Roanoke Times

April 23, 2009

Jon Bowerbank, one of three Democratic candidates hoping to challenge Republican incumbent Bill Bolling for lieutenant governor, stopped in Roanoke on Wednesday as part of a three-day tour touting his jobs plan.

Bowerbank, a Russell County supervisor and businessman, is facing off against Jody Wagner and Mike Signer for the Democratic nomination. The winner will face either Bolling or lawyer Patrick Muldoon in the general election.

Bowerbank walked through the Roanoke Higher Education Center on a tour guided by Bobby Williamson, the center's director of operations. Williamson described historic aspects of the building and some of the center's attempts to boost alternative energy. At one point he noted the wind gusting outside and asked, "Why can't we capture that?"

Bowerbank didn't miss a beat. "The obvious answer is that we need to elect a lieutenant governor with those priorities."

Bowerbank said he wouldn't just preside over the Virginia Senate during the General Assembly session but would be a "full-time" lieutenant governor focused on pushing for job creation.