acgnational
By Stan Krejci, Principal at The SK Group, LLC
Tom Davis, the former Virginia 11th District Congressman (1995 – 2008), will speak at ACG’s Fall Kick-Off event at the Tower Club at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 9. Focusing on the upcoming mid-term November elections, Davis will review the potential outcomes in these elections nationally and for our mid-Atlantic region. He will also discuss what those outcomes might mean for our area businesses and the economic well-being of our local economy.
In addition, Davis will address the local and state economic impact of Secretary of Defense Bill Gates’ recent announcement of reducing the defense budget by $100 billion over the next five years.
Davis, as a moderate Republican, has a balanced perspective on the way in which the two parties are or are not working effectively on behalf of the nation and what impact this current lack of partnering effects forward progress in addressing critical issues facing the nation.
While born in North Dakota, Davis has become a dedicated Virginian. After graduating from Amherst, he obtained a law degree from the University of Virginia. Politically, Davis began his journey to the House of Representatives first as an active member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (1980 – 1994) and as its Chair from 1991 to 1994. Since retiring from the House, Davis works at Deloitte Consulting in Arlington. He serves as President and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership, a moderate Republican organization. Davis is also teaching at George Mason University, mostly recently a course on “Southern Politics.”
His assessment of mid-term elections is that they are more party-focused than national elections, which are about the two candidates more than the parties they represent. These elections are a time for course corrections and are heavily influenced by independent voters. He stated that these elections are where the “blank check is removed from the president and a check is placed on the president’s ability to do as he wants, which happened to Clinton in 1994 and Bush in 2006.”
The impact of the interest groups is growing and is having a significant effect on the candidates in their local primaries and elections. The election outcomes this fall will be shaped more what way the independent voters are moving, which, Davis believes, is toward the Republican or conservative platform.
We will have an opportunity to ask questions of Davis following his presentation. Davis is clearly well-plugged into the continuing machinations on the Hill as well as to the individual “movers and shakers” in both houses of Congress. He’s ready to give you his insights into what may be in store for us in the mid-Atlantic region, as well as for the country.
