Al Weed
Albert Charles Weed II (born May 23, 1942) is a Virginia winemaker, businessman, and Democrat. Weed was the Democratic nominee for election to Virginia's Fifth Congressional District seat, in both 2004 and 2006, running against Republican incumbent Virgil Goode. In 2004, Weed lost 64% to 36%; Goode once again defeated Weed in 2006, 59% to 40%. Weed, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Command Sergeant Major and veteran of the Vietnam War, has a B.A. from Yale University and M.P.A. from Princeton University. After working for the World Bank and in the private sector, he purchased a  farm where he established a commercial vineyard and co-founded the Virginia Wineries Association. In 2002, Governor Mark Warner named Weed 5th District Trustee for the Virginia Land Conservation Trust Fund. In 2006, Weed faced competition for the Democratic Party nomination. Former Roanoke City Manager Bern Ewert argued that Weed had been beaten "like a drum" in 2004 and would probably lose again. Nevertheless, on May 20, 2006, Weed was chosen as the Democratic nominee by a 114–73 vote of the delegates to the party convention. In Weed's 2006 campaign, he emphasized the need for better treatment of military  veterans. One of his campaign proposals was to establish a college for disabled veterans in the district. In both his campaigns, he advocated withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.