Perriello looks like choice for Democrats

Bob Gibson / Charlottesville Daily Progress
Published: January 8, 2008

Tom Perriello, an Albemarle County native challenging 5th District Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., R-Rocky Mount, apparently wrapped up his party's nomination Tuesday as fellow Albemarle Democrat David Shreve dropped out of the contest.

Perriello, 33, has raised more than $263,000 during the past four months toward his Nov. 4 challenge of Goode, a 61-year-old Republican who has firmly held the Southside Virginia-to-Charlottesville area seat since first elected as a Democrat in 1996.

Fifth District Democratic Chairman Fred Hudson of Free Union said Shreve's decision all but locks up the party nomination for Perriello. No other Democrat is actively seeking the nomination, which is to be made May 17 at a district convention in Lovingston.

"Tom has done a terrific job of raising money to run against the incumbent," Hudson said. "I am looking forward to working with Tom to make sure he is the next congressman from the 5th District."

Shreve, 46, said Tuesday that he would pursue economic policy work and writing instead of continuing his campaign, for which he had set a fairly ambitious fundraising goal.

"I've raised a little over $20,000" and had fallen too far short of his goal of about $100,000 by this month, Shreve said.

"I'll certainly back whoever is the Democratic nominee, and at this stage it certainly looks like he is the nominee," Shreve said of Perriello, who has co-founded a number of progressive faith-based groups, including darfurgenocide.org, that promote peace with social justice.

The son of a prominent local pediatrician, Vito Perriello, the candidate promised a spirited campaign against Goode.

"I think people want a new kind of politics," Perriello said. "I think people are looking for a new generation of leaders who focus more on results."

He had 371 people making donations to his campaign from the time he entered the race on Labor Day through Dec. 31 and raised $263,802 in those four months, according to Jessica Barba, his campaign's spokeswoman.

In addition, "we had over 850 volunteer hours logged on the campaign," Perriello said. "Our goal is to meet with as many voters as possible as soon as possible."

Perriello said he is excited by the energy and desire for change in Washington that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is bringing to the November elections if he is the party's nominee.

"Obama changes the rules of politics," he said. "I think anyone who dramatically increases the number of Americans who are willing to vote has to be good for democracy."

"We are looking forward to running a campaign that unites the people of our district behind a renewed commitment to the common good," Perriello said. "We sense a hunger for a new generation of results-oriented politics that puts a conversation about right and wrong ahead of a fight about right and left."

Goode is likely to remain a tough opponent for any Democrat to unseat. The Rocky Mount Republican captured 59 percent of the vote in 2006 in winning his sixth term to 40 percent for Nelson County Democrat Al Weed and 1 percent for independent Joe Oddo.

Perriello said he plans to challenge Goode's support of the so-called Fair Tax Act, which he called unfair to the middle class as a proposed 23 percent consumption tax on sales and services in lieu of a more progressive income tax.