A petition from Virginians pledging to vote against any state lawmaker who backed hefty driving-violation fees last year garnered almost 180,000 signatures as of Monday afternoon, anger that challengers in next week’s General Assembly races are banking on to help them win at the polls.
The online petition against the fees, which was started over the summer after Virginia residents began blasting them, had 177,152 signatures.
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If those voters adhere to their pledges, many incumbents are likely to be miserable watching the election returns next Tuesday night.
George Barker, the Democratic challenger in the 39th Senate district comprising Fairfax and Prince William counties, says he believes the anger that exploded over the fees in June and July will stay potent through Election Day. He has made GOP incumbent Jay O’Bien’s support of the fees the central theme in expensive television commercials and mail pieces.
Though immigration is a red-hot issue in Prince William County, Barker said it is not foremost on the minds of traffic-fighting constituents.
“When I meet people at their doors, transportation is still the first thing they want to talk about,” Barker said. “My opponent would rather this debate be about anything else other than transportation. He knows he cannot win on transportation.”
O’Brien, like other Republican incumbents, has vowed to eliminate the fees in next year’s legislative session if re-elected.
“These fees are a deterrent to bad drivers and I was trying to improve the safety of our roads,” the Clifton Republican said. “My opponent is trying to turn my support of the fees into a scandal.”
The fees range from $750 to $3,000 (payable over three years), based on the severity of the offense. Besides the steep cost, Virginia drivers were outraged that the penalties are paid only by state residents.
Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said furor over the fees will be a deciding factor in traffic-clogged districts, such as Fairfax County. In other parts of the state, he said, the illegal-immigration debate has eclipsed the fees in political importance.
“I think that there is a significant number of voters who have not forgotten these fees and will keep it in mind when they go to the polls,” he said. “However, the Republicans have done a good job of changing the subject.”
