Richmond Times-Dispatch: John Nance Garner, who served as Franklin Roosevelt’s first vice president, likened the vice presidency to a “bucket of warm spit.” What image best describes Virginia’s lieutenant governor?

Silver Persinger: The lieutenant governor’s position should be reserved for the individual who Virginians want to serve as governor in four years. The office allows the opportunity for an individual to learn the processes of the Commonwealth’s government. The Lt. Governor will experience four legislative terms in the General Assembly. In that time, the lieutenant governor learns the views held by Virginia’s Senators and establishes allies in the Senate.

Times-Dispatch: The duties and responsibilities of the lieutenant governor include (1) presiding over the Senate, in which capacity he makes rulings regarding parliamentary procedure; (2) casting tie-breaking votes; and (3) succeeding to the governorship if the governor dies in office. Besides campaigning for higher office, what role should the lieutenant governor play when the General Assembly is not in session (and when the governor is healthy).

Silver Persinger: I believe it is the duty of the lieutenant governor to reach out to the citizens of the Commonwealth and to see what people are talking about. People have too little involvement in our democracy. For me, a big part of the job would be to constantly educate Virginians about what our government is doing. My entire candidacy is based on the fact that a vital democracy demands the involvement and ideas of regular working people.

Times-Dispatch: Should candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run as a formal ticket, as is the case with candidates for president and vice president?

Silver Persinger: No, I don’t think so. When you propose such a change, you are effectively limiting the citizens’ right to a more democratic election process. Party bosses may support such efforts but Virginia’s current system is great because it gives us the freedom to choose the candidates we most support.

Times-Dispatch: Should judicial selection remain essentially a prerogative of the majority party in the legislature or should Virginia institute a merit-based system?

Silver Persinger: I support turning over the responsibility of judicial selection to the voters of Virginia. I am an advocate of electing judges at the state and local levels. Why should the third branch of government be exempt from democratic control of the people? We elect our executive, and our legislature. I think our current system promotes a system of cronyism and ideological favoritism. Furthermore, I support term-limits for judges. I am interested in expanding the public’s democratic control of Virginia’s government. I also support instant run-off voting, the popular initiative, the referendum, and the recall to increase the citizens’ access and participation in Virginia’s government.

Times-Dispatch:What is your position on (1) abortion, (2) guns, (3) civil unions for homosexuals, and (4) the death penalty?


Silver Persinger: (1) I support a woman’s right to a legal abortion. This has been a hard-won right and continues to be controversial; politicians must continue support this right. (2) I support upholding the Bill of Rights which includes a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms. My only reservation is that I support a ban on the sale of assault weapons. (3) I support civil unions for homosexuals. For me this is a simple matter of equality before the law and an individual’s inalienable right to liberty. The recent movement to ban gay marriage violates the spirit of the first amendment. The First Amendment guarantees “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …” I understand opponents of gay marriage want to prohibit gay unions based upon religious beliefs – a legal ban on gay unions is the same as establishing their religious beliefs which is prohibited by the first amendment. Additionally the First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion, therefore if even one church recognizes gay unions as a marriage the First Amendment protects their right to practice their religion. (4) I am opposed to the death penalty for religious reasons and I also believe that it violates the Eighth Amendment which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishments.” Studies have shown that African Americans are more often executed than white criminals. Some times mistakes are made and innocent people end up being executed, this is the ultimate violation of an individual’s right to life and liberty.

Times-Dispatch: Does Virginia need revenue-neutral tax simplification? If yes, what should be done?

Silver Persinger: I support simplification of the tax structure. I support abolishing the tax on food completely. And I support the graduated income tax. The more you earn, the more you ought to pay. Further, I think that the assessment structure should be reformed. Property taxes have been escalating for a number of years because inflated prices caused by a housing bubble. Essentially, Virginians have been penalized for making their home in Virginia. I support a plan to freeze assessment values at the price you pay for your home (including all improvements you make to your home up to $100,000 value shall be exempt) unless the property is purchased for speculative purposes (this includes properties that owners sit on waiting for the value to increase and properties that are used for rental purposes) which should continue to be assessed at the current market rate value for such properties.

Times-Dispatch:What [are] your opponents most admirable qualities?

Silver Persinger: I appreciate the fact that Mr. Bolling is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment right to keep & bear arms. I appreciate Mrs. Byrne’s commitment to Virginia and the service she has rendered the Commonwealth over the last two decades. I am closer to Mrs. Byrne’s views on social policy but we differ on economic issues.

RTD: What is your opponent’s most grievous flaw?

Silver Persinger: I object to Mr. Bolling’s bigoted and tyrannical views on homosexuality. In 1777 Thomas Jefferson wrote in Virginia’s statute for Religious Freedom, it say in part “. . . the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time.” Mr. Bolling’s opinions on homosexuality remind me of Virginia’s Massive Resistance politicians who held blacks as less than human and persisted in winning public elections because they represented the bigoted views of their constituents. If the first move is to ban gay unions, shall the second be to criminalize homosexuality altogether. For me, it is the ideal of Equality that motivates my beliefs.

My objection to Mrs. Byrne is that her economic viewpoint is not Socialist. Her views on economic policy are more close to Mr. Bollings which reflect the sentiment of most politicians to serve the class interests of the wealthy. Both Democrats and Republican have the same master which is the invisible power of the wealthy. The wealthy profit by the labor of others and by the privileges granted to accumulated wealth and land.
The wealthy own the largest stake in the corporations with their super-human powers granted by our laws and courts. I am a politician who wants to serve the needs of the majority -- of the working class and the poor.

Times-Dispatch: Name your favorite book (other than the bible).

Silver Persinger: I have two favorite books, the first is A picture of America; the photo-story of America -- as it is -- and as it might be*. I came across this book by accident while working at the Library of Virginia in 2000. It was written in 1932 by Charles Cross and it was my formal introduction to the concepts of Socialism. It’s an easy to read book with lots of pictures. My other favorite book is The Path I Trod*, the autobiography of the great labor leader Terence V. Powderly. Powderly was the leader of the Knights of Labor, a labor union founded in 1869, for a period of 14 years that saw the union grow from 10,000 members to about million. Powderly also served as mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania for three terms, after the Knights of Labor, he then went on to get his license to practice law and then worked at Ellis Island as the head of immigration.

* I've hyperlinked these titles so you can locate these books at a library near you. If a library is not conveniently located ask your local librarian about their inter-library loan program.

Times-Dispatch: Explain your general sentiments regarding raising taxes in times of budgetary surpluses.

Silver Persinger: I support raising taxes for individuals who earn over $300,000 annually and lowering taxes for those who earn less than $100,000. If we have surpluses, we shouldn’t have any problem funding education, health care, infrastructure improvements, and other social programs that will benefit all Virginians.

Times-Dispatch: Do you favor completion of the cut in the car tax?

Silver Persinger: No, I don’t support abolishing the car tax. I think automobile drivers ought to be taxed to finance our highways and highway infrastructure. I could live with the abolition of the car tax if the Commonwealth raised the state tax on fuel – this would be a more equitable tax because it would tax the users depending on their actual usage of our roads. Such a move would also encourage Virginia consumers to purchase more fuel efficient vehicles. Another solution is to reduce our dependence on automobiles as our primary mode of transportation. My platform includes a plank to build an all new state of the art high-speed rail system network over the entire Commonwealth that is free for Virginians which could be financed by tax revenue generated from legalized marijuana.

Times-Dispatch: On what issue(s) do you depart from you political party?

Silver Persinger: Since I am not a member of a specific Socialist Party, I have a lot of liberty in my political outlook. I think some socialists would object to my defense of the free market. I feel that the free market is an important engine for creativity and innovation. The hope of making more money is a powerful incentive for individual effort.

Times-Dispatch: Do you support (1) privatized ABC sales, (2) federal recognition of Virginia’s Indian tribes, and (3) laws against the importation of out-of-state trash?

Silver Persinger: (1) I support privatized ABC sales. However, I support the right of towns, cities, and counties to determine the flow of alcohol into their communities and their right to legislate that control. The taxes raised in localities by ABC sales should stay in localities where the tax is collected, since those will be the same localities that will have to deal with problems associated with alcohol sales. (2) I strongly support federal recognition of Virginia's Native American tribes. Virginia must also respect the treaties we've made with our neighbors. (3) I support attempts to impose limitatations on the importation of out-of-state trash. The justification given for continuing this practice is based on the Interstate Commerce Clause, which asserts federal power over a state's sovereign right to protect its environment, resources, and citizens. Each state in the Union and more specifically each locality should deal responsibly with the trash it produces. I am interested in expanding the role of the Commonwealth in recycle processing.