Deeds Clearly Best Candidate to Keep Virginia Moving Forward

WASHINGTON, DC -- While I love my life as a personal care assistant in a small rural town, I'm 62 and it is scary knowing that I don't have anything to fall back on if something serious happens to me since I don't have health insurance," said Loretta Johnson of Lebanon, Virginia and an SEIU Local 5 member. "Creigh Deeds has fought for workers like me in the Statehouse and he will continue to stand for us when he becomes Governor."

Today, Loretta Johnson and the more than 5,000 hardworking Virginia members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) endorsed State Senator Creigh Deeds for Governor as the best candidate to create good jobs that can support a family and seek real solutions to the big issues that face all Virginians like healthcare reform and reliable public services.

"The national economic crisis has left too many families in the Commonwealth reeling, despite the fact that Virginia is currently in much better shape than much of the nation. Hardworking women and men simply cannot afford to slip any farther behind in this economy, and they want their next governor to not just understand their concerns but to fight for them. Senator Deeds has an impressive record fighting on behalf of working families and has earned his reputation as a consensus builder who the working families of Virginia can count on," said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger.

"We need Creigh Deeds as our governor because he knows people need decent paying jobs to make ends meet," said Romelia Legendre, an office cleaner and 32BJ SEIU member from Alexandria, Virginia. "He understands that we need to get workers back on their feet if we are to get the economy going."

"The choice is clear for voters: Creigh Deeds is a champion of workers in the Warner/Kaine tradition of common sense solutions; Bob McDonnell put partisan politics ahead of the needs of Virginia families as he campaigned against President Obama's proposals to rebuild our economy. Women and men who have spent a lifetime working understand the difference," Burger.

"I am confident that once the rest of Virginia gets to know Senator Deeds and his record of delivering change that works for families like mine in southwest Virginia, they too will be as strong a support as I am," said Johnson. "I can't wait to get to work making calls and knocking doors for someone who can unite Republican, Democrats and independents to tackle our biggest problems."

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