The Botetourt lawyer says one of the reasons he wanted the Republican nomination for the 17th District House of Delegates seat was that “the nation must return to basic values.”
Cleaveland won a tough June 9 primary, taking 28 percent of the vote to runner-up Chris Head’s 24 percent. He beat three other GOP primary candidates also, living in an outpost of the sprawling 17th District – southern Botetourt County. Fellow Republican William Fralin – who came out in strong support of Cleaveland after his win on primary night – is retiring after three terms.
“We can make it pretty simple and go back to the fundamentals in the [Virginia Republican Creed] and put ourselves in a position where we’re all proud to be American again,” Cleaveland said in a phone interview last week.
“The word “greed” comes to mind when you think about ultimately what has gotten us as a nation into the position that we’re in now,” Cleaveland said, referring to the ongoing recession. He wants to take the state back to free enterprise, which he said is not the corrupt practices of recent years.
“It is not greed and excess,” he said. “It’s individual responsibility. It requires us to have some awareness that there are others around us who are not as favorably situated. I’m not talking about handouts; I’m talking about fair dealing. If you’re a good business person, fair dealing is at the heart of your operation.”
The 58-year-old former prosecutor believes those values will differentiate him from challenger Gwen Mason (D-Roanoke). “I think the record will bear that out,” he said. “I’m a conservative individual fiscally and socially. I am convinced we need to go back to some fundamental ways in the way we approach government and in the way government approaches its citizens.”
His platform consists of economic development issues, education as a way to help businesses, and offshore drilling as a payment for transportation concerns. “Encouraging the economy” is a high priority. To do that, he supports public and private partnerships while working with localities to seek new jobs. Educational facilities must better prepare students for the work environment, he said, so he supports cooperative ventures between schools and businesses and encourages public, private and home school efforts.
Drilling for natural gas off the Virginia coast could offer a way to pay for transportation upgrades.
“It would be unwise for us not to look at that to generate some funding for transportation,” Cleaveland said.
The civil litigation attorney specializes in defense work and personal injury. His 30 years of legal practice began in 1979 when he came to Roanoke City as a criminal prosecutor. He worked with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office until 1984, and for the next 18 years worked with two law firms. In 2002, Cleaveland became a solo practitioner, practicing law in downtown Roanoke. In 2008, he moved his office to southern Botetourt County.
Cleaveland has also served as substitute General District Court Judge in the 23rd and 25th Judicial Districts, but he resigned that post this year to run for the House of Delegates seat.
“I tried to approach the campaign by being who I am, so people will see who I am and who they are getting,” he said. “When we started out, we talked about wanting to be a servant of the citizens, and I can honestly say with confidence that we could not have been without even one of the people who supported us and still made this work.”
Now he hopes the momentum of the primary will propel him forward as he begins his campaign.
“I want to do everything we can to unify the Republican Party and keep this as a Republican seat in November,” he said.
