Senator Ken Cuccinelli is the Republican nominee for attorney general. He earned his law degree from the George Mason University School of Law and has been a member of the Virginia Senate since 2002. He lives in Fairfax County; he and his wife have seven children. Cuccinelli has focused his campaign on social issues and public safety as well as national politics, although his top issue is public safety. His years in the Senate have produced mental health reform after the Virginia Tech shootings, private property reform and a conservative stance on social issues and lower taxes.
Delegate Steve Shannon is the Democratic nominee for attorney general. He earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and has been a member of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2004. He lives in Fairfax County, where he and his wife have three children. Shannon has focused his campaign mainly on the public safety issues an attorney general will face and the prosecutorial aspects of the job. His years in the House of Delegates have produced the “Amber Alert” program in Northern Virginia and he helped pass the 2008 Higher Education Bond Package.
Q: What is your party affiliation?
Cuccinelli: Republican
Shannon: Democrat
Q: How do you define marriage and can you legally defend that position if asked?
Cuccinelli: I believe marriage should be defined as a union between one man and one woman. The definition was recently enshrined in our Virginia Constitution through an amendment process, and as attorney general I will defend that amendment.
Shannon: Marriage is a relationship defined as exclusively between a man and a woman. This is settled law in Virginia. The job of the top law enforcement office of the state is to defend every law, which I will do.
Q: Have you made any campaign promises, something you will absolutely stick to?
Cuccinelli: Yes. I always stick to my campaign promises and will do so again. Among those promises I have made are to protect the public safety from gangs and other criminals, reform the mental health system, protect our economy from federal interference and government regulations, consolidate consumer affairs agencies within the attorney general’s office and make the attorney general’s office a strong advocate for veterans.
Shannon: My commitment is to work every day to keep our communities safe. One way that I have pledged to do this is by finding ways to go after the people behind the 19,357 computers in Virginia that we know are being used to traffic child pornography. It will be imperative of the next attorney general to pursue and prosecute as many of these cases as possible.
Q: Name two good reasons people should vote for you.
Cuccinelli: My extensive experience of dealing with the legal issues that the next attorney general will confront, and the good judgment I have shown when I dealt with them. For example, I initiated a special session of the legislature to help deal with the Supreme Court’s Melendez decision. The holding in Melendez, had it been left unaddressed, would have resulted in a major backlog in the DUI and drug trials, and maybe even the release of some offenders. At the special session I was instrumental in passing legislation to prevent any damage to our justice system.
Shannon: I am a pro-business, law-and-order centrist. I will work across party lines to make Virginia a safe place for families and a welcoming place for business. Second, I am an experienced prosecutor. I have prosecuted hundreds of cases involving drugs, drunk driving, gang violence and internet crimes against children. I know my way around a courtroom and I know first-hand how to combat Virginia’s public safety problems.
Q: Name three major endorsements.
Cuccinelli: The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), The National Federal of Independent Business (NFIB) and 79 Commonwealth attorneys and sheriffs.
Shannon: The Virginia Coalition of Police and Deputy Sheriffs, The Virginia Police Benevolent Association and The Virginia Professional Fire Fighters.
Q: Who do you admire now?
Cuccinelli: Ronald Reagan and the Founding Fathers.
Shannon: Robert F. Horan, Jr., former Commonwealth’s Attorney of Fairfax.
Q: What is the last book you have read?
Cuccinelli: Mark Levin’s “Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto.”
Shannon: “Profiles in Courage” by John F. Kennedy.
By Carla Bream [email protected]
Cuccinelli 7 kids. his true coalition of voters outside of the domestic terrorist group the tea party. Cuccinelli favorite book says it all Libety and [Tyranny} The conservative basis of this socialogical lawmaker is a confusion to cover his personal agenda which undoughtedly will enhance his finacial prospects not the good of the commonwealth. The forefathers would roll over in their graves.