Kaine: stimulus to aid Va.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that he expects a significant sum of money to come to Virginia from President-elect Barack Obama's economic-stimulus package.

In an interview with reporters and editorial board members at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Kaine also said he had been "very interested" in becoming president of Virginia Commonwealth University but that the timing was not right.

He said he also had considered a future in the judiciary before Obama tapped him to head the Democratic National Committee.

Ahead of the General Assembly session that starts tomorrow, Kaine said he is hopeful the stimulus money will come to the state in early February, before legislators adopt a budget based on revised revenue figures.

The expected federal money could be welcome news for Kaine and the General Assembly, who are trying to patch a $3.2 billion budget deficit because of declining tax revenues. Kaine, who is proposing cutting Medicaid funding by $418 million, expects the stimulus package to include money for Medicaid, as well as for infrastructure.

In April, the idea of staying in Richmond after his term as governor expires next January and running an institution like VCU was really appealing, Kaine said. But the timing became impossible once VCU President Eugene P. Trani decided to step down a year early -- this July -- due to health reasons, he said.

It would have been unethical, he said, to be seeking a job at the university while he wrote the budget for the school.

So, after first turning down Obama, Kaine agreed to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He first had pushed someone else for the job, he said, but did not say whom.

"This is a very different path for me than, frankly, I thought about," he said.

Kaine said the other career option he contemplated after leaving office was "going back to my legal background and thinking about the judiciary."

The DNC is based in Washington, but Kaine said he plans to continue to live in Richmond and will move back to the home he owns in Ginter Park after his term as governor expires.

He will be traveling most of the time in 2010 trying to win U.S. Senate seats and governorships for the Democratic Party, he said.

He said there is "no downside" to his being DNC chairman, suggesting that the political alliance with Obama would work to Virginia's advantage when it comes to retaining an aircraft carrier in Norfolk, getting more money for efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and getting a fair share of the upcoming economic-stimulus package.

He said he will not be "an attack dog" in his new role and said Obama agrees with him.

"[Obama] said, 'I'm not either, and this is a time when we've got to run kind of a national unity government,'" Kaine said.

Kaine said he expected the three-man contest for the nomination to run for Virginia governor could be helpful to the state's Democrats, so long as "they don't bloody themselves up too much." Kaine said running in a primary for lieutenant governor helped him in 2001.

"The day after the primary, I was broke, [but] I felt much more confident going into the general election."

Kaine said he regards Attorney General Bob McDonnell, the likely GOP nominee, as the favorite because of the state's "32-year curse." Kaine was referring to the pattern in which Virginians have followed each presidential election since 1976 by electing a governor of the opposing party.

"I used to think that was a coincidence," he said, but he now thinks it reflects "buyer's remorse." Presidents usually lose seats in the midterm elections, he noted.

Kaine said Democrats have gained the upper hand in Virginia because "this is an independent state," and Democrats' image as "problem-solvers and unifiers" has won over those voters.

In addition to money for Medicaid, Kaine said he expects the stimulus package will bring significant money to Virginia for infrastructure. A number of projects are ready to go, he said, adding that he hopes the federal government does not attach too many strings to the money.

Asked if he regretted taking office during hard economic times when he must make budget cuts, Kaine said "I do best when I'm under pressure."

"I'm not in politics to be liked," he added. "I love people and most like me, but I don't need people to like me. So I don't have a hard time making a tough decision."

Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or .

Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or .