Updated: Jun 7, 2022
There she goes again...
It’s time to set the record straight on clean water.
My opponent had suggested in a series of mailers that I am supporting “corporate pollution” of our children’s drinking water. It’s absurd. Once again she either doesn’t understand the legislation or willfully misrepresents it.
I am happy to talk about my positive record on cleaning up our water. I wonder why she doesn’t talk about hers???
In 2018, I carried a bill requiring the State Water Control Board to report out progress on the clean up of the James River.
Why? Because when the James River Association gave me an update on the James River and the Chesapeake Bay, I asked them why the bacterial count was so high. As a doctor and mother whose kids often swim in the James, I was worried.
The answer? Richmond has an old sewage system that combines raw sewage and rainfall. When it rains heavily, the system is overwhelmed and overflows into the James instead of going to the sewage treatment plant. Yes, the source of the bacteria in the James is raw sewage.
I also found out from a friend who frequently kayaks on the James that she watches for “brownouts.” This means there is an advisory against water sports because there has been a recent dump of raw sewage.
Further research revealed that Richmond has until 2070 to fix this and stop dumping sewage into the James. Are you kidding me?
I took action and wrote legislation to request reports from the Water Control Board on how often overflows were happening and what was being done to resolve the issue.
What did my opponent do? Nothing. She makes a lot of false accusations but she has a record of inaction or claiming credit for someone else’s work.
Two years ago, with my support, the legislature mandated that Alexandria fix their CSO system by 2035. Richmond is still at 2070. My legislation passed the Senate with 40 votes but was caught up in a House subcommittee. In response, the Chairman of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the Senate, requested a report from the Water Control Board to review with the committees for action next year.
Interestingly, the group who paid for this mailer is heavily funded by a couple from Charlottesville who have also contributed a total of $90,000 of their own money to the Rodman campaign. Is this about clean water or campaign dollars?
I thought Rodman stressed that her campaign would NOT be powered by “special interests”.
Rodman’s record on special interest contributions can be found here.
False accusations, failure to act, embellishing her record with other people’s legislation, special interest groups paying for false messages in mailers. Sounds like politics as usual.
I ran to offer an alternative. I figure out problems, propose solutions, build consensus, and I get it done for our community and children. I hope I can earn your vote for another four years on November 5th and you will reject politics as usual.