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Southwest Roanoke County is split between two districts in the House of Delegates. Most voters will be casting their votes in race between Morgan Griffith and Carter Turner.

However, voters in the Clearbrook, Hunting Hills and Ogden precincts are in a district that stretches to Botetourt County. There, Del. William Fralin, R-Roanoke, is retiring and Republican Bill Cleaveland and Democrat Gwen Mason are running to succeed him.

We put the same five questions to each candidate. Here's a link to Mason's answers; Cleaveland's answers are below.

1. What is the most important issue facing Virginia during the next four years?

The budget. Its tentacles extend into all facets of state government.
Just like in our families, Virginia is not immune to the impact of the worst financial climate in many generations. I will focus on working with valid numbers both on the income and spending sides of that equation. I believe the state’s income shortfall is likely to be between 4 to 5 billion dollars. With that level of deficit, serious cuts will have to be made and I do not see tax increases as an option.
Tax increases will break the backs of Virginia’s families and will also cost us even more through additional lost jobs. Even with this seemingly bleak scenario, I see an opportunity here for the state to “reset” its priorities back to core functions of government-education, economic development/jobs, transportation and public safety. This realignment will cause us to have to prioritize spending, again just as we have to do in our own homes. While these are tough times, we WILL get through them and I believe we will come out on the other side strengthened by a commitment to begin living within our means.

2. How do you propose to deal with this issue?

I will seek to reverse excessive and wasteful state spending and I will work to ensure that we also develop realistic revenue projections for the income side of the budget. Unrealistic projections on both income and expenditures have gotten us into this mess, and I believe we must do a more accurate job in this area. These are tough times and they will require tough decisions to be made, but just like we must do at home, Virginia must learn to live within its means, too.

3. What is the best decision that the General Assembly has made in recent years, and why do you think this was the best?

I believe that the General Assembly’s dealing with the state’s mental health issues (post VA Tech) marked one of its best decisions in recent years. First, it brought to the forefront a serious problem that had been neglected for far too long. Secondly, it provided a positive initiative to provide help for those suffering from mental illness and put in place procedures to help protect the public from becoming victims of violent patients.

4. What is the worst decision that the General Assembly has made in recent years, and why do you think this was the worst?

Among the worst decisions made by the General Assembly in recent years was their attempt to fund transportation infrastructure by using exorbitant “Abuser Fees.” This has got to be one of the worst ideas ever conceived. Instead of freeing up funds from waste and duplication of services, they sought to fund what are certainly much needed transportation improvements by imposing huge fines of citizens.

5. What else should voters know about you before casting their vote?

Having lived in the Roanoke Valley for more than thirty years, I love this Valley and its people. That love and respect for our people, coupled with my strong commitment to the SERVANT part of public service, makes me a person who will work WITH citizens to get their issues solved. As an attorney and as a substitute judge serving two different judicial districts, that is what I have done for my clients and for the people who appeared before me as a judge, and that is the same commitment I make to the citizens of the 17th district. I hope I can earn your vote on November 3.