September 8, 2010--Ivy, VA--Tomorrow night, the second debate of the 5th district race will take place in Nelson County, and for the second time, Republican candidate Robert Hurt will skip it. Voters of the 5th district learned this morning that Senator Hurt will instead opt to raise money out-of-state with corrupt members of Congress who support job-killing trade deals. The fundraiser is hosted by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), who was named to CREW's Most Corrupt Members of Congress list for his dealings with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), who has been a major supporter of free-trade deals that have cost Virginia thousands of jobs. 

"Robert Hurt is now 0 for 2 on showing up for debates, and he's added insult to injury by instead flying out-of-state to raise money with two of Washington's most corrupt politicians, famous for their kick-backs to lobbyists and their support of job-killing free-trade deals. Robert Hurt doesn't need to get elected to Washington because he's already gone Washington, preferring high-dollar lobbyist fundraisers instead of answering questions from the people he claims he wants to represent,"said Jessica Barba, spokeswoman for the Perriello campaign. 

ApCo Has Successfully Raised Rates Seven Times Under 2007 Statute Supported by Hurt
 

September 1, 2010—Ivy, VA—Despite his clear vote for legislation that has authorized seven electricity rate hikes in the past three years, Senator Robert Hurt today falsely denied any responsibility for the raised rates.

Yesterday at a roundtable discussion in Campbell County, Congressman Tom Perriello made clear that Robert Hurt’s vote in 2007 for an electric utilities bill has hurt consumers in Central and Southside Virginia. Perriello met with a group of citizens who told stories of rising rates that have hurt their small businesses and their pocket books. But today, Senator Hurt made the patently false assertion that his vote had nothing to do with the raised rates.

“Robert Hurt knows full well electricity rates have been hiked seven times because of the legislation he supported, and that Virginia families are furious about their high electric bills. It’s no wonder he’s trying to distort the facts,” said Jessica Barba, spokeswoman for the Perriello campaign. “Like a typical politician, Robert Hurt did the bidding of his special interest donors when he voted for this bill written by the electric utilities in order to protect their profits and gouge consumers. Now Virginia seniors living on fixed income are paying the price—literally—by having to choose between putting food on the table or keeping the lights on.”

August 24, 2010—Ivy, VA—The Robert Hurt of 2010 is once again contradicting the Robert Hurt of 2007 in his first television ad. The Robert Hurt of 2010 says in the ad, “I’ve pledged to fight any tax increase and make Washington stop spending money it doesn’t have and start creating jobs.” But the Robert Hurt of 2007 co-sponsored and voted twice in favor of a transportation plan that raised taxes, created unconstitutional taxing authorities, and ended up forcing the state of Virginia into debt to pay for it.

“We all know typical politicians say one thing and do another, but Robert Hurt has taken the about-face to a whole new level,” said Jessica Barba, spokeswoman for the Perriello campaign. “Senator Hurt’s record as a serial tax raiser won’t go away just because he now claims he’s against tax increases. The truth is: he voted twice for a transportation plan that not only raised taxes, but also created unconstitutional taxing authorities and forced Virginia further into debt. The more voters know about the chasm between Senator Hurt's record and his rhetoric on taxes, the more they realize he can't be trusted on this issue.”

The legislation that Hurt co-sponsored and voted for, HB 3202, among other things:

• Raised the taxation rate from 16.5 cents to 17.5 cents on diesel fuel,

• Imposed “abuser fees” for certain traffic offenses, otherwise known as the $3,000 speeding ticket,

• Required the Department of Motor Vehicles to impose an additional fee upon drivers whose record shows greater than eight demerit points of $100 plus $75 per point in excess of eight points, and

• Authorized local governments to declare their areas “regional transportation tax districts” and to raise commercial real estate property taxes at 0.25% of the “fair market value.”

August 23, 2010--Martinsville, VA--Standing in the city that has suffered some of the worst job losses from free-trade agreements, Sen. Robert Hurt made clear that one of the key principles of his campaign is to continue supporting plans that outsource Southside Virginia jobs. The 5th district of Virginia, and Martinsville in particular, has been devastated by free trade agreements like NAFTA but Sen. Hurt has refused to oppose expanding NAFTA-style agreements to cover South Korea and other countries. Hurt also opposed a bill that would close the tax loophole that rewards corporations for shipping jobs overseas. Between 2001 and 2008, Virginia's 5th District lost an estimated 5,900 jobs due to the trade deficit with China. 

"Robert Hurt is a typical politician who remains so out of touch with the experience of working families that he doesn't even realize the devastating effects free-trade agreements have had on the 5th district. Now he's even pledging to continue supporting these bad trade deals and protecting corporations that ship good American jobs overseas," said Jessica Barba, spokeswoman for the Perriello campaign. "If Senator Hurt weren't so busy standing up for companies that outsource jobs, maybe he'd realize free-trade agreements are bad for Southside Virginia."  

August 18, 2010--Ivy, VA--The Perriello campaign has a new TV ad explaining why Robert Hurt hid from voters at last week's debate: he is too afraid to tell voters why he favors giving generous tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, and then votes against unemployment benefits for those left jobless. Sen. Hurt opposed the bill that would close the tax loophole that rewards corporations who outsource jobs because he signed a pledge to a Washington interest group to keep the tax loopholes open. He has also taken campaign contributions from lobbyists of companies named to Lou Dobbs's "Exporting America" list, which further explains why he wants to protect those companies. 

In the General Assembly, Hurt was one of only nine Senators to vote against a bipartisan bill to provide extended benefits for job training programs for Virginia's unemployed. Sen. Hurt has represented areas of Virginia with some of the highest unemployment rates since 2001. 

"How out-of-touch can Robert Hurt be? First, he says we should continue tax policies that reward companies for shipping good American jobs overseas. Then, he has the nerve to oppose extending unemployment benefits for those who are left jobless. It's no wonder why he's hiding from voters," said Jessica Barba, spokeswoman for the Perriello campaign. "Senator Hurt is clearly doing the bidding of his campaign contributors, lobbyists for companies that outsource jobs. Fifth district voters should know where Senator Hurt's loyalties lie: with companies that outsource jobs, not with Virginians whose jobs have been outsourced." 

The ad is currently running in Charlottesville and Roanoke TV markets. Watch the ad here: