Carter Elliott, Staff Columnist~
Over the past year we have seen much hate when it comes to politics. In the 2016 Presidential election we saw countless ads that spread hateful rhetoric and appealed to extremist beliefs. Even in this year’s gubernatorial election we have seen governor candidate Ed Gillespie spreading lies and hate about our current Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam. Needless to say, the Republican party has been putting forth several candidates that spread this hate and some others that simply aren’t doing their job. The delegate for the twenty-third district of Virginia, Scott Garrett, has become lackadaisical in the last several years, even running unopposed in three elections.
However, this year’s democratic candidate for the area has proposed real change for Lynchburg. Natalie Short, who has spoken at our school twice now, has ran an amazing campaign in the last three months – a campaign in which more than 10 students at LC have been proud to work for. Short has been running a campaign in which anyone would be proud to watch. She, along with her husband Alex, haw refused to spread any hate; instead, they have been spreading the word about how they want to change this district. According to her website, Short will fight to expand Medicaid “to keep our federal dollars here,” protect the “Virginia Constitution and its promise of public education” and “economically empower working families.”
Scott Garrett has been a do-nothing-delegate his last several years, and it is time for a change. If you want to see real progress in our district, then I urge you to vote for Natalie Short on November 7.