Congressional candidates for Virginia’s First District will debate three times in October, but incumbent Rep. Rob Wittman (R-1) won’t participate in the local debate.
Wittman will be debating Democratic challenger Adam Cook and Independent Green candidate Gail Parker at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 at Christopher Newport University’s main ballroom. On Oct. 29, Wittman will debate Cook at 7:30 p.m. on the campus of the University of Mary Washington.
The League of Women Voters of the Williamsburg Area will host a debate at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Williamsburg Library. Wittman will not participate, but Cook and Parker will debate. The debate will be moderated by Elaine McBeth, associate director of the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy and an adjunct professor of economics and public policy at the College of William & Mary.
This is Cook’s first run for office. Cook, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and UCLA School of Law, served six years as a military prosecutor with the U.S. Air Force’s JAG Corps. In 2011, he deployed to Afghanistan, where he served as the officer in charge of investigations and chief legal advisor at the detention facility for insurgent fighters in Parwan. He lives in Fredericksburg, where he grew up from the age of 6.
Parker is a resident of the 8th District in Northern Virginia, but ran in the 1st District in 2010. Congressional candidates are not required to live in their district according to Virginia law. She has long pushed for Virginia to build more high-speed rail. Parker is a retired Air Force Officer with a graduate degree in Business Administration. She is a certified Information System Security Professional.
Wittman has served in Congress since 2007. He has served on the Republican Study Committee, House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Natural Resources. Prior to his election to Congress, Wittman served as field director for the Virginia Health Department’s Division of Shellfish Sanitation. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Virginia Tech. He resides in Montross.
All of the debates are free and open to the public.
