Early Voting - Vote for Beth Macy

Early voting starts today in Virginia.

I urge everyone to vote for Beth Macy, the Democratic challenger to the current office holder, Republican Ben Cline.

I am an independent voter. I am not registered with any party.

I went to college with Beth. I was working on my undergraduate degree while she was working on her masters degree from Hollins College (now Hollins University). We had several courses together because I was majoring in English and focusing on writing classes. At Hollins, the creative writing seminars had undergrad and graduate students combined, so we saw a lot of one another.

She went on to write for The Roanoke Times. I went on to write for the local weekly paper. She's written five books. I've written and edited a local magazine celebrating the county's 250th anniversary (in 2020), and I have edited about a dozen books for various people.

Varied careers, but since we were both reporters, I can say with certainty that Beth has seen things her opponent has not.

As a reporter, I visited many homes that were the living spaces of very poor people, hoarders, sick people, sad people, and indigent people. I also saw the very nice living spaces of folks who live in McMansions, and the houses in between.

Beth saw the same. We both know that there are a lot of people out there who have done their best, and their best has not been good enough. Some people can try until their arms nearly fall off, and it still won't get them where they can afford to live in a nice house with a white picket fence.

She wrote Dopesick, spent years covering the opioid crisis, won a Nieman fellowship, had her book adapted for TV. That's concrete evidence she understands real people's lives.

Beth is one person and she alone can't change the price of gas, but she can introduce legislation or endorse legislation that already exists to force the current administration to adhere to existing laws, such as the war powers act, and straighten itself up.

She is for a moratorium on data centers, and since that is a big issue right now that actually affects me personally, with new power lines going through the land we farm, then that issue alone would make me vote for Beth. New power lines mean strange people will be on the farm, gates will be left open, cattle will become unsettled by big machinery. Also, there may be a loss of land value because of the larger poles that will replace the more rural-looking ones.

Cline has been in office since 2019. He's introduced and co-sponsored plenty of bills, but when I look at what he's actually accomplished through legislation, the record is pretty thin. I don't see much there that has made a meaningful difference in the lives of people in this district. He's had seven years to make a mark on issues that matter to me, and I personally cannot find one.

If there was anything I could point to that the current office holder had done that offered support for farmers, women, children, affordability, or slowing down the growth of data centers, I might take a second look. But I do not see anything in his voting record that would make me change my mind.

Early voting in Virginia is from today until October 31. If you're in my county, go vote in Fincastle at the Office of the Registrar.

Otherwise, vote on election day, November 3, at your polling place. Check the state elections website to be sure you're registered to vote and to find out where to vote if you don't already know.