Congressional candidate holds event in Front Royal

By Alex Bridges -- abridges@nvdaily.com

Congressional candidate Andy Schmookler plans to bring his ongoing series of talks back to Front Royal.

Schmookler, a Democrat from Mount Jackson, seeks to unseat U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, for the sixth district in the Nov. 6 election. Schmookler is holding talks in different localities across the sixth congressional district, which stretches from Roanoke through the Northern Shenandoah Valley.

Schmookler's talk, titled "Plenty of blame to go around," takes place at 6:30 p.m. today at Samuels Public Library, 330 E. Criser Road, Front Royal.

"These events are structured to make the most meaningful possible engagement between me and the public that we can have," Schmookler said. "I start out with brief remarks which are intended to help people see the nature of what's happening in America today that's given us this crisis we're in with our politics not working and then I open the forum for people to ask me to respond to anything that's meaningful to them, any idea or question."

"We have a political dynamic going on where, on one side of our political spectrum, a very destructive force has arisen," Schmookler added. "And on the other side of the political spectrum, there's been a failure to stand up and protect the nation against that destructiveness."

Audience members may ask questions beyond the topic presented at the event, according to Schmookler.

Previous events attracted light to heavy attendance, Schmookler said. An event in Harrisonburg drew approximately 60 people and received media coverage by newspapers and television stations. Some events have had less turnout, he noted.

The candidate said he intends to appear in each of the seven main population areas of the district every three weeks. Schmookler held an event in Lexington on Monday. The purpose of the events is to reach out to the public and to provide the media with information they can convey to readers, viewers and listeners, Schmookler said.