As we learned from the last election cycle in Virginia, the perceived “safe” candidate doesn’t always equate to electoral success. This brings me to the 2010 race for Congress in the 1^st Congressional District. Over the next several months, Democrats will decide on a challenger to Rep. Rob Wittman (R-1^st CD).

I believe the single most important factor in being able to win this race is the ability of our eventual Democratic nominee to energize Obama voters and get them to actually show up for this mid-term election. I’m under no illusion that the first congressional district is a particularly easy one for Democrats; however, I believe that Krystal Ball is the only candidate who can pull off a major upset. As she often states, this election will come down to “money, mobilization and a good message.”

Krystal has already raised more money than any of our immediate past Democratic candidates were able to raise throughout their entire campaigns. As of the last reporting period, she has raised more than a quarter of a million dollars; and it is likely from what I’m hearing that she will be approaching a half million dollars at the end of this reporting period (12/2009). To put this in context, this would be more than Shawn O’Donnell (D-2006), Philip Forgit (D -2007) and William (“Bill”) Day (D-2008) were able to raise combined throughout their entire campaigns. This huge cash advantage will allow Krystal to gather the necessary resources to get her message out.

In a recent interview with Blue Virginia, she listed education, environmental protection and technology based job creation as the issues she was most passionate about.

Being the husband of a public school teacher, I see firsthand what a vital role our teachers play in providing a quality education to our children. They are constantly being asked to do more with fewer resources. Krystal understands education. She understands that in order to maintain and grow an exceptional core of teachers that we must focus on “recruitment, retention and fair pay.”

Specifically addressing recruitment, I think that it is important to understand why professionals choose fields such as engineering over teaching. To me it is not simply all about the almighty dollar as it is about allowing teachers to actually teach. Teach not to a test, but allow teachers a bit more freedom in actually teaching. It seems to me that each year we are spending more and more time on test preparation, which directly impacts actual instructional time in the classroom. Why is this the case? Under the No Child Left Behind Act, the federal government requires us to conduct tests to measure students’ academic proficiency. If certain academic thresholds are not met, this impacts the amount of federal funding a school receives. And, by the way, the federal government mandates that this testing be conducted, but provides no funding to support it (a.k.a. the “Unfunded Mandate”). I totally believe that we need academic standards, but the system is fatally flawed and is need of a major overhaul.

Krystal strongly believes that the federal government should not be “putting legislative handcuffs on local communities” and so do I.  Krystal also understands that there are many folks in local communities who may have a particular expertise that could provide tangible benefits to students in the classroom; however, they do not meet licensure requirements. She has proposed alternative licensure programs to help attract these folks and deal with an aging teacher population that will result in significant retirements in the coming years. One thing is for sure; Krystal is the candidate who offers the most concrete solutions to improve our education system.

With regards to environmental protection and technology based job creation, Krystal understands that they are not mutually exclusive. She understands that in order to address the ever-widening income inequality gap in this country that we must look at creating jobs in industries which we have a comparative advantage, such as renewable energy. This requires bold leadership and a true understanding of business. As a successful small business owner herself, Krystal understands that once “the costs of environmental destruction are brought from externalities to business expenses” that industries such as renewable energy will become economically viable. This will help create high wage jobs that just so happen to provide an added bonus of being environmentally positive.

If all of this isn’t enough to convince you that Krystal is one heck of a candidate, look at a recent endorsement by Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. In his endorsement he notes

“Krystal will be a strong champion of our armed service members and a fierce advocate for our veterans and their families, both inside and out of the district. I am impressed by her call to service and with her background as a CPA and small business owner. I believe she has a valuable perspective from which to legislate on economic issues, and will be the best voice for Virginia’s first district.”

As the Chair of the Stafford Democratic Committee, I have witnessed many successful and not so successful candidates and campaigns over the last two years. Krystal is one of the most intelligent, hard working candidates I have come across over this period of time and, put simply, is our best chance of winning a very difficult first congressional district race. She inspires people to want to work for her and produces a similar fervor amongst her supporters that was present in 2008 for President Obama. She is far from the safest candidate, a 28-year old first time candidate, but where did safe get the Democrats in the 2009 Gubernatorial race?