Who Is Tim McGhee?

Tim McGhee doesn’t have many campaign signs dotting the medians of major roadways. The Republican candidate for state Senate in the 30th District believes they’re somewhat of a waste.

Instead, McGhee has handed out business cards throughout his campaign inscribed with three big words that make up his message: Life, liberty and justice.

“These things are going to go a long way,” McGhee said. “These things fit in people’s pockets. Palm cards don’t. As long as it’s what’s coming out of my pocket, I am going to make sure that everything that’s spent is spent as effectively as possible.”

And McGhee believes it’s that type of thinking that will appeal to voters. He says he’s tried to be the kind of candidate he would want to elect—somebody who is not taking pledges, who is listening to voters and running on a fundamental principle.

“And, as far as I am concerned, there’s only one promise to make: That’s to uphold the constitutions of the United States and of Virginia as revised in 1971,” he said.

He’s never run for office before, but saw the 30th District as an opening.

In Tuesday’s election he will face Adam Ebbin, a member of the House of Delegates who beat out Alexandria City Councilman Rob Krupicka and Arlington County School Board member Libby Garvey in a tough Democratic primary.

Democrat Patsy Ticer, who announced her retirement in February, has held the seat since 1996. While Alexandria—which makes up the bulk of the district—might traditionally lean blue, McGhee said he believes redistricting has helped his party a bit.

“If you look at the two senators before Ticer was elected, they were Republicans. So it’s not unusual for this seat to go Republican,” McGhee said. “I have looked at the district a lot and not only are there good, strong Republican areas to it, but there are other areas like [Del Ray], South Arlington, different little constituencies where my message resonates with people.”

He moved to Virginia in 1999 for work and has lived in Alexandria since 2004.

McGhee currently works as a database administrator at The Falls Church. He’s also worked as a Radio Shack store manager and, for a short time, at Disney World, where he admits to have been a card-carrying union member.

He grew up in Sanford, Fla., an area he said is just as diverse as Northern Virginia.

He believes his varied experiences serve him well and have helped give him the ability to build consensus in divisive situations.

McGhee related a story of when he was working in retail management dealing with wireless carriers. He had a customer come to him with “a long tale of woe” in dealing with a specific carrier. McGhee said he listened to the whole story, picked up the phone to call the carrier and was able to summarize the issue in just a few sentences.

He said he felt the customer was surprised McGhee was able to put his troubles so succinctly. 

“As he thought about it, he realized I had covered the essence of the issue,” McGhee said. “Whether it's business, personal and now political relationships, that kind of experience is not uncommon for me.”

McGhee often draws much of his views back to his big key terms. He says life is about more than having a job, but also having a purpose. He says his definition of liberty is where a lot of the “traditional conservative Republican values” kick in.

“Liberty is about creating the environment where people are free to find and live their purpose,” he said. “By that I mean, should the government really be telling us to buy health insurance? I have my doubts about that.”

He’s a fiscal conservative and believes Virginia is in a better position than many states because its budget crisis was "fixed" by not raising taxes and by rolling back spending to 2006 levels.

He's also got some large ideas. He thinks Virginia's Eastern Shore would be a fine place build the next Space Coast, which could help spur jobs in the state.

"I think as people realize the shuttle program is ending, that’s going to be on more people’s minds," he said, adding that he feels many won't like the idea of paying Russians to send American astronauts to the International Space Station.

When it comes to transportation in Northern Virginia, McGhee believes all the options should be put on the table and prioritized to figure out what might be the most effective. He says BRAC-133 is a mistake, but its done and there’s not a lot that can be undone.

McGhee, who has worked for churches since 2009, also has a religious streak. He quoted scripture during some controversial closing remarks at an October candidate forum hosted by the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance.

A Democratic blog . Ebbin, who is openly gay, called McGhee’s remarks “offensive.”

McGhee told Patch what he said was not meant as an attack.

“It was a personal view, and I was reaching out on my perspective of scripture and life,” he said, adding that he believes gay people are valuable and his “heart was broken” because he believed some “feel so hated.”

While his remarks might have missed their mark, McGhee does carry a lot of empathy.

In campaigning for the seat, he says he’s found amazingly varied priorities from people who live just six blocks away from each other. He wants to get to know all of those different priorities and perspectives.

“I’m in this to listen to people and bring people together,” he said. “Even in the most divisive issues, I think there’s room where we can come together.”