Affordable healthcare, broadband — and more left to accomplish
Says Michael Webert about seeking a fifth term in the Virginia House of Delegates: “There’s still work that needs to be done.”
And the incumbent says he’s confident he’ll return to Richmond to tackle the unfinished business.
Surrounding but not limited to, he says: bolstering the recently passed regulatory reform package, bringing more affordable healthcare to constituents, representing the agriculture industry, farmers (of which he’s one) and small business; cleaning the environment and what flows into the Chesapeake Bay, and guaranteeing much-needed funding is funneled into struggling public school systems like Rappahannock.
“Still door knocking,” Webert replies when asked about this final stretch of campaigning, during which
he’s been accused by opponents of having “no record” to stand on since his first election in 2011. “We will probably hit between 8 to 10,000 doors. We’re shooting for 10.”
Many being targeted are “swing voters,” he points out, the delegate quite aware they could prove pivotal against his most formidable Democratic opponent yet, Laura Galante.
“Very optimistic. Polling looks good,” Webert says during an interview at his Rectortown farming operation, which produces cattle, soybeans, corn and wheat. “Now we’re hitting our base. Which should bring a lot of people home.”
As for that voting record, Webert says it speaks for itself — “from regulatory reform to helping save the horse industry to protecting small businesses,” accomplished he points out by “reaching across the aisle.”
“My opponent claims I vote partisan,” he says. “I only voted 70 percent with my caucus. Regulatory reform took me three years to get this version passed. This last year every single one of my bills passed unanimously. The regulatory reform package passed with two no votes. I passed the largest regulatory reform the commonwealth has ever seen. Virginia is the No. 1 place to do business, part of that is because of the regulatory reform package that we passed last year.”
The delegate also takes issue with those claiming he voted for health care legislation that would strip pre-existing conditions for those most in need.
“When it comes to health insurance in general the commonwealth regulates a very small portion of it,” Webert points out. “Most is regulated by the federal government. But people can’t afford plans on the [Obama-era] affordable care act. We saw that with the large premiums. So we attempted to put in a kind of transition health plan that an individual can purchase that doesn't have some of the pre-existing conditions. So that they can purchase that [proposed plan] for six months until finding a job that provides health insurance.
“A friend of mine spent $2400 a month for premiums,” he continues. “That’s almost a third of his income. This would provide an alternative… give consumers a choice where they have something they can afford until they have something more comprehensive. Otherwise they go with nothing; they’re either going to spend $2400 or zero. You want to walk into the emergency room without healthcare then continue with the current plan.
“I also think there needs to be more transparency with regard to prescription medicine,” he adds. “If somebody is going to raise the cost of a pill by 600 percent I want to know why, because that’s absurd… . We can demand transparency in some of these things. Some states have done that.”
It becomes obvious during the wide-ranging interview that this land Webert works (cows are barely a few feet from his front door) is what is closest to his heart, and when it comes to representing agriculture he says it transcends party politics.
“We’ve done much work when it comes to conserving our resources and the Chesapeake Bay,” says the Republican, while acknowledging a need to balance “common sense conservation verses what is trying to make the extremist, socialist environmentalists happy.”
He’s particularly proud of his support for funding soil and water conservation districts, including Culpeper, which serves Rappahannock County.
“We get more bang for the buck with our soil and water conservation districts. They are fully funded now,” he says.
He wants to further educate new residents who are increasingly moving west into the district, where the “average homeowner doesn’t understand fertilizer and what it’s doing [during runoff[. They’re using ten times more fertilizer than needed. They need to be educated. Most people will do the right thing if educated.”
In Rappahannock County, the incumbent cites the growing need for broadband, whether it be for a student doing their homework or a small business owner. He wants to keep pressure on Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, for one, to expand fiber installation beyond substation to substation.
With the school system, he says he will continue to fight for additional state funding for its elementary and high school, given the “composite index severely hurts Rappahannock, where you’re land rich and cash poor. It’s skewed.”
Finally, the delegate says he would support funding additional research on rapidly expanding tick-borne diseases that affect many residents of the 18th District. “We can make these stipulations when granting research funds to universities,” he explains of one approach.