Linwood Holton, a centrist Republican who served as Virginia's governor from 1970-74, this morning endorsed Democrat R. Creigh Deeds for governor.
Holton, father-in-law of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat, this morning greeted commuters with Deeds at the Clarendon subway stop in Arlington County.
Deeds and Holton said it is important to find a bipartisan solution to the transportation crisis, while protecting other core services such as education.
"It's an unbelievable honor for me to have the endorsement of the 61st governor of Virginia," Deeds said.
"Governor Holton is someone who is not bound up by rigid partisanship," he said.
Holton praised Deeds' approach to transportation.
"Creigh Deeds has developed a plan that has been carefully enunciated and that is the most realistic plan of either of the two candidates," Holton said. "The other candidate has proposed several false promises."
Republican Bob McDonnell says he would not raise taxes to fund transportation. He has proposed a dozen funding mechanisms that he says will produce $1.46 billion annually for roads and rail.
Deeds and Kaine question some of McDonnell's assumptions, such as whether proceeds from offshore drilling will materialize. They also say that McDonnell's plan will take money from the state's general fund. Forty-six percent of the state's general fund goes to education.
McDonnell says Deeds' only transportation plan is to raise taxes.
Holton, Virginia's first Republican governor in the 20th century, has often broken with his party in recent years. He endorsed Mark R. Warner for governor in 2001, Kaine in 2005 and Barack Obama for president in 2008.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement