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ByMARKSCOLFORO
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
Voters across the state will be sending a very different General Assembly to Richmond this year, and Rappahannock will as well. During the last session Sen. Kevin Miller and Del. Andy Guest represented the county, but next session there will be three Rappahannock legislators in the Assembly.
Sen. Miller, R-26th, is locked in a race with Democrat Margaret Haynes, and Del. Guest has been redistricted right out of the 31st District. Also, one of the county’s precincts, Stonewall-Hawthorn, is no longer in the 26th District. Its new representative will be either incumbent Sen. Thomas Michie, D25th, or Republican challenger Ed Robb.
Sen. Miller, 61, is professor emeritus of accounting at James Madison University in Harrisonburg. He spent two terms in the General Assembly before winning election to the Virginia Senate in 1983.
Ms. Haynes, 45, is constituent representative for U.S. Rep. Jim Olin, D-5th. She has long been active in Harrisonburg and state Democratic politics.
Sen. Miller and Ms. Haynes have sparred over his record of constituent service, but both agree that state budget tightening will dominate the next Assembly session. Where Sen. Miller faults the last budget for a smoke-and-mirrors approach that dipped into trust funds and eliminated what had been a healthy surplus. Ms. Haynes, on the other hand, credits the Democratcontrolled General Assembly for saving the state from fiscal disaster.
Both candidates support parental notification for minors seeking abortions, and neither received the endorsement of the Virginia Affiliate of the National Abortion Rights Action League.
Ms. Haynes has said she will make quality in education the focal point of her time in the senate, and has published a written platform outlining her priorities.
Sen. Miller sits on the senate Transportation, Local Government, Privileges and Elections and Rehabilitation and Social Services committees.
Voters in Wakefield, Hampton, Piedmont and Jackson districts will choose between Sen. Miller and Ms. Haynes.
In the 25th Senatorial District, which includes the Stonewall-Haw
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