Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce PAC Endorses Bob McDonnell for Governor
Chamber Notes McDonnell’s Transportation Plan and Pro-Business Record as Important Factors to Endorsement Decision
-In Just Last Month McDonnell Endorsed by: The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation; Virginia Realtors; Virginia Credit Unions; National Federation of Independent Business; National Rifle Association; Fairfax Chamber of Commerce; Fraternal Order of Police; Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce-
VIRGINIA BEACH- Bob McDonnell, Republican gubernatorial nominee and former Attorney General of Virginia, was endorsed today by the Hampton Roads Business PAC, a public policy committee of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. As the area’s premier business organization, the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to serving its members and communities by creating economic prosperity and enhancing the quality of life in Hampton Roads. The PAC’s endorsement was based on a combination of data from Virginia FREE and the responses submitted by Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds to the group’s 9 page questionnaire on key policy issues.
Speaking about today’s endorsement, Bob McDonnell remarked, “To receive the endorsement of the Hampton Roads Business PAC is a true honor. I raised my family right here in Hampton Roads, and represented Virginia Beach in the House of Delegates for 14 years. I know this area well, and I know what we need to do to get the economy in this vital region back on track. That is why I have laid out detailed plans to attract more businesses to Hampton Roads and grow jobs in the area. Included in my proposals are plans to expand the Port of Virginia and to make the Commonwealth the first state on the East Coast to drill offshore for natural gas and oil, which would mean millions in new revenue and the creation of thousands of jobs. I also know firsthand the serious transportation challenges facing Hampton Roads. I have laid out a detailed transportation plan that includes upgrading I-460, finding consensus for a third crossing and widening I-64. This election is all about jobs and the economy. It is evident from this endorsement, the endorsement of the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce earlier this week, and the major endorsements we are receiving from business organizations statewide that this is the campaign with the plans and the vision necessary to get Virginia’s economy moving again.”
W. Sheppard Miller, III, Chairman of the Hampton Roads Business PAC, noted “The Hampton Roads Business PAC, a public policy committee of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, is pleased to endorse Bob McDonnell for Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Bob McDonnell’s detailed transportation plan and solid stance on strategic business issues were key to his receiving this endorsement.”
Today’s endorsement is the second endorsement from a Chamber of Commerce PAC that McDonnell has received this week - the other being the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce NOVABizPAC, announced Wednesday. Both endorsements follow a long line of endorsements from Virginia’s major job creators.
McDonnell was endorsed by: Virginia Realtors ®, the largest trade association in Virginia with over 33,000 members; Virginia AgPAC, the political action committee of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation with over 147,000 members statewide; the Virginia Credit Union League, a trade association representing the Commonwealth’s 194 not-for-profit credit unions and the 3 million member-owners residing in Virginia; and, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the leading small business association in the Commonwealth whose membership consists of nearly 6,000 small businesses across the state. Last week McDonnell was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, widely recognized as America’s foremost defender of Second Amendment rights, with over 120,000 members in Virginia. Just yesterday McDonnell was endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the voice of our nation’s law enforcement officers with nearly 8,000 members and 50 lodges across Virginia.
As the premier business organization in the region, the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to serving its members and communities by creating economic prosperity and enhancing the quality of life in Hampton Roads. The Chamber represents 2,500 member firms that employ nearly 300,000 working men and women and extends its programs to 17 cities and counties in Southeastern Virginia.