Local attorney Daniel A. Gecker, also a Chesterfield County supervisor, is running as a Democrat for the state Senate seat held by Sen.
Local attorney Daniel A. Gecker, also a Chesterfield County supervisor, is running as a Democrat for the state Senate seat held by Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan, who is retiring when his term ends in January 2016.
Since 2008, Gecker, has represented the Midlothian district and in February 2015, he announced his candidacy for state Senate.
“I think I’ve done a good job with quality of life in Chesterfield, and I’d like to expand to quality of life in the region and the state,” says Gecker in an email interview with RVAMag.
Gecker wants to focus on “expanding opportunities for all Virginia families and businesses.”
For Gecker, some of his most important goals are “helping our kids succeed in a global economy, expanding Medicaid and creating more local jobs.”
While Gecker is running as a Democratic candidate, he was always an independent in Chesterfield.
“I think when I ran what I said was, ‘There’s no Republican or Democratic way to fix potholes.’” Naturally, the state senate works differently, with party affiliation making a much larger impact, especially as Virginia faces a two seat deficit in the GOP lead in the Senate.
Gecker’s election could help swing one of Virginia’s most powerful governing bodies back into democratic control.
He’s the latest candidate to enter a crowded field to succeed Watkins in the politically competitive 10th District, which includes parts of the city of Richmond and Chesterfield County as well as all of Powhatan.
Watkins, a moderate Republican, announced last fall that he would not seek re-election, creating an opening in a district that has gone blue in the past three statewide elections.
But Gecker is fighting with several candidates for a seat, including Bruce W. Tyler, a Republican who represented the West End’s 1st District on the Richmond City Council for six years. Tyler filed his candidacy paperwork a week before Gecker.
Republican Stephen Thomas, an IT consultant who sits on the state GOP’s central committee, is also running for the seat. In addition, Richmond School Board member Glen Sturtevant is running for the GOP.
On the Democratic side, nonprofit advocate Emily Francis is in the running, along with Richmond City Councilman Chris A. Hilbert. Elizabeth Hardin, chairwoman of the Chesterfield County Democratic Committee, said on the day Gecker announced that she believes Democrats have a significant chance of taking back the seat come November.
Some folks may recognize Gecker’s name from the 1990s. Gecker was part of then-President Bill Clinton’s sexual harassment scandal. Gecker represented Kathleen Willey, a woman who had accused Clinton of unwanted sexual advances in the White House. Willey was the widow of well-known Chesterfield attorney Edward E. Willey Jr. Gecker testified privately before House Judiciary Committee investigators.
As stated up, this is an important race, perhaps more so than any other of late. A win for Gecker could help bring balance to the Senate. This election could mean the difference between moderation and compromise, or partisanship and obstructionism.
Voters head to the polls November 3rd!
