Government

MCAULIFFE: Over the past months, I’ve started speeches thanking a lot of political figures.

    The Bedford Regional Water Authority (BRWA) came into being with Bedford’s reversion to town status. The reversion took place this year on July 1, but the process of merging the city’s water and sewer department and the Bedford County Public Service Authority (PSA) into one water authority began late last year.

    Delegate Scott Garrett, who represents the 23rd District in the House of Delegates, unseated an incumbent in 2009 to win his first term in the General Assembly. He said he learned that, in order to win an election, a candidate must get out and see where people are. He added that, once elected, a delegate needs to keep doing that; it’s important to get out and listen.

    “If you’re just willing to get out and listen to people, you’ll learn a lot from people,” he said.

    Delegate Kathy Byron, first elected to the House of Delegates 14 years ago, was interviewed for this story three weeks after HealthCare.gov went live. However, Byron’s worries about ObamaCare had nothing to do with the website’s performance. Byron was concerned with what she was seeing concerning insurance rates.

    “Virginia is leading the pack as far as the cost of it,” she said. “Those 27 and under are going to see a 252.5 percent jump in their healthcare premiums.”