running against Senator Ken Cuccinelli, who has yet to unveil a single independent public safety policy proposal. During their time in the legislature each has had the opportunity to vote on numerous pieces of legislation aimed at making Virginia safer. Below is a comparison of some of their votes, and a list of the law enforcement leaders who have endorsed Steve Shannon.

Below is the list of police and firefighter groups who have endorsed Shannon, as well as individuals who support him:

Organizations

Virginia Police Benevolent Association
Fairfax Coalition of Police
Fairfax Deputy Sheriff's Coalition
Virginia Professional Fire Fighters

Individuals

Fred P. Newman, Sheriff, Washington County
Stan G. Barry, Sheriff, Fairfax City
H.S. Caudill, Sheriff, Tazewell County
Herald Holt, Sheriff, Roanoke County
Beth Arthur, Sheriff, Arlington County
J.T. Whitt, Sheriff, Montgomery County
Gabe A. Morgan, Sheriff, Newport News City
Bill Watson, Sheriff, Portsmouth City
Paul W. Higgs, Sheriff, Fredericksburg City
Stephen Bittle, Sheriff, Falls Church
Vernie W. Francis, Sheriff, Southhampton County
John Puckett, Sheriff, Scott County
Streve Draper, Sheriff, Martinsville
Robert J. McCabe, Sheriff, Norfolk City
W. Randolph Hamilton, Sheriff, Buena Vista City
Lenny Millholland, Sheriff, Winchester City
Vanessa Crawford, Sheriff, Petersburg City
Kevin Pittman, President, Fairfax Deputy Sheriff's Coalition
Bobby Mathieson, Delegate and Former Virginia Beach Police Officer
Marshall Thielan, President, Fairfax Coalition of Police
Mike Scanlon, Vice President, Fairfax Coalition of Police
Dan Kalbacher, Executive Board Member, Fairfax Deputy Sheriff's Coalition
Bob Horan, Former Commonwealth's Attorney, Fairfax County
Ray Morrogh, Commonwealth's Attorney, Fairfax County
Dennis Godfrey, Commonwealth's Attorney, Washington County
Michael Doucette, Commonwealth's Attorney, Lynchburg City
Joan Ziglar, Commonwealth's Attorney, Martinsville City
Gregory Underwood, Commonwealth's Attorney, Norfolk City
Paul B. Ebert, Commonwealth's Attorney, Prince William County
Mike Mohler, President, Virginia Professional Fire Fighters
Robert Bragg, Vice President, Virginia Professional Fire Fighters, District 2
Michael Staples, Vice President, Virginia Professional Fire Fighters, District 3 and President, VPFF Arlington Local
Andrew Water, Vice President, Virginia Professional Fire Fighters, District 4
Ken Pravetz, Vice President, Virginia Professional Fire Fighters, District 6
Hanh Deniston, Past Secretary, MWAA

Additionally, Shannon won the support of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce/NOVA Biz PAC. Here is their announcement:

Vienna, VA – NOVABizPAC, the political action committee of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, today announced it has endorsed the candidacy of local Fairfax Delegate Steve Shannon in his bid to become Virginia’s next Attorney General.

The PAC trustees made their decision following an exhaustive research and interview process, during which the records, positions and statements of the two candidates were closely examined.

The decision came with great difficulty as both candidates have strong backgrounds of supporting the northern Virginia business community. However, Delegate Shannon’s consistent support of Chamber specific legislative policies edged him ahead of his opponent for the endorsement.

“The Trustees voted to endorse Delegate Steve Shannon in recognition of his hard work promoting and protecting the interests of the Fairfax Chamber and our members. I commend he trustees for examining the records and positions of these candidates, and for their commitment to making a decision that best supports the policies of this organization and the businesses it represents,” said NOVABizPAC Chair Fran Fisher.

“I also want to thank both Shannon and Cuccinelli for the time and effort they put into meeting with the PAC trustees and for their cooperation in helping us reach this decision. We look forward to continuing to work closely with both individuals following the election.” Fisher concluded.

It should be noted that it is highly unusual for the Chamber of Commerce to endorse a Democrat in most states. Virginia is one of the exceptions for a couple of reasons. The first is that the Democrats are moderate, business friendly centrists. Probably too centrist for my more populist taste, but nevertheless, they reflect the mainstream of where Virginia is at. It is a pro-business, centrist state. But not one with much patience for cultural warriors who want to inject their personal religious beliefs into the public square or turn the commonwealth into a theocracy.

What most Virginians want is a well run, efficient state government that attracts business and grows jobs. Under the Democrats the commonwealth has done this, maintaining a AAA Bond rate and being voted by Forbes as the best state to do business for four consecutive years.

Besides this, Shannon brings to the table his experience as a prosecutor and his role, with his wife, in creating the first Amber Alert in Northern Virginia to keep our children safe.

It's a winning combination for our commonwealth - a strong, pro-business candidate who has dedicated his career to keeping Virginians both safe and prosperous.