There are significant rumors circulating today that Chichester may be retiring next week. More to come as we find out and verify if the rumors are true.
This puts Van Hoy in a good position; he should have no problem garnering support from conservatives.
March 9, 2007 at 10:49 pm |
[...] O’Reilly in Virginia General Assembly, 2007 Elections, RINOs, Virginia Politics. trackback VCAP is reporting we may finally be witnessing the demise of Sen. John Chi-ching-e$ter’$ political career and [...]
March 10, 2007 at 7:46 am |
Details? Sources? or just wishful thinking?
March 10, 2007 at 10:57 am |
I heard it was going to be Monday. I heard it from 4 different sources that should be credible, but since none were the original source, that is why I left it as a question rather than a sure thing. Of course, wishful thinking is always a component of such possible news!
If one thinks about it, it seems highly plausible. It appears that the “Gang of 5″ (as they are so affectionately referred to), have gone through an ugly divorce over the Transportation Plan. They had a vicious fight (in public and behind the scenes) over the components of the plan. Chichester lost all his support for a gas tax increase with Stolle, Norment and Stosch jumping off that bandwagon (even though they supported it last year). Now his best friend, Potts, has announced his retirement. It will be very difficult for him to command action with only the support of Quayle and Watkins. Further, it would appear that Kaine will completely gut the Transportation Plan. If Kaine proposes a gas tax increase, Chichester will likely not be able to get enough support to pass the amendment, further degrading his power in the Senate.
If VCAP defeats Stosch and Hanger in the June primary, the situation for Chichester looks even more bleak. I think it would be better to go out now, while he still has his reputation of being “Sir John tax ‘em” or “Chi-ching-e$ter“
March 11, 2007 at 12:21 am |
[...] this, but the information appears credible and seems to be coming from multiple sources (see VCAP and right-wing liberal). As far as blogosphere rumors go, this seems to be one of the better [...]
March 11, 2007 at 1:21 pm |
[...] VCAP and Virginia Virtucon were out early with the rumors of Chichester’s retirement plans. The Right Wing Liberal tells us it’s all but certain. [...]