Thursday, November 1, 2001

15th District opponents fire off

Both candidates pull off the gloves in final days

By Randy Arrington
Staff Writer

Although most of the negative campaigning up to this point has come from the challenger’s side of the fence in the race for the 15th District seat in the House of Delegates, now both candidates are taking their shots.

Woodstock attorney Brad Pollack, who’s running as an Independent, began attacking incumbent Del. Allen Louderback (R-15th Dist.) soon after announcing his candidacy in July.

Pollack said his motivation for seeking the office was the dismissal of a court case in Shenandoah County in which he represented a mentally disabled client he believed was swindled in a land deal. At that time, Pollack had little negative to say about Louderback. Pollack even contributed $25 to Louderback’s re-election campaign just weeks before announcing his candidacy.

Since that time, Pollack has charged full force, accusing Louderback of wrongdoings centered on Louderback’s tenure as a Page County supervisor — which included the groundwork for the creation of Page’s Battle Creek Landfill.

"We need a delegate that is not related to the [Page County] landfill," Pollack said. "If we have that, these investigations into these matters can go on without Mr. Louderback’s influence."

The Woodstock attorney has also spoken out against Page’s new landfill contract — as has Louderback — and proposes that he will be able to help the citizens of Page stop the deal if he gets to the General Assembly.

But Louderback feels that Pollack may be running for the wrong office.

"What he’s running on is the landfill situation in Page County, and … maybe he should be running for the board of supervisors," Louderback said, adding that Pollack won’t be able to keep many of the promises he’s making.

"He insinuated he would get rid of judges and everything else, and I really don’t believe he can do that," Louderback said. "If he wants to stop 1,500 tons of waste a day from coming into Page County, then he needs to convince the board of supervisors not to sign the contract."

But Pollack firmly believes that he can use the position of delegate to "fix the problems" he sees in the Shenandoah judicial system and at the Page landfill.

"A member of the General Assembly is tremendously influential … These agencies rely on the General Assembly for their budget and funding. And many feel the same is true of the judicial branch because judges are appointed and reappointed by General Assembly members," Pollack said.

In the final days before the election, Pollack says he’s broadening his platform and addressing issues like the state budget, the environment, education … issues Louderback has been speaking on all along.

"There are numerous issues in the state other than the [Page County] landfill that will effect the district much more," Louderback said. "We’ve got to deal with the budget, new legislation making it easier for senior citizens to get prescription drugs, reviewing our tax system and protecting our groundwater … these issues will effect the entire state. These are the issues we have to deal with in Richmond."

The Republican incumbent feels the experience he has gained over the last two years will help him carry out the duties of the office over the next two.

"The key thing I think is … I’ve been there, I’ve got the experience, and I know what we’re going to deal with in Richmond on the budget and security measures needed after Sept. 11," Louderback said. "The budget is going to be a big issue … with the economy not doing so well, there are going to be some big decisions that are going to have to be made and with me being on the Finance Committee, I think I can contribute to that."

Pollack also agrees that the state budget will be one of the big issues facing the next delegate in the 15th District.

"The budget gamesmanship that’s been going on in Richmond has hurt localities, and we need to stop that," said Pollack, who blamed Louderback and other Republicans in Richmond for the budget stymie.

But Pollack acknowledged that his campaign still leans heavily on his original two issues.

"Those are still the two most important issues … the problems with the judicial system in Shenandoah County and the terrible dump situation in Page County," Pollack said.

Pollack has used attack ads to try and link Louderback to Page County’s landfill problems. In the final week before the election, Louderback fired back.

Louderback’s most recent political ad questions Pollack’s competence and ethics related to a pair of cases the attorney handled.

Based on a news report from The Free Press, the ad claims Pollack may be subject to a review by the Virginia Bar Association for his handling of the Lonnie Lloyd case, where Pollack claimed the mentally-disabled Lloyd was wronged in a land transaction. Also, the ad cites a separate report from The Free Press that Pollack was thrown off another case involving a mentally disabled woman because he took $3,000 as an "advance legal fee." A judge ordered Pollack to repay the money and removed him from the case.

Pollack responded to the ad in a prepared statement Tuesday, qualifying the $3,000 advance as a "minor matter" that was reviewed by a judge and found to be a "misunderstanding" that was "made in good faith." Pollack said he was later reappointed as the guardian of the woman in question.