Republican incumbent Mike Watson squared off in a debate against Democratic challenger Monty Mason for the 93rd District House of Delegates seat early Friday.
Their conversation, moderated by Mark Duncan, the Chairman of the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance’s government affairs committee, focused primarily on tourism and transportation. Duncan referred to the race as “one of the most hotly contested house races in the state.”
Both Watson and Mason are active members of the Chamber & Tourism Alliance: Watson is a member of the group’s government affairs committee while Mason is on the group’s board of directors.
District 93 represents the entirety of the City of Williamsburg as well as part of Newport News and part of James City and York counties. Watson is about to complete his first term as the District 93 representative.
Duncan led off with a question about transportation, asking the candidates about the recently passed transportation bill and how they propose to handle revenue issues in the future. He said transportation has been the Alliance’s top legislative priority for years.
“We made a huge step this year that we’ve not done in 27 years,” Watson said of the transportation bill. He said the bill will inject billions of dollars into the state’s transportation network and that his work as a member of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization will help prioritize where that money should be spent. He said an expansion of Interstate 64 between Newport News and Williamsburg is critical.
Mason said he would have voted to support the transportation bill. He said it is important to ensure a proper prioritization of the money generated by the law, and that “many of our visitors come from the north, so being able to get to here from Richmond is as important as getting from Newport News to here.” He advocated for scrapping a $64 fee for alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrids, that is part of the new transportation law.
Duncan then asked the candidates about how they would prioritize widening I-64 from Newport News to I-295 in Richmond. Mason said money “seemingly exists” to widen the road to Route 199, but that issues such as the Fort Eustis Boulevard Interchange and widening the crossing at Queens Creek are concerning. He advocated examining using right-of-way the Virginia Department of Transportation can already access while examining the acquisition of land while remaining sensitive to the needs of the environment.
Watson said the only money currently guaranteed is $100 million from the state which will widen I-64 from Newport News (exit 255) to Ford Eustis Boulevard (exit 250). He said regional money generated from the transportation law has not yet been allocated and that HRTPO is examining how to go about spending that. Both candidates mentioned U.S. 60, which runs parallel to I-64 for much of the distance between Richmond and Williamsburg, as a way to help ameliorate traffic problems on the interstate.
Duncan asked the candidates about whether they would support or oppose dedicating new revenue to the Virginia Tourism Corporation to help fund tourism activities in the state. He said tourism generates $20 billion in the state of Virginia each year.
Watson said tourism is a “state industry … critical to our region.” He said investing in tourism is “huge” for the state and that it “warrants investment.” He said tourism helps bring in money from other states rather than circulating money already in Virginia.
“First and foremost we should make sure people recognize how important tourism is,” Watson said.
Mason said West Virginia spends more money on tourism promotion than Virginia, which he would like to see changed. He said marketing and tourism zones can help promote tourism but that incentives for tourism need to be looked at to ensure they have not run their course.
Both candidates said they support keeping the school start time after Labor Day. Mason said an earlier school start time leads to a decline in tourism revenues. He said he helped create September’s Williamsburg Arts Month to combat slumping tourism numbers.
“This isn’t pitting tourism against education,” Mason said. “We haven’t seen empirical data showing test scores improve with an earlier start time.”
Watson said he continues to support a later start time, saying there isn’t any evidence showing an earlier start time helps the performance of students. He said many people within Virginia go to tourist destinations after out-of-state visitors have returned to school. He went on to say there is a “huge push” in the House of Delegates to move up the school start time and that it’s important “we educate our colleagues to show them how important [a later start time] is.”
The candidates echoed their previous statements when asked about whether Virginia should expand Medicaid: Mason said he supports an expansion while Watson said the system needs reform before any expansion.
Mason pointed to potential savings from reforming the Virginia Retirement System and from people on an expanded Medicare list receiving treatment for conditions before they grow into serious problems. He said Virginia sends money to Washington, D.C., so it’s important that money returns to the state.
Watson said Medicare has problems with efficiency, quality of care and fraud. He said when a Medicare patient walks through the door, a physician loses money. He said further investigation is warranted to determine how to help people get off Medicare and into incrementally adding people to Medicare. He also suggested investigating taking money from Medicaid and potentially using it to help people secure private insurance.
Duncan also asked about social issues, saying both candidates portray themselves as businessmen who rank job creation, education and transportation among their top issues, yet “social issues remain the dominant theme in media coverage” and in campaign messaging. He asked Watson if the General Assembly has been fixated on social issues to the detriment of other causes.
“When I ran for office, I didn’t go up there to push my beliefs or social agenda,” Watson said. “It was to expand opportunities to Virginians.”
He said social bills were a “small fraction” of what came up during the latest session and that he “looks at the facts and votes.” He said the best social bill is a jobs bill and that “if you look to areas with the highest crime rate, teen pregnancy and drug abuse, it’s areas of low employment.” He later said he supported an initiative to make certain contraceptives available to adults without a prescription.
“I don’t think the population of Virginia wants more social bills,” Watson said. “I won’t carry them.”
Mason said social issues are important to people across the state and nation. He said the Republican Party introduces “all of these bills” and that they are “an assault on women’s rights, voter rights and equal rights.” He said “women in this state and in this country are outraged they’re righting the fights of 40 years ago.”
The environment in the WRL Theater differed from that of the first debate, which was held in a lecture hall at the College of William and Mary. Students and citizens of District 93 packed that lecture hall, with many people standing along the back wall who were unable to find a seat. Friday’s morning debate in the theater was sparsely attended in comparison, drawing about 40 people.
The Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance is a coalition of more than 900 members who represent small businesses, large businesses, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations in the Historic Triangle. The group serves to encourage the growth of new and existing businesses, coordinate those involved in commerce, industry and professions and promote the area as a year-round destination.
WYDaily submitted an identical set of questions to Watson and Mason. Read Watson’s answers here, while Mason’s answers are available here.
The election is Nov. 5.
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