Governor « Virginia Values Voter Pac

Archive for the ‘Governor’ Category

Virginia Convention Recap

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

Last Saturday, over 8,000 delegates convened on the Richmond Coliseum to vote for the Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General candidates to represent the Republicans on the General Election ballot in November. Many delegates anticipated that the selection process would go on through multiple ballots, and this was an accurate statement.

The Attorney General selection only took one ballot, and State Sen. Mark Obenshain (Harrisonburg) was elected by the delegates to be the Attorney General candidate. Obenshain will be a champion for Virginia Values Voters, and you can learn more about him here.

The longest part of the convention was the selection of the Lieutenant Governor’s race. Virginia Politics on Demand and Bearing Drift had great Convention live blog updates, and you can read more about the actual vote totals for each of the four ballots. After the first ballot, both State Sen. Steve Martin (Chesterfield) and former State Sen. Jeannemarie Davis (Fairfax) were eliminated, leaving Del. Scott Lingamfelter (Prince William), Stafford County Supervisor Susan Stimpson, Prince William County Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Corey Stewart, Pete Snyder, and Bishop E.W. Jackson (who led this ballot) as the remaining candidates. After the results were released, Davis urged her supporters to cast their votes for Jackson. It was unknown whether Martin encouraged his supporters to cast their votes for any of the remaining challengers.

With some delegates choosing to leave after the results of the first ballot, the second ballot showed some interesting results with Lingamfelter and Stimpson being eliminated. Lingamfelter urged his supporters to vote for Snyder, while Stimpson did not endorse a candidate. The remaining candidates after the second ballot were Stewart, Snyder, and Jackson (who lead after this ballot).

The third ballot was particularly the most interesting, as Jackson claimed 49.7 percent of the vote. Snyder was second, and Stewart was eliminated.

Since Jackson had to have at least 50 percent of the votes casted to win the nomination, it proceeded into the fourth ballot. The fourth ballot was overwhelmingly in support of Bishop E.W. Jackson for Lieutenant Governor. Jackson won the Republican nomination. Delegates had to wait for about twenty minutes before the Republican ticket was announced, following Snyder’s concession remarks. If anything, Cuccinelli, Jackson, and Obenshain are committed to victory in November.

Tags: 2013 Elections, Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, Republican, Virginia
Posted in Governor | Comments Off

Oh Terry, it’s been a rough week!

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

Lately, Virginia Gubernatorial candidate, Terry McAuliffe (D) is having a rough time getting his campaign off the ground. With the news of his company, GreenTech Automotive, becoming the next Solyndra, BuzzFeed reports that McAuliffe is quite the family guy. Virginia Values Voters, take note with passages like abandoning your wife and newborn child for a political fundraiser surface, you know where his values lie. Also, he still considers his home to be Syracuse, N.Y., which leaves one to ponder if his plans to boost the economy will lead to higher taxes, just like his “home state.”

Aside from the reports of personal details, a recent Washington Post poll shows that Ken Cuccinelli (R) has an early lead over McAuliffe. It might be small, but as more details emerge about McAuliffe’s plans for the Commonwealth, the polling could show a more dramatic lead for Cuccinelli. You can read more about the poll here.

Last, but not least, McAuliffe tried to shed more light on his plan by delivering remarks in Charlottesville recently. For those who are wondering how McAuliffe is planning to create jobs in the Commonwealth of Virginia, we should try to examine his remarks, which were loaded with excuses like “It’s hard to recruit businesses…” and ”GreenTech is producing more than a far cry….”

Cheer up, Terry! Things have got to get better, right?

Tags: 2013 Elections, Governor, Ken Cuccinelli, Terry McAuliffe, Virginia
Posted in Governor | Comments Off

GreenTech, McAuliffe, and the Offshore Tax Shelter Problem

Tuesday, April 30th, 2013

Virginia Gubernatorial candidate, Terry McAuliffe (D) is really having a bad day. Why? Well, there is more news of McAuliffe’s company, GreenTech Automotive, being involved in controversy.

As documented last week in The Wall Street Journal, McAuliffe’s focus on creating jobs in Virginia did not go too well, as GreenTech Automotive decided to open their doors in Mississippi instead. The article also cited that GreenTech not only failed to manufacture the environmentally friendly vehicles, while receiving tax breaks.

Aside from The Wall Street Journal article, a NBC affiliate in Richmond also reported about McAuliffe’s GreenTech Automotive saying that the promises of job creation at the Mississippi plant have fallen flat as well. If McAuliffe’s promises of creating new jobs has fallen flat, what will he do as Governor of Virginia, especially in a down economy?

Today, The Washington Examiner reveals more problems for McAuliffe’s GreenTech Automotive. They are also incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, which is notorious for offshore tax shelters. The company was founded in 2009 in the British Virgin Islands by a wealthy Chinese businessman, and McAuliffe took control of a quarter of the stock of GreenTech, thus establishing the business in Virginia and bringing its manufacturing center to Mississippi.

Sounds shady and sounds like some questions need to be addressed by McAuliffe? You can read more of The Washington Examiner report to find out more about McAuliffe and the offshore tax shelter for GreenTech.

Tags: 2013 Elections, Terry McAuliffe, Virginia
Posted in Governor | Comments Off

Terry McAuliffe’s Solyndra

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

Virginia Gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe (D) has been feeling the fire from his own green energy crisis. In a recent op-ed by Kimberley Strassel of the Wall Street Journal recalls the 2009 campaign when McAuliffe said he was focused on “creating jobs.” He certainly brought business to Mississippi, where his company, GreenTech Automotive, fails to manufacture environmentally friendly automobiles, yet receives tax breaks.

Read more about McAuliffe’s personal Solyndra crisis.

Tags: 2013 Elections, Solyndra, Terry McAuliffe, Virginia
Posted in Governor | Comments Off

The Virginia Convention: May 18, 2013

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013

The following is a list of candidates seeking nomination at the Republican Party of Virginia State Convention on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at the Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Va. Click here to learn more about the convention.

Governor

Ken Cuccinelli

Lieutenant Governor

Attorney General

Tags: 2013 Elections, Attorney General, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Virginia
Posted in Governor | Comments Off

Va. State Senate Passes McDonnell’s Education Package

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Richmond, Va.–The Virginia State Senate voted overwhelmingly today to pass through Governor Bob McDonnell’s education reform agenda. All three of the Governor’s measures to expand public charter schools and college laboratory schools, improve and promote virtual learning received strong bipartisan support.

McDonnell released the following statement:

“I applaud the Republicans and Democrats who came together today to help Virginia school children, especially those who are at-risk and disadvantaged, gain more educational opportunities. In the modern economy, education is the coin of the realm. Without a world-class education our young people will not be able to compete with their peers in the global marketplace. States that move proactively to bring innovation, competition and reform to their public schools are not only serving their young people well, they are improving their prospects for future economic prosperity and job-creation.

The effort to expand educational opportunity is one that reaches across party lines. The leading champion of this movement is President Barack Obama. Here in Virginia, the coalition supporting more educational opportunities for all our young people includes state Senators like Republican Steve Newman and Democrat Edd Houck, state delegates like Republicans Scott Lingamfelter, Dickie Bell and Chris Peace and Democrats Rosalyn Dance and Jennifer McClellan, as well as the VEA, the Virginia School Boards Association, and the Virginia Association of School Superintendents. Today’s passage of our ‘Opportunity to Learn’ education reform agenda means we will not tolerate a public school student in Virginia having her educational opportunities limited by her zip code. Steps like we have taken today will bring hope to our young people, new resources to our teachers, and help for our parents. These new reforms will also help greatly in submitting a vastly improved ‘Race to the Top’ grant application for billions of dollars in federal funds available for states that lead the way in education innovation.”

Tags: Bob McDonnell, Education, Virginia State Senate
Posted in Governor | Comments Off

Salazar Delays Offshore Drilling

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Why doesn’t this surprise anyone? U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, delayed Virginia’s offshore drilling plans until 2012, and according to a Reuters report, it is creating a possibility that offshore drilling plans will ever be carried out.

Funny, how this happens? Governor Bob McDonnell wrote a letter to Salazar shortly before being sworn in to urge him not to delay the offshore drilling.

“Any effort to remove or delay Virginia’s participation in the lease sale would significantly hamper our efforts to create jobs, eliminate much-needed new revenue, and undermine support for President Obama’s stated commitment to make the United States more energy secure”

And now, Virginia’s U.S. Senators, Jim Webb and Mark Warner, are angry at Salazar’s delay of allowing offshore drilling.

The Honorable Kenneth Salazar
Secretary of the Department of Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Mail Stop 7229
Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Mr. Secretary:

We are writing to state our support for the development of oil and gas resources off the coast of Virginia, specifically for the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) Lease Sale 220, scheduled for 2011. In the 110th Congress, then-Senator John Warner and Senator Webb jointly sponsored legislation (S.3147) to allow the Commonwealth of Virginia to conduct energy exploration activities in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), with revenue-sharing provisions, a view that we share today.

Support among Virginia’s political leadership for the development of oil and gas resources is strong. Virginia’s governor, Robert F. McDonnell, as well as members of the General Assembly from both parties, recognize the potential benefits to the Commonwealth and to our nation. Therefore it is understandable that recent media reports highlighting additional delays are a source of frustration to Virginia and to a nation that is looking to turn around the economy while simultaneously addressing energy security.

In October 2008, months after S. 3147 was introduced, the 26-year federal moratorium on OCS oil and gas exploration expired. We believe the time has come for implementing the intent of this legislation by going forward with Lease Sale 220 in a more expedited manner. We understand that additional steps must be completed for this sale to occur, including the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Sale 220, and potentially a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement that would allow seismic surveys of the Atlantic OCS by private entities. But we would urge you to promptly commence these steps in order to ensure that the Virginia Lease Sale is conducted in a manner that is timely and consistent with the interests of the environment and our national security.

If accomplished with a fair and equitable formula for sharing of revenues between the federal and state government, Lease Sale 220 will attract well-paying jobs to the Commonwealth to support a range of projects, from the transportation sector to coastal restoration. Further, it holds significant promise for boosting needed domestic energy production. The MMS estimates that the Sale 220 area could contain 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 130 million barrels of oil.

Over the next 20 years, U.S. demand for energy is expected to grow at an annual rate of 1.4 percent. Lease Sale 220 would be part of a comprehensive approach to meeting our critical energy challenges. The offering of 2.9 million acres 50 miles off the coast of Virginia would significantly improve Virginia’s and America’s energy security, as well as assist in meeting growing energy demands. Improved technology that allows for minimally invasive drilling techniques many miles off shore and out of sight from Virginia’s coastline can provide oil and natural gas in an environmentally sustainable manner.

We look forward to working with you to ensure that this resource is developed in a timely fashion, through a fair distribution of revenues between the federal and state government, and in an environmentally sound manner.

While this may not seem like a family related issue, this issue will impact family economics. With the economic situation and outlook looking grim, families are forced to cut back and evaluate their budgets. Since fuel prices are increasing significantly across the Commonwealth, families are being forced to pay more, resulting in more economic hardships. Fuel prices are expected to take a sharper climb due to the outright demand and reliance on foreign oil. Allowing offshore drilling in Virginia will help eliminate our reliance on foreign oil, create more employment opportunities, as well as reducing the cost of fuel prices.

Tags: Bob McDonnell, Economics, Energy, Jim Webb, Mark Warner, Offshore Drilling, Virginia
Posted in Governor, Uncategorized | Comments Off

McDonnell Unveils Jobs and Opportunities Agenda

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

During a news conference today in Richmond, Governor Bob McDonnell unveiled his jobs and opportunities agenda to help bring more economic development and employment to the Commonwealth of Virginia. This agenda consists of 20 pieces of legislation devoted to bringing Virginia back economically, and he was joined by Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Jim Cheng, and 30 Delegates and Senators.

This agenda will double the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, provide tax credits for movie production, etc. These initiatives will lead to over $311 million in new revenue to the Commonwealth over five years, in addition to the creation of 29,000 new jobs.

Speaking about the agenda, Governor McDonnell stressed the importance of job creation, stating, “This is a Jobs Administration—I have made creating jobs and bringing more opportunity to every region of Virginia my top priority. I am honored to be joined by Republicans and Democrats all committed to ensuring that practical solutions are put in place to obtain positive results for our citizens. Job creation is not a partisan issue, it is a Virginia issue. These bills will help in the effort to create the opportunity for good jobs for all Virginians.”

Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, who serves in the McDonnell cabinet as Virginia’s Chief Job Creation Officer, remarked, “As we have said for months creating new jobs and growing the economy are our top priorities. By investing in proven economic development programs with a high return on investment, our budget and legislative initiatives take significant steps towards reaching these goals. A preliminary estimate finds that the budget amendments that are part of this agenda will lead to the creation of 29,300 new jobs over the next two years and over $311 million in revenue for the state over the next 5 years. It has been my pleasure to work with the Governor and our economic team to develop these recommendations and I look forward to working with Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly to secure their passage.”

Delegate Danny Marshall (R-Danville) joined McDonnell at the event and noted, “My district has been hit hard by the staggering economy—Virginians are anxious for what the future holds and I am proud to be able to introduce legislation on behalf of Governor McDonnell to help workers and their families regain some economic stability.”

Delegate Mark Keam (D-Fairfax) also attended the morning press conference and remarked, “In these tough economic times, the most important task for the General Assembly is to focus on job creation and turning the economy around. As a Democrat, I am proud to work with Gov. McDonnell to help grow the economy of the Commonwealth by attracting new jobs. Citizens in my district sent us to Richmond to work in a bipartisan manner, and that is exactly what Gov. McDonnell and I are doing.”

You can read more about the Governor’s agenda by clicking here.

Tags: Bob McDonnell, Economy, Employment, Virginia
Posted in Governor | Comments Off

Governor Bob McDonnell to Deliver GOP Response to State of the Union Address

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

On January 27^th, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell will deliver the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address. McDonnell was asked to deliver this address by Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Republican Leader, John Boehner (R-Ohio).

In a statement released by the Republican Leader’s office, Boehner said,

“As the American people continue to ask, ‘where are the jobs,’ Gov. McDonnell has offered common-sense economic policies in stark contrast to Washington Democrats’ job-killing agenda. We don’t need a government takeover of health care or a ‘cap-and-trade’ national energy tax – we need a common-sense plan to help middle-class families and small businesses and allow them to keep more of what they earn so they can save, invest, and hire.”

McConnell said,

“Gov. McDonnell understands that the American people are more interested in shrinking unemployment than expanding government. He is an impressive public servant and an excellent choice to offer Republican solutions for our country.”

McDonnell joins two other Virginians in delivering a response to the President’s State of the Union Address. In 2006, former Governor Tim Kaine delivered the response to President Bush’s State of the Union, and U.S. Senator Jim Webb delivered the response in 2008.

Tags: Bob McDonnell, Congress, President Obama, State of the Union, Virginia
Posted in Governor | Comments Off

Scenes from the Inauguration of Governor Robert F. McDonnell

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Over the past weekend, the opportunity was presented to cover the Inaugural events of Governor Robert F. McDonnell. This post is dedicated to some of the pictures from this event.