Marshall will Join Tobacco Panel

Source from:  By DENICE THIBODEAU Register & Bee staff writer October 20, 2007 10/22/2007

Danville Delegate Danny Marshall has been appointed to the Tobacco Commission to replace Delegate Allen Dudley, who is not seeking re-election. House Speaker William Howell announced the appointment Friday morning during a breakfast at Mary's Diner. The breakfast, hosted by Howell, Sen. Charles Hawkins, R-Pittsylvania County, and Delegate Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, was held in support of Marshall as well as two other Republican candidates for the House of Delegates, Don Merricks and Charles Poindexter. Hawkins is retiring at the end of this term, and Hurt is seeking his Senate seat. In turn, Merricks is seeking to fill Hurt's House of Delegates seat and Poindexter is seeking the 9th District seat being vacated by Allen Dudley in November. As speaker, Howell is responsible for appointing six members of the House of Delegates to the commission. Since Dudley is on the Tobacco Commission, Howell had to decide who will replace him. "(Dudley) has resigned. He said he couldn't come to the next (Tobacco Commission) meeting, so it's up to me to appoint somebody to follow in (Dudley's) place," Howell said. "To me that was a no-brainer. I was looking for somebody that has business experience; somebody that knows the issues in Southside Virginia; somebody that has integrity and the character that we need in a job like that. That's Danny Marshall." Marshall will serve on the commission until at least January. If he is re-elected, the appointment will continue, Howell said. All of the Republican leaders stressed the importance of the upcoming election to the approximately 120 supporters in attendance, who were urged to tell people to vote on Nov. 6, to volunteer to help at the polls and to do everything they could to support the team they wanted in Richmond. The most controversial race being run in this area is the contest between Marshall and Democratic candidate Adam Tomer, who have waged a war of words through mailers and television commercials. "We've tried to run a truthful campaign," Marshall said. "But that's pretty doggone hard to do when the other side - well, we have to give them an "A" for creativity, for making things up." Marshall held up a mailer Tomer sent out that read, "Danny Marshall wants to gamble on Social Security." "There's only one little problem with that," Marshall said. "We (delegates) don't have a vote on Social Security!" Marshall said some of Tomer's campaign is based on half-truths, though "most of the time it's not even truth at all … because they don't have an agenda, the don't have anything to run on. It's (the race) is about proof of performance, not about empty promises." Hurt closed the gathering by relating a conversation he said he had recently. "You all have seen the phrase 'Rock the Boat' around. The other side (Tomer's campaign) wants to talk about rocking the boat; that's the call to arms … against our candidate," Hurt said. "I was talking to a lady about that. She said, 'Rock the Boat? What's that mean? Are these people serious? You want to end up on the bottom of the Dan River?' Friends, we need leaders who can get us from shore to shore." Tomer responded to Marshall's appointment to the Tobacco Commission later Friday. "The timing of it is clearly a desperation act by the speaker of the House," he said. "As a member of the House of Delegates, Marshall has not stood up for us on jobs by cutting the Governor's Opportunity Fund and not fighting for senior citizens. It is time for new leadership." Enditem