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Abusive driver fees, health care issues, predatory lending and transportation issues were just one of the many questions which were addressed by General Assembly hopefuls Tuesday morning as the Blacksburg AARP held its Candidates Forum at the Blacksburg Community Center.
Those attending included Senator John Edwards, Senatorial District 21, unopposed; Delegate Dave Nutter, House District 7 Incumbent; Ralph Smith, Senatorial District 22 candidate; Mike Breiner, Senatorial District 22 candidate; Ms. Peggy Frank, House District 7 candidate; and Delegate Jim Shuler, House District 12, unopposed. Tuesday’s Forum, which was moderated by Jean Jadhon of WDBJ, allowed for each candidate to make an opening statement; answer two questions, which were sent to them in advance; then answer questions prepared by those in attendance; and then a closing statement. Another hot topic had to do with payday lending. All of the candidates responded in saying that something need to be done by putting a cap on these loans, providing more educational information to consumers, providing different options for consumers needing emergency funding and stricter guidelines. “We have got to stop the death-trap of payday lending,” said Senator Edwards. “We also need to take a look at bank cards as well. People are paying off a bank card with another bank card and these cards have high interest rates just as well, plus other high fees like late fees, over-limit fees, etc…” The most asked question from the audience dealt with the aggressive driver fees. Every candidate was against the idea and felt that this policy needs to be overhauled. Especially with only Virginia drivers being targeted, since the majority of traffic on our interstates come from out-of-state drivers. Delegate Shuler summed up this issue the best, “It was an ill-conceived, concocted method to fund transportation in a rapidly, hasten, over-night session to come up with this transportation plan.” Some other questions from those in attendance had to do with the banning of smoking in restaurants and Medicare issues. Following the forum, the audience had a chance to mingle with the candidates and to learn more about their views on different issues.It was also announced that the League of Women’s Voters, who were in attendance with a voter registration booth, would be holding three candidate forums on Oct. 2, Oct. 11 and Oct. 15. EverythingNRV.com will be providing more information on all three of these forums, as they get closer.
Photos: (Top left) A large crowd turned out Tuesday for the Blacksburg AARP General Assembly Candidates Forum at the Blacksburg Community Center. (Right) Jean Jadhon of WDBJ served as the moderator on Tuesday. (Bottom left) The League of Women Voter’s were on hand to sign up those who still needed to register to vote. (Photos by David Grimes)
See more photos of the Candidates Forum in our Photo Gallery.
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