Local governments aren’t likely to escape the pain when the General Assembly attempts to eliminate an estimated $3.5 billion hole in the next two-year budget. That estimate does not include the losses faced by local school districts to replace federal stimulus money that will dwindle next year and then disappear entirely in the second year of the budget.

In a meeting yesterday with the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s editorial board, Kaine voiced concerns that lawmakers confronted with the tough budget he’s crafting for the next two fiscal years will shrink from some of the sacrifices it will require to keep the state fiscally sound in a tough economy.

That did not take long. Bob McDonnell already has been touted as a candidate for national office in 2012. We have a hunch that he intends to devote his attentions to the governorship. He certainly will want to stay home during the coming years. Tim Kaine did not help his in-state reputation when he assumed a peripatetic lifestyle upon becoming chairman of the Democratic National Committee. His frequent absences did not prove popular. All things considered, Virginians would prefer that their governors not be hobos or vagabonds.

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday unveiled an investment of $200 million by a nonprofit medical research institute expected to generate more than 400 jobs in Northern Virginia. According to the governor’s office, the Ignite Institute will focus on biomedical research and medical technology advances to further the practice of personalized medicine, in which health care and treatment of disease is tailored to individual patients based on their distinct molecular and biological makeup.

It’s now official. After more than a year of hard-fought campaigning, Bob McDonnell is Virginia’s governor-elect. As a candidate, McDonnell rightly focused his efforts on improving the common wealth’s economy. As governor, however, he will have greater control not over economic conditions, but over the condition of schools and the quality of education in the commonwealth—an issue that directly impacts the economy of the future.

Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell worries that a national health-care overhaul that includes a public option would lead to diminished access to quality care and reduced choice for Virginians. For those reasons, among others, the Republican has said that if given the choice to opt the state out of such a plan—if it makes it through Congress—he would prefer to take a pass.

Last year Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry Virginia since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. His almost 2 million votes translated into 53 percent of the popular total. He carried six of the state’s 11 congressional districts. This month Republican Bob McDonnell won the governorship in one of the biggest landslides since the rise of two-party politics in the commonwealth. His 1.1 million votes translated into 59 percent—and an 18-point lead over Democrat Creigh Deeds. McDonnell took nine congressional districts, losing only the 3rd and the 8th, both of which would vote for any Democrat not in a federal penitentiary.

The day before the Nov. 3 election, Bob McDonnell’s campaign paid Google about $39,000 to saturate computers in Virginia and Washington with banner ads promoting the candidate. People surfing the Internet during a 12-hour period in Virginia, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Washington, saw McDonnell’s banner ads 14 million times during that stretch.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Longfellow’s admonition is a good thing to read after elections. Commentators (and I am not free of the fault) emerge from their lofty vantage points in the wake of political clashes to offer FRANK
ATKINSON
weighty judgments and dreamy assessments that make it all sound so simple.

Virginia, legendary for independent-minded, ticket-splitting voters, morphed into the land of the straight party-line vote in 2009 as Republicans swept all three statewide offices by double-digit margins for the first time in the modern two-party era. Indeed, the brilliant campaign of Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell had the strongest coattails ever: The spread between the three victors was by far the smallest in modern history.

Senior advisers to Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell’s transition team include former members of Congress, veterans of former Gov. George Allen’s administration, and representatives of key constituent groups, from business to the National Rifle Association and The Virginia Family Foundation. The senior advisers, announced yesterday, are:

McDonnell meets House Democrats, stresses common ground  11/14/09 12:01 AM

Republican Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell emerged from a meeting with House Democrats yesterday afternoon saying both sides are committed to working together to bring Virginia more jobs and economic prosperity. “I think there’s a lot of common ground that we can find on economic development, on job creation, on improving schools,“ McDonnell said in a brief interview after his afternoon address to the caucus. It gathered at The Crossings in Glen Allen in Henrico County for its annual fall retreat.




November 12, 2009

McDonnell to meet with House Democratic Caucus  11/12/09 12:01 AM

Ten days after his lopsided victory diminished their numbers, Governor-elect Bob McDonnell will meet tomorrow with members of the House Democratic Caucus. McDonnell accepted an invitation from the caucus to speak with members behind closed doors at the Crossings Resort in northern Henrico County. About 30 caucus members are expected to attend, including House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong, D-Henry.




November 11, 2009

McDonnell to meet with House Democrats  11/11/09 6:00 PM

Ten days after his lopsided victory diminished their numbers, Governor-elect Bob McDonnell will meet Friday with members of the House Democratic Caucus. McDonnell accepted an invitation from the caucus to speak with members behind closed doors at the Crossings Resort in Glen Allen. About 30 caucus members are expected to attend, including House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong, D-Henry.




November 10, 2009

Charter Schools: Only Four  11/10/09 12:01 AM

Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell supports charter schools. So does President Barack Obama, who discussed them with McDonnell during a brief chat the day after McDonnell’s victory. You’d think any reform touted by both a solidly conservative Republican and a staunchly liberal Democrat would face good odds in a purple state like Virginia. But not necessarily. Two major obstacles stand in the way: misperception and the forces of reaction.

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