It looked for a while at least like candidates for governor had spotted Virginia's fastest growing city and were going to be campaigning in Suffolk this weekend.

Republican Jerry Kilgore was going to be in north Suffolk Friday around 2 p.m. at Bennett's Creek Farm Market. Those little signs were plastered all over the place there this morning.

I also noticed today that independent Russell Potts, the Republican State Senator from Winchester, was scheduled to be at the Eclipse-Crittendent-Hobson Ruritan Clubhouse on Sunday at 23 for a meet and greet. Reporter Allison Williams also found several flyers posted around Chuckatuck for Potts' visit.

While the Kilgore campaign alerted the News-Herald to his visit, the Potts campaign did not. Despite the snub, we were going to do a story anyway. Allison called the campaign to do a little advance story for the weekend, and lo and behold, she was told the senator's been real busy campaigning and they were going to give him Sunday off.

She neglected to say how they were going to get the word out to all those folks who had seen signs and flyers.

Stiffing Suffolk on a visit is disappointing, because from what I've read, Potts is probably the best among the three candidates n Democrat Tim Kaine being the third in the race.

Potts is the rightful heir, I believe, to Virginia's tradition of sound, conservative, fiscal management. In other words, he's not going to make pie-in-the-sky tax slashing promises, ala Jim Gilmore, that will harm the state more than it will help it. Kilgore and Kaine just strike me as the types who say whatever it takes to get elected.

Hopefully, Potts will show up Sunday. I'd hate to seem upset potential supporters. He's going to need every one he can get, and we're going to need him for Virginia.