Travelling the Commonwealth, he has checked off 110 of 136 cities and counties he set out to visit on what McAuliffe terms a listening tour. He says he will make his decision on whether to run for Governor January 7th. Citizens of the Eastern Shore, who sometimes find themselves the Slighted Shore, appreciate when someone listens. Yesterday they turned out in a number of locations, including the terminal of the Accomac County Airport where he spoke to a number of the local Democrats and fielded their questions in an informal setting.
Establishing his bona fides, he told the group he has lived in the state some 20 years and, as he tells it, his wife has raised their five children here. Starting his first of some 25 companies when he was 14 he retired when he was 35. His involvement in Democratic politics is longstanding. He's been the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and was Jimmy Carter's finance director when he was 22 years old. Of course he has an involved friendship with the Clintons; recently Senator Clinton's Presidential campaign chairman.
Malcolm White: "Let's say you do run for governor and you win, are you going to forget us here on the Eastern Shore?"McAuliffe: "Listen, you all are going to get a copy of my book. Once you read my book, you'll understand what my life has been like. And the one thing you will come away with is this man is a very loyal guy. I've never not honored a commitment I've made...I'll come back."
"2009 will be the worst year since the Great Depression."
From a business perspective, you don't raise taxes in a bad economy. He says that the only way to overcome this financial crisis is to grow the economy, bring in jobs, which he claims as part of his retinue. The area where he sees Virginia lagging is bringing in new business. There have been big companies moving into other states, some 16 billion dollars worth, for which Virginia has not competed. He blames two things: the Dillon Rule and that Virginia does not offer incentives. To accomplish what other governors have available by authority requires calling the General Assembly into session.
"...BMW, five thousand jobs...we didn't bid on it...I can go through a whole list..."
He completely agrees with Governor Kaine's pre-K initiative and calls for lowering class sizes for K-3. Discussing the high school drop out rate he equated the 20% Virginia dropout rate to 20,000 youth a year that don't graduate, "half of them go into crime." If we want to be smart about it, he proposes, we invest in our citizens when they are younger to reduce the likelihood of a future burden of food stamps, unemployment or incarceration. He drew the correlation between third grade reading proficiency and the requirement for prison beds for that population 15 years later. "We've got to put the effort on the front end, not the back end on education. I wouldn't take a salary for the job. I'd donate it so that some high school, could have a gym."
As governor, he would make every public building green. That initiative alone, he says, could reduce the requirement for one nuclear or coal plant. Making a portion of the state vehicle fleet run on bio-diesel is another move he would make. There are vast opportunities for green industries and he believes Virginia needs to be in the lead.
"If you are looking for someone to go down to Richmond to do things the old way...I'm not your guy."
Underlining the transportation issues and their effect on Hampton Roads and Virginia, he described a scenario where the advantage of having the best port on the east coast could be lost if Virginia doesn't act soon. With the renovation of the Panama Canal to be complete in 2014, there will be huge amounts of cargo that will be directed elsewhere to ports that can claim an unfettered access to the commercial arteries within the United State. Norfolk has stiff competition for that business from places like Savannah, Jacksonville, Baltimore and New York/New Jersey that can demonstrate the transportation infrastructure to support the offload of these container ships today. We have a good portion of the rail, he says, but not the roads connecting to I-95 and either we do something about it today, or Virginia will lose in 2014.
"Someone was saying the other day you've been called a carpetbagger...""The only thing I would remind you is that Mark was born in Connecticut, Tim Kaine was born in Kansas, Brian Moran was born in Massachusetts, Bob McDonnell was born in Spain, Creigh Deeds was born in Virginia...If that's your issue, he's your man."
When asked about the obstructionist Republicans in the House of Delegates, McAuliffe pointed out that they played the spoiler against initiatives brought forth by both Warner and Kaine. They are not motivated by what is best for the state, he said, and he would make it his task to win the House. Then he went on to outline his immediate agenda if elected:
When asked about a more common sense prosecution of drug offenders, McAuliffe was quick to answer. Republicans, he said, are want to Willy Horton anyone who raises the issue, "you know how they operate; that's just what they will do." Our drug courts are very successful. Taking the discussion away from the Willy Hortons, he remarked that we have a lot of people in jail who are non-violent offenders. The General Assembly is putting people away on technical violations and on traffic issues. He assured that he is not talking about releasing violent people. He also mentioned that there are many people who are mentally impaired who are incarcerated who really should be in community centers. Referring to the bottom line, he pointed out that it costs a lot more to put these persons in prison.
"If you decide not to run or if you lose the primary, are we going to hear from you on these issues again?""Yes...sure. I've said that whatever outcome I am going to stay involved."
Explaining his potential candidacy: "Transportation, energy, job growth; I think that some people might be looking for something different."
Cross posted at Blue Commonwealth
Cross posted at VBDems.org - Blogging our way to Democratic wins in Virginia Beach!