Asking for Your Vote: Bob McDonnell

Unemployment is the highest in decades. Budget projections have been missed. Many schools are not fully accredited. Small businesses are struggling. Rest stops are closed. These are tough times in Virginia. What we need is innovation, new ideas, and a focus on the future. Those qualities are the hallmark of the positive, forward-looking campaign we have been running since our announcement tour brought us to the gym at J.R. Tucker High School on a chilly day in late March.

This campaign is all about creating jobs and improving the economy. I'm running to be a jobs governor. Every Virginian knows someone who has been laid off, lost their home, or struggled to balance their personal or business budget. And we all know that unless we get serious about how our government works, and the policies we implement, we aren't going to have the economic turnaround we need. That is why I have been rolling out bold policy proposals to create new jobs, promote entrepreneurship, tourism, and technology, control spending, reform our public schools, improve our transportation system, transform Virginia into the "Energy Capital of the East Coast," and make this the best state in America in which to open a small business.

These policy proposals have earned us the endorsements of all of Virginia's top job-creating organizations. The National Federation of Independent Businesses, the Fairfax County and Hampton Roads chambers of commerce, Virginia's Realtors, The Virginia Farm Bureau, and more have all backed our effort. These job-creators know that this is the campaign generating the ideas that will translate into new jobs and more opportunities.

One way we will create more jobs is to ensure that we have the well-educated work force that employers need. As governor, I will work to improve both our K-12 and our higher education systems.

In our public schools I will ensure that 65 percent of our education funding gets to the place where it does the most good: the classroom. That will mean nearly half a billion dollars more per year in the classroom for better textbooks, improved technology, and higher teacher salaries. And I will work with the president to dramatically expand the number of charter schools in Virginia, and implement performance pay to reward our best teachers. We also must have more of a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math in the schools.

Over the past 10 years, Virginia's commitment to higher education has fallen by 40 percent, while tuition has doubled for Virginia parents. I don't need a policy briefing on that. Maureen and I have been writing tuition checks for more than 10 years now, with five more years ahead of us! As governor I will expand both access and affordability at our colleges and universities by committing the commonwealth to awarding 100,000 more degrees over the next 15 years. I will make higher education the priority it must be in our state budget.

We need to build a 21st-century transportation system in Virginia. That is why I have laid out a 19-page, specific, and statewide transportation plan that will pump $1.4 billion in new, annual revenue into Virginia roads and rail, without a tax increase. We will do that through getting the state out of the liquor business and putting that upfront money into transportation maintenance, issuing $4 billion in bonds, increasing usage of public/private partnerships, and dedicating surplus and some new revenue to transportation.

This comprehensive proposal stands in stark contrast to my opponent's vow to not even put together a transportation plan in this election, and his stated goal to raise taxes on Virginians by $1 billion a year. That's not leadership. Virginians can't afford a massive tax hike, and they can't afford continued inaction on transportation.

My goal is to make Virginia the "Energy Capital of the East Coast." I will ensure the beginning of environmentally safe offshore energy exploration and production, bringing with it thousands of new jobs and billions in new investment. We will grow the natural gas and coal industries, encourage greater use of nuclear power, and make Virginia a "Green Jobs Zone" where every green job created earns a tax credit.

In state budgeting, I will bring the same respect for your hard-earned tax dollars that I demonstrated as attorney general when I voluntarily cut my own office budget by 14 percent, gave back my state car, and took a pay cut. We will get budget projections back in line with reality, put a lid on excessive spending, and institute budget transparency. As the economy improves, we will improve funding for law enforcement and mental health, care better for our veterans, and conserve more open space.

These are tough times in Virginia. However, I learned during my time as an Army officer, prosecutor, business manager, legislator and attorney general that when we work together and dream big we can accomplish great things. As your governor, I will work tirelessly to promote more opportunity and more access to the American Dream. We will get our economy back on track and Virginians back to work. I would be honored to receive your vote on Nov. 3, and I look forward to serving you over the next four years.
Bob McDonnell is a former attorney general of Virginia and is the Republican candidate for governor of Virginia. His campaign Web site is http://www.bobmcdonnell.com.