The Danville Register & Bee has published some insight into to the thinking of two Republican delegates from Southside who supported the 2004 tax increase but oppose raising taxes in 2006.
Said Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville, of the 2004 tax hike: “I thought it was the right thing to do.” He made his decision based on calls he received from teachers in his district who were worried about education spending and from Pittsylvania County sheriff’s deputies who were on food stamps. “That was then, this is now. … The difference to me is when I look at the needs of our region. … I’m not saying that transportation doesn’t need to be fixed in the state, but we are doing fine.”
Del. Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, also voted for the tax increase in 2004. “At the end of the day, I felt it was important to support a compromise that kept the state funded,” he said, citing concern about a possible government shutdown and the loss of Virginia’s AAA bond rating. “I just don’t see the need to do that in 2006. People in Southside Virginia are adamantly opposed to raising the gas tax.”
