McDonnell begins naming members of transition team
JOE MAHONEY/TIMES-DISPATCH
Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell’s early picks for his transition team included Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (left) and Attorney General Bill Mims.
In his first news conference as governor-elect, Bob McDonnell today announced a few members of his transition committee, including Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, whom McDonnell also plans to make Virginia’s top “job creation officer” to help lure businesses to the state.
“In the next weeks we will begin preparing for enacting our policy agenda. We are going to outline in excruciating detail everything that I said that I will do during the course of these four years as governor,“ said McDonnell, who added that he will measure progress. “I intend to hold myself accountable to everything I said I would do.“
McDonnell, who led the GOP sweep of the state’s top offices yesterday, said the transition committee also will include Attorney General Bill Mims; and Tom Farrell, CEO of Dominion Resources, a McDonnell friend for 40 years. Other team members announced so far include Bobbie Kilberg, president of the Northern Virginia Technology Council; and Kay Coles James, a Cabinet official under Gov. George Allen who later was director for the Office of Personnel Management under President George W. Bush.
McDonnell named two staff members to the transition team: Phil Cox, campaign manager; and Tucker Martin, his campaign spokesman.
McDonnell said he will soon launch a transition Web site.
As for now, McDonnell said he plans to take a few days off, starting Friday when he heads to Notre Dame, his undergraduate alma mater, with his wife, Maureen, and several of his children.
McDonnell, who received a congratulatory call early yesterday from President Barack Obama, also fielded calls from Sens. Mark R. Warner and Jim Webb, both Virginia Democrats.
“I am enormously privileged to have received the vote that we did last night,“ he said in a moment of reflection on his victory over Democrat Creigh Deeds that ended a decade of Democratic gains at the State Capitol.
Maureen McDonnell, meantime, has received a call from Virginia first lady Anne Holton. The two were to tour the Executive Mansion this afternoon.
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Didn’t Regent Fundamentalist Christian Law School staff more new hires at the Justice Department during the Bush Admin than any other two schools combined or something like that? They were shutting down Yale and Harvard grads to go pluck up some 4th tier (worst class) law school christian fundamentalists?
Is Regent even a real university? Do they teach American Law or Heaven Law? What a embarrassment, our governor went there. Our governor learned the law from people employed by PAT ROBERTSON. Could the Dems not have found ANYONE other than Creigh Deeds?
Anlycoar—no one is saying she is evil, and I make no assumptions about her being a Christian—just because she was at Regent doesn’t make her a Christian.
However, ignoring her past work and the chaos that developed at the USDOJ while she headed OPM and changed the hiring practies at USDOJ cannot be ignored:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/09/opinion/courtwatch/main2665402.shtml?source=mostpop_story
To understand the full depths of that scandal, read this and note that Alberto Gonzalez resigned, in part, because had he stayed the majority of career lawyers at USDOJ would have resigned in protest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dismissal_of_U.S._attorneys_controversy
Imagine that—the USDOJ losing 80% of it’s brainpower because the USAG has lost the confidence of his team.
Back to Kay Cole James. This is not about religion. This is about being accountable while in public office. She left OPM before this all hit the fan, but her hand in creating the Regent pipeline to USDOJ is unquestionable.
Look at her career. She went from small-time politics to the head of the Gov. Dept at Regent, to the head of OPM. Where in her resume was there evidence, at the time that she was appointed to head OPM, that she was qualified for that role?
Does anyone think she is going to be a small-time advisor to McDonnell?
Kay Cole Jones’ appointment to OPM was a political appointment. That means no qualifications required. She did some good work at OPM from what I have read, but creating a pipeline for Regent graduates to fill USDOJ positions, and then having USDOJ implode during the US Attorney firing scandal, deserves scrutiny.
Since then, she took a job with a crooked defense lobbyist for $350,000 a year, quit 2 months later when the publicity over the crook reached daylight, and since then has been hanging out at the Heritage Foundation and running her own small time nonprofit.
Now she gets a call from Bob McDonnell. Let’s acknowledge that she was tapped for this role months ago, and that this is her next step in her political career.
Those who support McDonnell should want this appointment scrutinized as much as anyone else, because if this is the first step in fulfilling on the McDonnell social blueprint it will create an embarrassing distraction for his administration.
“ It’s too bad that my side has to allow a bunch of Mao sympathizers to get in office and literally threaten us with the the barrel of a gun before we get off our rear ends and do something about it. “
******
Lol what universe are you writing this stuff from?
Upon bombing Pearl Harbor, the commanding general of the Japanese military forces said, “I am afraid we have awakened a sleeping giant.“ Liberals are delusional. Republicans have become too trusting and mentally lazy. Hey, you liberals: we are counting on your delusional tendencies to keep you in denial (ie. “it wasn’t about Obama” hehehehe) until the profound butt-kicking you have in store next November takes place. It’s too bad that my side has to allow a bunch of Mao sympathizers to get in office and literally threaten us with the the barrel of a gun before we get off our rear ends and do something about it. Thank you, you delusional liberals, for finally waking the sleeping giant and for showing independents who you really are - liars AND socialists (actually, one in the same).
Did McDonnell just appoint Bolling as his Job Czar?
I had an inkling that most of the folks that post comments on RTD have not a single clue about what they wrote and today’s post is not exception. Leave it to the libs to go to the same old tired playbook of smearing Christians as evil. Didn’t work for Deeds and it doesn’t work here. Also, I love how some folks think Mrs. James is somehow hiding her background and that once all this already, evidently public information about the “real Mrs. James” comes out it’s all over for her and others like her. Mrs. James has and always been exactly who she is…she hides nothing…what you see is what you get and if she wanted to hide who she is then why publish her bio everywhere.
Good to see Dominion in there—I’m looking forward to making better dividends on my stock when they get rate hikes approved and don’t have to worry about polluting Virginias forests and wetlands as much..
What is the running definition of a Christian for those of you singing the accolades of McDonnell’s picks ? I can bet it has nothing to do with the actual teachings of Christ ..for those wondering why there is opposition to some of McDonnell’s cabinet - theocracies suck, try living in Iran,Syria,Uganda or google “the Dark Ages”..idiots
great more religious wingnuts and richie riches——-talk about backsliding….will this be an improvement or still mean more jobs shipped overseas,tax breaks for the wealthy-oh right, trickle down economics..except now they hire illegal immigrants/outsource and pocket the difference-while you become unemployed wonder if you can get food on the table ..great. Same old deal..don’t fool yourselves..just mean rich guys get more stuff at your expense.
By naming Kay Cole James to the transition, McDonnell put a giant banner over the state capitol: “Only Christian Broadcasting Network University and Liberty University Graduates Need Apply.“ Not very subtle.
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