Redrawn district to get novice

View larger image Webert View larger image Zwick

Winner will replace veteran Clay Athey Jr. from Warren

By Joe Beck -- jbeck@nvdaily.com

Voters in the redrawn House of Delegates 18th District will be electing a new a new state representative Tuesday who has never held elective office.

Republican Michael J. Webert, 32, of Marshall, and Democrat Bob L. Zwick, 55, of The Plains, are both political newcomers seeking to replace veteran lawmaker Del. Clifford L. "Clay" Athey, who has held the seat since 2002.

The district is made up of all of Rappahannock County and parts of Culpeper, Fauquier and Warren counties. Warren County's district precincts are Happy Creek, Linden, East Shenandoah and South River.

Webert's and Zwick's entry into the race as first-time candidates for public office is not their only similarity.

Both are businessmen with roots far outside of Virginia. Webert was born in Colorado and Zwick describes himself as "coming from 13 generations of farmers up in New England."

"Farming is in my genes," Zwick said in a statement on his website.

Zwick started a software company headquartered in Fairfax in the 1980s. It grew to 250 employees at its peak with offices in six states and four countries on three continents. He retired in 2008.

Zwick grew up in a household deeply immersed in national politics. His father was director of the federal budget under President Lyndon B. Johnson in the mid-1960s.
Prominent politicians were regular visitors to the Zwick household, he recalled.

"It was not uncommon for me to get up in the morning and see the governor of Florida getting coffee," Zwick said.

In an era when many candidates try to portray themselves as political outsiders free of unseemly compromises, shifting loyalties and watery principles, Zwick embraces his family background and record of political activism.

Though he has never held public office, he said he has lobbied lawmakers in Richmond on conservation issues "for many, many years."

He also serves on the state Democratic Party's central committee.

Zwick argues his list of political contacts and experience as an activist would make him a more effective representative than Webert.

"Michael is certainly a likable kid, but I don't think he has anywhere near the life experiences I've had," Zwick said. "I just know a lot more people and have done a lot more things."

"I really know everybody," he added. "I can pick up the phone and call senators, congressmen, people like them, and get a call back in the next few hours."

Webert argues that he may be much younger but he is far from inexperienced.
His resume lists his current job as general manager of Locust Hill Farm, a 3,500-acre operation owned and rented by his family. He is also the owner of Black Locust Livestock Marketing & Consulting, a board member of the Fauquier County Farm Bureau and the winner of a soil and water conservation award for developing what he calls "a revolutionary land management system."

Farming looms large as an occupation and way of life in the 18th District. Webert said his background is much more suited to the task of representing agricultural interests in Richmond.

"My experience in the biggest industry in the district gives me the capacity to lead the district best," he said.

Webert said he wants to cut business regulations that he believes hinder job growth. His answer to commuting problems faced by residents with jobs close to Washington is to create more jobs in the 18th District by "getting out of the path of private industry."

Zwick calls for "a modern transportation system to move our residents as well as our goods and services."

Both candidates support easing restrictions imposed on local government actions by strict interpretation of the Dillion Rule, a 19th-century legal doctrine.

Webert said the four counties in the district sometimes have different opinions over the importance of preserving farming and the rural way of life as opposed to creating more jobs. Those differences require "working closely with the boards of supervisors and giving them the tools for them to prosper as they like," he said.

Webert said he would work to protect and strengthen statewide assets that make Virginia a strong competitor with other states in an effort to attract business.

"We've got a quality of life here you can't find anywhere else," Webert said. "We've got proximity to Washington, D.C., you can't find anywhere else, and we've got an educated work force established and ready to work."

Zwick said he would try to strengthen the rights of individual property owners by "tightening up the ability of homeowners associations to go overboard on some things."
He cited the example of a neighbor of his who ran a small winery but was forced to shut down because the neighborhood association created a rule to prohibit wineries.

"I guess they didn't like the idea of tractors running around and all the other things that involve growing grapes, so they shut them down," Zwick said.