Fifth congressional district candidate Tom Perriello took a victory lap Wednesday after winning the Democratic Party primary. He used the occasion to underscore his opposition to Dominion’s Valley Link transmission line which would cut across nine counties in Virginia to supply power to data centers.
"Look at this proposal!" he told reporters. "It literally does not require or allow the permission of these counties. They don’t get to decide whether to bring it or not. I mean there’s no local democracy and accountability. There’s zero revenue for these communities from this project. It is by its own definition extreme high voltage and 150-foot towers through these areas. You’re going to have to put flame-retardant materials on the ground with runoff well beyond the place where the easements are set, and those local communities are not even going to have the right to access transmission line."
He attacked Dominion’s credibility and told reporters that the public should question the need for this particular project.
"I think we really need to understand what a monstrosity this Valley Link proposal is. You go back to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. When they did it, they said we couldn’t possibly live without this thing, and what – three years later they said, ‘You know what? It’s not worth it for us.’"
He went on to attack President Trump’s economic policies – decisions backed by Perriello’s opponent, incumbent Congressman John McGuire.
“Trump picked a trade war he doesn’t know how to fight, and now every single one of those countries is importing their electric vehicles from China and not from the United States. He then picks a war in the Middle East in the middle of planting season that sends fertilizer, diesel and gas prices through the roof. Global demand for electric vehicles goes through the roof, but all of those gains are going to China – Chinese companies and Chinese jobs.”
He claimed to support so-called smart tariffs that protect U.S. firms and preserve jobs here.
“What we have right now is stupid tariffs that are costing the American people money and that Trump is using to shake down other countries for crypto for his sons to the tune of over a billion dollars.”
He said Congress should put an end to those tariffs and to the on-going war with Iran.
“This war has made us less safe. It has bankrupted ... a war that wasn’t America’s business in the first place.”
And he concluded Trump’s economic agenda and cuts to federal support for healthcare have endangered the future of families in the Fifth Congressional District.
“That’s what I hear every day that breaks my heart – people saying they’ve decided that they just can’t afford to have kids or they’re putting it off for a few years, and even if they want to have kids, they can’t access pre and post-natal care in seven of our counties that have no OB-GYN and two of our hospitals shut down their labor and delivery units.”
We reached out to Perriello’s opponent – John McGuire -- offering the opportunity to share his priorities but received no response.
