McAuliffe For Governor

Governor hopeful: Jobs best fix for Va.

June 1st, 2009
Northern Virginia Daily
Garren Shipley

Opponents may call Terry McAuliffe many things, but "inconsistent" and "lethargic" aren't among them.

The former Democratic National Committee chairman turned gubernatorial candidate made the rounds of Virginia this past week, hammering on the same theme he's been on since December.

Jobs, jobs, jobs.

McAuliffe, a latecomer to the race, has focused on economic issues since he began his "listening tour" last year.

McAuliffe faces former Del. Brian Moran, D-Alexandria, and state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, in an open June 9 Democratic primary.

Job creation is the best possible fix for most of Richmond's significant ills, including the state's road system, McAuliffe said in an interview.

"I want to focus on job creation because we need money for transportation and education," he said.

President Clinton's former uber-fundraiser has a long list of things he wants to accomplish in the Executive Mansion.

"I have a lot of big plans," he said, including higher spending on K-12 education and more money for pre-kindergarten programs.

McAuliffe would also allow any individual or business to buy their way into the state's low-income health benefits program, FAMIS.

He also wants to spend more on transportation to be sure the state can draw down matching federal transportation dollars.

Paying for it all will be a challenge, though.

"First and foremost, we've got a horrible economy. We just found out we've got to cut another $250 million" from the state budget due to faltering tax receipts, he said.

"I don't believe in raising taxes in a down economy," he said. That means the state has to grow its tax receipts, he said.

McAuliffe said he thinks that, given the right tools, he can talk those jobs into Virginia.

"The House of Delegates has not given the governor any new tools, any economic incentives," he said.

Other states have set up funds and bonding authority for governors to use to lure jobs into their states.

"I'll spend money to make money any day of the week," he said.

Virginia also needs to "green up" its energy policies to encourage growth.

"We're one of the few states that doesn't offer any sort of tax incentive for people to put solar panels on their roof," he said. "Tennessee just announced a billion-dollar investment for a company to begin producing crystals for solar panels."

Requiring utilities to get a fixed percentage of their power from things like solar or wind turbines would encourage job growth, he said.

Putting Democrats in control of the legislature in November would make it much easier to accomplish his goals, he said.

Even if Republicans maintain control of the House, they will still be willing to work with McAuliffe to create jobs, he said.

"That's not a Democrat or a Republican issue," he said. "Maybe I'm nuts, but I don't think they're all going to vote against that."

Tags: 2009, economic, economic growth, economy, governor, jobs, macker, mcauliffe, t-mac, terry, terry mcauliffe, tmac, va-gov, vagov, virginia