CANDIDATE DISCUSSES TOP PRIORITIES

Sen. Creigh Deeds did not hesitate at all when asked to name his top
priority if elected the next attorney general of Virginia. "My first
order of business is to put together a task force so people can find
the missing sexual predators. As many as one in four predators on the
(Virginia Sex Offender) registry are whereabouts unknown. I want to
track those guys down," said the father of four during a late
afternoon interview Thursday at the Star-Exponent.

"Either the registry means something or it doesn't. I think it means
something," he added. "It means we're doing what we can to protect
children and protect communities."

Deeds, a Democrat who will face off with Republican Del. Bob
McDonnell for the seat in the November election, went on to say that
he believes in redemption and giving second chances. However, when it
comes to sex offenders and children, the reality is grim.

"Statistically, people that offend against children are more likely
to repeat. In those cases, you have to strike the balance on the side
of protecting the community," said 47-year-old Deeds, an attorney
from Bath County.

In town for a fund-raising social at the home of Culpeper residents,
Joe and Connie Kincheloe, the Democratic candidate for attorney
general was candid and sure in his views, answering questions on a
wide range of topics. Following is a selection of Deeds' responses:

On gun use: I support the Second Amendment and I'm proud to have the
NRA endorsement in this race. The NRA supports people that support
the Second Amendment. I have a pretty consistent record on these
issues. I grew up in the country, I grew up hunting and fishing.

We've got a Second Amendment that guarantees the right to gun
ownership, guarantees the right to keep and bear arms.

On the 'no firearms' rule in Yowell Meadow Park: I support uniformity
statewide so that people know what the laws are no matter where
they're going to be.

One problem we had - used to be if you got a pamphlet about gun laws
or hunting laws from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries,
you'd have a section that was getting longer and longer about
different rules depending on where you were in the state. I think
it's important for the sake of clarity of citizenship that people
know what the laws are no matter where they are. And for that reason,
I support uniformity of the laws.

On ridding the commonwealth of meth labs: It's a huge issue all over
the state of Virginia, especially in southwest Virginia.
Methamphetamine is the poor man's heroin.

Basically, it's so explosive and you can be just as severely impacted
by inhaling it accidentally than you can be by ingesting it
purposely. Just this year, labs have also been busted in New Kent
County, Newport News, Hampton Roads, Harrisonburg and Prince William
County. If we get serious about it, this is part of the war on drugs
we can win.

On the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina: It says to me that we
got a lot of work to do. The unfortunate thing about Katrina is that
it just demonstrates, at least to the federal government, that we
were totally unequipped for a disaster on that level.

And of course the states and localities were unequipped as well. We
have a whole lot of work to do. It's one of those things you've
always got to be on your toes about. You've always got to be vigilant
and you've got to always work for improvement. Are we as prepared as
we need to be? No. Are we better than we were in 2001? Yes.

On what the attorney general does: The attorney general has a big
public safety responsibility, and I'm prepared for that part of the
job. I've been a commonwealth's attorney for four years, in Bath
County. I've been in the legislature 14 years.

I know what the job is. I'm prepared for the job - by experience, by
training, by values. The attorney general also provides legal advice
to the governor, the general assembly and every agency of state
government. I want to be attorney general to make Virginia more safe
and secure and we go forward.

On his opponent being endorsed by the Virginia Fraternal Order of
Police: There are lots of police officers that are supporting me. My
dad was a police officer. I've been a prosecutor. I've been on the
front lines with police officers. They are the front line troops.

You know, it's easy to talk a tough game on crime and anybody will do
that, but I'm the only guy in this race that's got a record of
standing up and saying, 'To really be safe, to really be tough,
you've got to invest in the front lines.' Fighting crime ain't cheap.

On the likelihood of winning the vote as a Democrat in the Culpeper
region: I don't know. When I was elected to the Virginia House of
Delegates, I was elected with a fella named Butch Davies, who as I
recall was elected as a Democrat from Culpeper. You know, we're
Virginians before we're Democrats and Republicans.