Over opinionated with Josh Scott
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- Josh Scott, Host of Over Opinionated.
Over opinionated with Josh Scott
Delegate nominee Mitchell Cornett Interview. #91
Meet Mr. Cornett, the Republican nominee for Virginia's 46th House of Delegates district, who brings a refreshing perspective to local politics with his commitment to economic revitalization and ethical governance.
As Southwest Virginia faces unique challenges due to its large land mass but smaller population, Cornett leverages his experience as a Grayson County board supervisor to advocate for targeted economic development. His vision includes preparing "shovel-ready plots" along strategic corridors like I-81 and I-77 to attract major employers without increasing the tax burden on local residents. With plans to secure positions on influential committees like the Tobacco Commission, he aims to help counties navigate available resources and fight for essential funding.
What truly distinguishes Cornett's campaign is his principled stance against accepting donations from regulated monopoly utility companies like Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy. While these corporations typically donate across party lines, Cornett recognizes the inherent conflict of interest when legislators who regulate these entities accept their financial support. This commitment to ethical governance comes at a time when Virginians face skyrocketing power bills and demonstrates his dedication to representing constituents rather than corporate interests.
On social issues, Cornett stands firmly with traditional conservative values. As a Second Amendment advocate, he supports rolling back restrictive gun legislation passed during Democratic control of Virginia government. His pro-life position includes opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee abortion rights up to birth in Virginia. Throughout the conversation, Cornett emphasizes how his faith guides his approach to public service, having felt "called" to serve his community.
With early voting beginning September 19th, Cornett makes a compelling case for the importance of state-level elections. Ready to be a voice for Southwest Virginia's economic future while upholding conservative principles, he invites voters to consider how local representation can have an even greater impact on daily life than federal officials. Join the movement to bring accountable, principled leadership to Virginia's 46th District by supporting Mr. Cornett at the polls.
Hey everyone, we're here with Mr Cornett here. He is the 46th Republican nominee for the House of Delegates. How are you doing?
Speaker 2:I'm good. How are you?
Speaker 1:I'm good. Thanks for coming on. Thanks for coming on the show. I always try to get some people that are running for local office statewide office. A lot of people forget how important the statewide is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure. I appreciate you having me, and all of our legacies are important, for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So I just wanted to ask you what made you want to run for delegate.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm on the board of supervisors in Grayson County now. It's been going on two years. I've been a supervisor and I've been in the Republican Party as the vice chairman of the party and I've been the interim chair here recently. I just felt like I could make a bigger impact and really help our area a lot and be a good representative, because in Southwest Virginia we're definitely outnumbered in numbers and population but we have a large land mass, we have a lot of people that really need help, we need economic revitalization and that type of thing. So that's one of the big things. I just really want to help the community and our district and all of Southwest Virginia, because you know the 46 districts Grayson County, smith County, wythe County and part of Pulaski County but usually what's good for the 46 districts is good for the remainder of Southwest Virginia.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And vice versa.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I got you. Your phone connection is breaking a little bit, but I think we've got it all. I think we can hear it all pretty well, Beeson, but if anyone's wondering what's a little staticky, that's why. But it's not a big deal. So what's your plans to help the 46th District and Southwest Virginia? Do you have anything specific that you would like to put into legislation?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm promoting economic development. I'm hoping to get on the Tobacco Commission and just further utilizing that and encouraging counties to do that. I think in the past the counties sometimes don't know all the resources available and a lot of these projects really just take advocates and a legislator and somebody just really to get up there and fight for funding in the state budget and the Tobacco Commission and other avenues. And that's my goal to bring in some economic development here and just really help our citizens.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that would be great. So when you say economic development, is there anything in particular you're trying to bring to the area?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean we have a lot of of along i-81 and pulaski, uh, smith and with three other four counties have 81 counties and 77, some of smith also.
Speaker 2:I'm an advocate for having shovel ready pots ready to go and I think I think we've got some a little bit of work to do in some of the counties to have to have that. So whenever we do have these opportunities for big businesses, big employers, to come in, you know that you just have to have those sites ready for them to go and that that's important because you know, with inflation and everything else, the local tax burden, the local government costs, are going up every year and the local tax burden, the local government costs, are going up every year and the local tax burdens won't go up if we just if we can't meet that that increase with inflation and increasing costs, if we can't meet that with economic development revenue, it's going to have to be made up of local tax dollars. So so we have to try to avoid that. We have to create good jobs and bring as much money into the area as possible. It keeps costs of living low.
Speaker 1:For sure we don't need anything more expensive than it is or more taxes. So, getting into some economical issues, I was wondering what are your plans to help lower the power bill or freeze the rates? And the way the public utility is set up and the power companies are set up in Virginia it just always made me feel uneasy. I know it's the law, but I know power bills have been through the roof.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. In Virginia we have regulated monopolies, regulated by the state. In our area it's Appalachian Power and other parts of the state Dominion Energy. Dominion is the top producer in the state or has the most customers, and Appalachian Power's second. And it's really just out of control and in the past wage slaters all over the state have taken a lot of campaign contributions from both of those companies.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I just don't think it's right that that should be happening and early on from the outset of my campaign I said I'm not accepting major monopoly utility company donations.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:We're supposed to be holding these people accountable because our citizens, they have to pay what they don't. There's no competition. Whenever they get a bill they want electricity, it has to go through Appalachian Power here.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:We're the ones who have to stand up and fight for people and try to lower those bills. So that's a good start, in my opinion. It's not taking that to scrutinize these companies, not be bought off and, you know, write legislation and support legislation that does not support increases legislation that does not support increases.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that was going to be my next question when I'm looking at campaign donations, Dominion and Appalachian Power donate across the board. They don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat, and I just think it's corrupt that a state-controlled monopoly can donate to political candidates that directly affect them. It seems like a huge conflict of interest and I honestly think it should be against the law.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I do too or at least limited. Very much I would support either. I saw a push for limiting campaign contributions to like $5,000 per year per candidate or whatever. That would be a big change because right now some of the leadership in those parties are getting millions, up in a million dollars a year from Dominion Erie and that's just not right.
Speaker 1:No, it's not, and that's just not right.
Speaker 2:No, it's not.
Speaker 1:We're elected to represent the people and try to bring the cost of living down and have reliable energy, and that's just not good, and the biggest thing is, if you don't vote their way, they're not going to contribute to your campaign anymore in the next election. So they kind of got you by the hook and it's just um you know, it's so corrupt.
Speaker 1:But part of me thinks that maybe I don't know. I don't want to be a pessimist, but it makes me feel like they're so entrenched it's gonna even with you. In richmond it might be hard to pass something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely it will be, but there's been this kind of changing of the tides a little bit. They're really losing the grip that they've had, and that's about as far as an effort. There's several members, a lot of members on both sides of the aisle that are not accepting contributions anymore. So that's really changed in the last five to ten years. You know that used to be, everybody took them and now that's really changing a lot. So I think that's a good thing, Right.
Speaker 2:But it takes a lot of money to run these campaigns. But you know, right, but it takes a lot of money to run these campaigns, but but you know that's, we've got to remember that we just represent.
Speaker 1:We represent the people and we got to do what's best for the people, not lobbyists and not major corporations that are making record profits oh for sure no, I totally agree, and and um, lobbying can get iffy, no matter who it is, but especially when they're government controlled monopolies, it's even more corrupt.
Speaker 1:But um absolutely yeah, um, but we'll switch over. So the the last four years under glenn yunkin, we've had some protection. We've had the power of the veto. When Democrats took complete control of Virginia in 2019, we saw a lot of bad legislation get passed. A lot of things, when it comes to the Second Amendment, was restricted. So I was wondering what is your stance on gun control, the Second Amendment and can we roll back some of those unbearing restrictions if we take full control?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm a big Second Amendment advocate. I'm a gun owner, I really enjoy shooting guns. I have a lot of guns. Second Amendment advocate I'm a gun owner, really enjoy shooting guns, have a lot of guns and, like you said, there are too many and too restrictive gun laws on the books right now and I'd like to repeal those. I think whenever the Second Amendment was wrote, it says shall not be infringed. So everybody remembers back in 2020, most of the counties around here, including my county, grayson, became Second Amendment sanctuaries and there's the VCDL Lobby Day whenever they went further to the left with their primaries and stuff like that. Right, we have to elect Winston Sears as the governor and we have of those back, even if we take control of the House and the Governor's Mansion, because Democrats still have a 21-19 majority in the Senate well, that's true, but maybe we could set ourselves up in two years to make some progress, if this election goes well absolutely, that's very important.
Speaker 1:And I will say, you know, the quote-unquote assault rifles ban really does scare me because it seems like the courts or allowing that in states that have that they don't see it as unconstitutional and I have no doubt in my mind that Abigail Skamburg would sign that into law. I have no doubt in my mind that this new wave of Democrats See a lot of the old Democrats. They have either been primaried out or they have retired. Some of the older Democrats would have never went along with this, but the group in the General Assembly now are a lot younger and a lot more radical out or they have retired. Some of the older Democrats would have never went along with this, but the group in the General Assembly now are a lot younger and a lot more radical.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. A lot of those more senior members were more conservative for Democrats and they're gone now. It's just. I've just got to emphasize how important it is for all your listeners to get out and vote. Take your friends and your family and everybody you know to get out and vote Republican Absolutely To avoid us becoming California East.
Speaker 1:Right, that's the last thing that we want, that we want, um and and you know, some, something else it relates heavily to what we've been talking about is the right to the right to life. Effort of of saving unborn babies from abortions have has been rolled back intensely and there's basically no laws protecting unborn children in Virginia. I, you know I, if I had it my way outside of life of the mother, it would all be gone. But at least I would like it if we could have some protection for babies that are about to be born. And I just don't see that. And I guess what would be your plan to support and bring back more protective measures to save the unborn?
Speaker 2:well, unfortunately it all boils down to the control power in the General Assembly, this year's election in the House of Delegates, because remember, last session they passed the constitutional amendment for abortion in the way that that proposal. So what has to happen there is they pass it one year, we have to have an election, which is this year, and then after this election it'll come back next session. So if the democrats retain control of the house, they'll pass that once again and then it'll go to the voters of Virginia on the back until next November in 26.
Speaker 2:So the only way of stopping that is a Republican majority. If we get a Republican majority we can stop it, but it's a very radical amendment. It's pretty much just abortion up to the time of birth, which is just crazy.
Speaker 1:And what scares me about that is it would guarantee the right to an abortion all the way up to the moment of birth and put that in the Constitution, making that a right in the Virginia state constitution. So if you get full Republican control after that, they cannot reverse that law. It would be a constitutional amendment.
Speaker 1:They'd have to go through the amendment process all over again yeah, I believe so yeah so, and I I'm assuming you'd be a a big no vote on that and would support legislation rolling back the measures that don't protect unborn children.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I believe life begins at conception.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I appreciate that, and when I was messaging you, I asked you the same question and uh, earlier as we end this interview, but, um, you know you've been pretty, he's been not ashamed to share your faith, and I was just going to ask, um, you know what, what role will your faith have in governance and and being a legislature?
Speaker 2:well, it'll have a big, a big part of of that and that's why I'm running. That's why I ran for Supergatherer. I felt like I was called to do so and I definitely pray every day to make the right decisions and do things that will honor God. So it's very important to me my faith.
Speaker 1:No, absolutely. I think that's great and I really appreciate it being open and honest. And, uh, you know, I think we need more men of good character and of good faith to run and be part of our state and federal government. It's it's tough out there. I think there's a lot of people of good character that aren't willing to touch it because how corrupt it is. But I really do appreciate, um you not neglecting it, not using a cop out of saying saying this is what I personally believe, but God doesn't have a say in government, which is that's just a horrible thing to say. The separation of church and state was never to be a separation of Christ and state and we have confused that over the years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right of Christ and state and we have confused that over the years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's right, so well is there anything else you'd like to leave and tell the voters? I know that early voting starts soon.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I just appreciate the opportunity to do this interview and early voting starts Septemberember 19th, which is next friday, and it's just like I say. I appreciate everybody's vote and support and it's very important that everybody gets out. A lot of people just only vote in presidential elections, which the president is definitely very important, but I would argue that our state elections, our representatives in the House of Delegates and our statewide candidates governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general may even have a bigger impact on our lives than even the president.
Speaker 1:I totally agree, Mitchell. Thank you so much for coming on. I really wish you the best of luck. I'll personally be praying for you. As soon as the polls open, I'll be casting my vote for you and the rest of the ticket. If you need anything on the campaign trail or need any help, just let me know and message me.
Speaker 2:All right, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1:All right, have a great day, god bless.
Speaker 2:All right, you too, bye.
