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trained in politics. Now I measure
it all by actual results.
“A lot of people in
government, not to stereotype, but a lot of people in
government and politics, they want to tell you how hard
they are trying. ‘Well, we’ve got these
communities,’ or ‘We’re going all
these innovative taskforces, we’re working real
hard.’ Well, that doesn’t cut it. Working hard,
trying hard, that’s great. You’ve got to do
that. But you’ve got to have measures.
You’ve got to say what success looks like and
have it be measured, and then hold yourself up against
the measure. That was the nice thing about local
government that it really taught me.”
Well, you might ask, if he
didn’t get his foundation in local politics and
party organizations, how did he get nominated to state
office? He was
an established attorney with a good
practice, he served multiple terms on Richmond City
Council under his belt, two as mayor. He came from a
political dynasty through marriage, but that connection
was Republican, not Democratic.
“Fate intervened in a sad
way that created an opportunity for me because when I
was elected to my second term as mayor, which was my
fourth term on city council, I said I was not going to
run for a fifth term . . . I don’t believe in
term limits if imposed, but I do believe in self
imposed term limits, and that one of the obligations
you have is to find the next leader to follow you. I
think a lot of people hold onto the reins too long. My
task at that point was going to be finding somebody to
replace me, then going back into private life.
“I was a strong supporter of
Emily Couric in her campaign for Lieutenant Governor.
When she announced, about a month after I did my
announcement, that she was going to have to pull out of
the race for Lieutenant Governor because of pancreatic
cancer. Everybody was kind of stunned, because she was
going
to win that race, not just the Democrats, she
was going to win that race - nobody else was really
running.
“But I realized that there
are a lot of things that I feel that I know from local
government, and I felt like the state had not
necessarily been a good partner with local government.
I don’t know whether other people care about that
issue, but I care about that issue, and so I can run
for Lieutenant Governor and make this state-local
connection my point, particularly in education. That
state’s failure to meet the state’s funding
obligations to public education just has such huge
consequences in the quality of life in every community
. . .
“So that’s how I got
into the race for Lieutenant Governor. Literally,
during the whole race, my speech didn’t change at
all. I said, ‘I’m running because I think
the state should be a fair partner in education
funding, and when the state doesn’t, then local
governments have to jack up property taxes, or they
have to cut the quality of [services] they offer. The
state shouldn’t be a dead beat dad. The state
should be true to their obligations.
“It was the combination of
the sad situation with Senator Couric, and my own
frustration with the state in meeting educational
obligations. That’s what got me into the
race.”
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We asked him which was most
challenging, working at the state or local level. Hands
down, he said there is no contest. “I tell people
all the time, I have not broken a sweat once since I
left being a mayor, because it’s much more up
close, personal. I worked hard, and we had big
challenges [as Lieutenant Governor] but they are not as
emotionally difficult. If you are mayor of Richmond you
are going to have people in your face calling you
racist. Saying that you are a sell out to your own
race. It is extremely up close. There is nothing that
is more personal to somebody than a land use decision
about the property next door to them. People get very
worked up about that. People get worked up about the
state budget and things like that. But it’s not
like in local government.
“So, once you’ve
learned how to stand in front of a very angry room of
people who are really mad about something, and say,
‘Look, I’m here to listen to you so tell me
where you are,’ and dialogue with them, and then
answer their questions. You learn to do that and keep
your cool, state government - again, the challenges are
hard, the transportation issue is hard, Medicaid and
health care issues are very, very hard. The continuing
need to be ready for an emergency whether it’s an
act of terrorism, or a hurricane. The city issues are
harder emotionally, and so there’s great
preparation. I don’t get worked up easy. And, you
know, being cool under pressure is one of those things
you’ve got to do to do a good job.”
He said overall, what he most
likes about being at the state’s top executive
branch is “I like being able to do things, making
a difference on a larger scaled. I mean, that’s
why I do this.”
Even though Governor Mark R. Warner
left the ship of state in better shape than when he
left it four years ago, his successor has some serious
challenges to face. At the time we met, he was excited
about his upcoming inauguration in Williamsburg.
“I told my mom, “Mom,
Williamsburg inauguration, Patrick Henry, Thomas
Jefferson, and me. So what do you think of that
threesome? That made my mom really proud.
“With the inauguration in
Williamsburg, then the events surrounding [Jamestown
400th Anniversary in] ’07, gives us an excellent
opportunity to talk about what are the enduring
Virginia values that we care for, not just because they
were values of the past, but things that are really
powerful even today. Things like freedom of religious
worship, the Jeffersonian equality principal, the value
of public education, democratic legislative traditions,
the General Assembly [these are] really powerful
principles that are enduring principles that we can
celebrate. It gives us an opportunity to be bold as a
way of honoring those bold forebears that we have. So
it’s going to be a very exciting four
years.” 
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