CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Less than two weeks from the GOP Congressional Primary, 5th District Rep. John McGuire visited the Charlottesville Veterans Affairs Clinic with House Committee on Veterans Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (Il., 12th).

Speaking to media after the visit, McGuire discussed, among other things, his thoughts on the impending independent investigation into Albemarle County Public Schools, which he had asked Governor Abigail Spanberger and Attorney General Jay Jones to launch in a letter sent earlier this month.

His letter came as the division continues to deal with the fallout from the arrest of former Hollymead Elementary staffer Michael Swiney, who was arrested and charged with 11 felonies in June related to allegation of sex crimes against children. McGuire said a number of people reached out to him regarding the situation, prompting him to write his letter.

“My wife and I have five children. They’re the best part about life. They should be number one,” he said. “And the moment a problem like this happened, anyone in any leadership or [who] knows about it should report it.”

McGuire also highlighted how he was the first local public official to publicly call for an independent investigation, having sent his letter July 9. State Sen. Creigh Deeds, Del. Katrina Callsen and Del. Amy Laufer sent a similar letter to the Albemarle School Board last Friday, also calling for an independent investigation. The school board then scheduled a meeting for Aug. 4 to discuss the parameters of a third-party investigation earlier this week.

“The genesis was people in that Charlottesville and Albemarle area calling me and texting me and telling me what was going on,” McGuire said of the upcoming investigation.

The congressman went on to criticize former Democratic Congressman Tom Perriello, whom McGuire will likely face in the General Election, saying he “has still not said a word about it, which is very telling and very sad.”

Wednesday, Perriello called for “a good, serious investigation and full accountability for everyone that was involved in this” and then criticized McGuire for refusing to sign the Epstein Files Discharge Petition in the House of Representatives last year.

“I think what we need is people who actually are interested in holding pedophiles accountable and preventing it from happening, not people that are playing political tricks along the way,” Perriello said.

McGuire and Bost spent the morning at the VA Clinic, sitting down with the administrators to receive their input and hear their experiences.

“We want to make sure that veterans all over the Virginia 5th District have the same quality service where they go,” McGuire said. “And we’ve already met and we learned some things because we were listening, and I’ll be working with the chairman’s office to make sure that we do some expansions and some improvements here in this location to make sure our men and women who risk their life for our freedom have proper service.”

Aside from finding ways to improve VA services both locally and nationally, McGuire and Bost both said they are looking to spread the word about what the VA can offer for veterans.

“One of the messages we need to get out to our veterans and to the general public [are] what great services are provided at our VA,” Bost said.

McGuire’s visit to the VA Clinic came as he continues to juggle the tail-end of his first term with his time on the campaign trail. The first-term congressman is running for reelection this year and is set to face challenger Melanie Lucero in the GOP Primary on Aug. 4. In the general election, McGuire will likely be facing Perriello, the last Democrat to win the 5th.

Both candidates have repeatedly criticized McGuire, with Lucero calling him “a huge disappointment” during an appearance on WINA Morning News on July 7 and Perriello often accusing the congressman of not listening to his constituents.

“How’s John McGuire meeting this moment?” Perriello said to Cville Right Now at the opening of his campaign headquarters in June. “John McGuire has met this moment by basically hiding from the voters, not listening and basically doing whatever the corporate lobbyists and the White House tell him to do. And that’s cowardice.”

Still, McGuire called his time back on the campaign trail “fun, because I love people. And you can’t always help them, but when you can, it’s pretty good.”

“In just 18 months as a freshman member of Congress, we’ve been able to pass that maybe your last six congressmen couldn’t pass,” he said. “And just because we worked across the aisle and we treat people with respect.”