Payday Lending Radio Ad in Hampton Roads, Richmond

If you’re having trouble with the player, you can click here to download the ad.

Tags: ad, ads, hampton, hampton roads, loans, predatory lenders, radio, radio ad

Watch the Ad, Then Sign Up to Volunteer

Tags: hampton roads, mcauliffe, richmond, terry mcauliffe, turbines, virginia beach, wind energy

McAuliffe Releases New Ad Highlighting New Energy Ideas

Today, gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe released a new television advertisement highlighting his ideas for harnessing new energy technology to create jobs and promote a cleaner environment throughout the Commonwealth.

"As Governor, I'll put my experience investing in the alternative energy field to work for all of Virginia," says McAuliffe in the ad. "We'll attract new business, create thousands of renewable energy jobs, and together we can build a stronger economy and a clearner environment."

The television ad will run on stations in the Richmond and Hampton Roads media markets. The ad can be viewed at http://www.terrymcauliffe.com/articles/new-tv-spot-highlights-new-energy-ideas.

Tags: ad, business, hampton roads, jobs, macker, mcauliffe, renewable energy, richmond, t-mac, terry, terry mcauliffe, tv ad, va-gov, virginia

New Radio Ad in Richmond and Hampton Roads

Emphasizing his work to promote the inclusion of every Virginia community in the electoral process, gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe today released a new radio advertisement. Entitled “Leadership,” the 60-second spot highlights his continued commitment to fighting for Virginians.

If you’re having trouble using the player, you can click here to download the ad.

Tags: 2009, hampton roads, mcauliffe, richmond, terry mcauliffe, virginia governor

MCAULIFFE TO HOLD ROUNDTABLE WITH HAMPTON WOMEN THIS THURSDAY

This Thursday, gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe will host the latest in a series of roundtables at the Phoebus Coffee House in Hampton. There, McAuliffe and his wife Dorothy will sit down with local women to discuss the issues they are facing in today’s economy.

The Phoebus Coffee House was named the first Virginia Green restaurant in Hampton. The designation recognizes businesses that meet standards for recycling waste reduction, water conservation, energy conservation and other environmental considerations.

Thursday, February 26
3:15 pm
McAuliffe Hosts Women’s Economic Roundtable
Phoebus Coffee House
33 E Mellen St
Hampton, VA 23663
757-224-8406

Tags: 2009, dorothy, economic growth, economy, governor, hampton, hampton roads, jobs, macker, mcauliffe, phoebus coffee house, t-mac, terry, terry mcauliffe, tmac, va-gov, virginia, virginia green, women

Lobbying to keep carrier in Norfolk

Virginian-Pilot
Lauren King
January 28, 2009

The day after Defense Secretary Robert Gates defended the Navy’s plan to relocate a Norfolk-based aircraft carrier to Florida, Terry McAuliffe, a Democratic candidate for governor, sent out an e-mail to supporters asking that they lobby to keep it in Virginia.

“This unnecessary transfer would have devastating consequences here in Virginia,” he wrote in the e-mail. “Thousands of jobs would be lost and it would deepen the economic crisis in Hampton Roads.”

Navy Secretary Donald Winter, who plans to leave office by March, endorsed plans this month to move one of the five Atlantic Fleet flattops to Mayport Naval Station in Florida as a hedge against a natural disaster or terrorist attack on Hampton Roads, according to a story published in the Pilot today.

The move would shift about 3,000 sailors from Hampton Roads to the Mayport area, near Jacksonville, and siphon hundreds of millions of dollars annually from the local economy.

McAuliffe asks that supporters demonstrate Virginia is the “most military-friendly state in the nation,” and tell Gates, through McAuliffe’s campaign Web site, that no carrier should be moved from Norfolk to Florida.

Tags: aircraft carrier, carrier, department of defense, economy, hampton roads, jobs, mcauliffe, navy, norfolk, robert gates, secretary of defense, terry mcauliffe

Keep the Carrier

As the Bush administration was on its way out the door, a major decision was made about plans to transfer a critical Norfolk-based aircraft carrier to Florida. We cannot allow this to happen.

This unnecessary transfer would have devastating consequences here in Virginia. Thousands of jobs would be lost, and it would deepen the economic crisis in Hampton Roads.

Thanks to the leadership of Senators Webb and Warner, Governor Kaine and our Congressional delegation, the Department of Defense has agreed to review this decision.

But Florida’s lobbying hard to move this carrier, and I need your help to show where Virginians stand on this issue. By applying public pressure, we can demonstrate that Virginia’s the most military-friendly state in the nation. No one knows the Navy like we do.

Moving this carrier to Florida isn’t just bad for Virginians; it’s bad for our country. The current plan would require constructing a brand new facility in Florida, wasting nearly a billion dollars in taxpayer money at a time when we need to be smarter about our spending priorities than ever before. As Senator Jim Webb — a former Secretary of the Navy — has said, the Navy cannot afford to add a “nonessential, redundant facility.”

So please, help save good-paying jobs and keep the carrier where it belongs

Click Here to Tell the Secretary of Defense to Keep the Carrier in Norfolk

Tags: aircraft carrier, carrier, defense department, department of defense, economy, hampton roads, jobs, mcauliffe, navy, norfolk, petition, robert gates, secretary of defense, terry mcauliffe

Our First TV Ad

Tags: ad, aircraft carrier, economy, hampton roads, jobs, mcauliffe, norfolk, television ad, terry mcauliffe, tv ad

Our First TV Ad

Tags: ad, aircraft carrier, economy, hampton roads, jobs, mcauliffe, norfolk, television ad, terry mcauliffe, tv ad

Our First TV Ad

I’m excited to announce that we’re launching our first television ad of the campaign. In this 30-second spot, Terry champions some of the ideas he’s heard from folks in Hampton Roads about how to help the region’s economy.

Terry’s heard great ideas from every corner of the Commonwealth during his travels, but too many people in the legislature just aren’t listening. In the coming weeks, we’re going to communicate directly with voters across Virginia about the issues that hit home with them.

Tags: energy, environment, green jobs, hampton roads, mcauliffe, norfolk, terry mcauliffe, virginia

McAuliffe Campaign Releases First Television Ad: "Listened"

Today, Terry McAuliffe’s campaign for governor released its first television advertisement in Hampton Roads. The 30-second spot, titled “Listened,” highlights ideas on strengthening the region’s economy that McAuliffe has heard from people as he’s traveled across Hampton Roads. Emphasizing that the best ideas don’t always come out of Richmond, McAuliffe discusses his lifetime experience of creating jobs and his focus on getting Virginia’s economy back on track.

“I’ve spent four decades building businesses and creating jobs,” McAuliffe says in the ad. “Now, I’m running for Governor because I know we can create thousands more right here. I’ll make it my job to protect your job – and get Virginia’s economy moving.

The ad can be viewed here:

Tags: . mcauliffe, ad, aircraft carrier, carrier, economy, first ad, governor, governor 2009, hampton roads, jobs, listened, norfolk, television ad, terry mcauliffe, virginia governor

Jeff Beck of Chesterfield County asks about transportation solutions beyond the road system

Jeff Beck of Chesterfield County asks: Mr. McAuliffe, There is a lot of talk in Virginia politics about transportation and the fight for road developments and improvements between Northern Virginia and Central and South Virginia. However, I am curious what you are planning to do for Virginia beyond fixing the logjam in the legislature over roads, what will you do to move Virginia to its next step forward to continue the path Gov. Warner and Kaine have set us upon?

Jeff, Gov. Kaine has made record investments in rail and public transit and he has better connected land use and transportation planning – in twenty years, we’re going to look back at the changes he’s made and truly understand their importance. We need to continue down this path, maintaining a solid emphasis on high-efficiency methods for moving people and goods. We need to see the Dulles rail project through – and then we need to think about what other communities we can connect to Metro. We need to improve transit in Hampton Roads, including transit that moves people across the water. We need passenger rail that connects more parts of Virginia together, and we need to get more freight off the highways and onto the rail system.

Can we get there? Can we accomplish this? Not in four years, but as long as we have leadership that thinks big and doesn’t let the size of the challenge put the solution out of reach, we don’t have to wait to set goals and take the first steps toward these solutions.

Tags: chesterfield, hampton roads, metro, rail, terry mcauliffe, tim kaine, transportation, virginia

Dottie Goldman of Virginia Beach asks about the Dillon Rule

Dottie Goldman, Virginia Beach: Will you work to eliminate the Dillon rule which stifles the more progressive areas of the state from moving forward? We in Hampton Roads (I hate that identifier!) and you in NoVa. are held hostage by the rural right wingers in Richmond. Thank you for listening.

Dottie: For those unfamiliar with the Dillon rule: The Dillon rule says that localities derive their power from the state. Virginia interprets this to mean that localities only have the powers explicitly given to them by the legislature.

There is no doubt that all of Virginia’s localities and regions need more flexibility to solve their own unique problems. NOVA and Hampton Roads (excuse my use of the identifier – do you have one you prefer?) certainly have needs that are significantly different than those in the rural parts of the state. But other regions in Virginia have unique needs, too.

This is a great example of what I mean when I say that all good ideas don’t come from Richmond. Giving local governments more power and freedom would be a big step forward in terms of allowing local innovations and solutions to get implemented – and those local
solutions could show us new ways of solving challenges in other communities.

Tags: dillon rule, hampton roads, nova, terry mcauliffe, virginia, virginia beach

Terry McAuliffe Statement on Navy Proposal to Homeport Virginia Aircraft Carrier in Florida

Contact: press@terrymcauliffe.com

Terry McAuliffe released the following statement today on the Navy’s proposal to homeport a nuclear aircraft carrier from the Naval station in Norfolk to Mayport in Florida:

“The proposed move of a Norfolk-based aircraft carrier to Florida — like the previous attempts of the Bush administration to move the Oceana Master Jet Base to Florida — makes no sense.

“No state understands nuclear carrier technology better than Virginia. We build the carriers, we refit them when they need it, and we have all the personnel and logistical support they need for their active service in Norfolk. And we have one of the finest natural harbors anywhere on earth, well fortified, and located dead center on the East Coast.

“Given the state of the economy, with demands for national bail-outs almost every day, it’s hard to understand why the Bush administration would abandon these benefits and try to replace them in Florida at a cost of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. Especially since the move would severely damage the Hampton Roads economy, which is still recovering from the loss of the Ford plant just last year.

“I join with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, U.S. Senator John Warner, U.S. Senator Jim Webb, U.S. Senator-elect Mark Warner and other members of the Virginia congressional delegation in opposition to this proposal.”

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Tags: bush administration, hampton roads, jim webb, mark warner, navy, norfolk, terry mcauliffe, tim kaine

Governor hopefuls give views on offshore drilling

“Governor hopefuls give views on offshore drilling” can also be read on the Richmond Times Dispatch website.

McDonnell, McAuliffe, Deeds and Moran offer a variety of positions

BY JIM NOLAN AND JEFF E. SCHAPIRO, Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

Republican candidate Bob McDonnell wants to drill baby, drill.

Democratic contenders R. Creigh Deeds and Terry McAuliffe want to poke around.

And Democratic candidate Brian Moran is reluctant to dig into the deep “at this time.”

No matter who wins in 2009, Virginia’s next governor likely will confront the prospect of drilling for oil and gas off the coast of the commonwealth.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of the Interior opened a 45-day public-comment period on offshore drilling, part of the process to consider leasing land off the Virginia coast in 2011 for oil and gas exploration.

The area considered for drilling is a 2.9 million-acre slice of the ocean floor more than 50 miles east of Virginia Beach and the state’s Eastern Shore. The Interior Department estimates it could contain 130 million barrels of oil and 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Interior’s announcement comes less than six weeks after Congress let a moratorium on offshore drilling expire and two months before a change of presidential administrations.

So yesterday, the four men expected to compete for the governor’s job outlined their positions on the politically combustible issue. It rose to prominence this year as gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon and energy independence took center stage in the presidential race.

“The attorney general strongly supports offshore drilling for oil and natural gas,” said Phil Cox, campaign strategist for McDonnell, Virginia’s attorney general and a former member of the House of Delegates from Virginia Beach.

“He believes that advances in technology over the past two decades give us the ability to drill offshore in an environmentally friendly way and believes offshore drilling will help to create new American jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy,” Cox added.

State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, favors “environmentally safe offshore drilling.” He said such drilling would need to generate royalties and not interfere with the military, tourism and fishing industries. He said it should be explored as part of a broad proposal to develop new energy technology and alternative fuel production in the commonwealth.

“By linking our world-class research institutions with a statewide energy initiative, we will create new jobs and solve the biggest issue of our generation,” he said.

Terry McAuliffe, an unannounced candidate for the Democratic nomination, is staking out a position that recalls that of current Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

Like the governor, McAuliffe favors exploration offshore for natural gas but not oil.

McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said the federal push for drilling along the Virginia coast is a last gasp for the departing Bush administration.

“This is Bush trying to get some stuff done at the end,” he said.

President-elect Barack Obama has said he is open to offshore energy exploration, but he has the option not to proceed with the sale of leases.

McAuliffe noted the concerns of the military, which worries that drilling platforms could be a hazard to U.S. warships and aircraft.

Another Democratic prospect, Del. Brian J. Moran of Alexandria, opposes exploration for oil and gas “at this time,” according to his spokesman, Jesse Ferguson.

“Our first priority should be alternative and renewable energy sources, not drilling for more of a 19th-century energy source,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson also said it has not been proved that Virginia oil and gas reserves are a “long-term solution” to energy needs.

He said Moran believes offshore exploration is a potential threat to the environment and to the appeal of Virginia Beach, among other shore points, as a tourist destination.

Tags: barack obama, eastern shore, hampton roads, offshore drilling, richmond, richmond times-dispatch, terry mcauliffe, virginia beach

McAuliffe To Hit Campaign Trail Saturday

“McAuliffe To Hit Campaign Trail Saturday” can also be read on the Washington Post website.

Tim Craig

Terry McAuliffe, a potential Democratic candidate for governor next year, will kick off his two-month listening tour this weekend.

McAuliffe, who plans to announce Jan. 7 whether he will enter the race, will have breakfast with Prince William County Democrats tomorrow morning in Occoquan.

McAuliffe will then attend the Norfolk State University vs. Delaware State football game in Norfolk.

“Terry will be rooting on the Norfolk State Spartans,” his campaign said in a statement.

McAuliffe will end his day by attending a black-tie gala in Portsmouth to raise money for scholarships.

McAuliffe’s visit to Hampton Roads appears to be an effort to target African Americans. A Washington Post survey last month showed McAuliffe running particulary strong among black females although black males favored Del. Brian J. Moran (D-Alexandria), who is also a candidate for the nomination.

The poll also showed Moran with a slim overall lead statewide, but he and McAuliffe were tied in Hampton Roads.

Tags: hampton roads, norfolk, norfolk state university, occoquan, portsmouth, prince william, terry mcauliffe, washington post

Yes, Virginia, the Old Dominion Can and Does Lean Democratic

By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer

RICHMOND — One year before voters go to the polls to elect a new governor, Virginia Democrats appear well positioned to stay in power and continue their winning streak in major state races, according to a new Washington Post poll.

In one of the first surveys to explore the 2009 political landscape, Democrats have a 17-point advantage when voters are asked which party they want to win the governor’s race.

The question, included in a Washington Poll on the presidential race published Monday, highlights the challenges facing Republicans as more Virginia voters identify themselves as Democrats and independents.

Of registered voters, 48 percent prefer a Democratic governor vs. 31 percent who want a Republican.

According to the survey, a generic Democratic gubernatorial nominee starts the year with the same coalition of support that led to the election as governor of Mark R. Warner (D) in 2001 and Timothy M. Kaine (D) in 2005.

The survey, which shows voters in Northern Virginia favoring Democrats by 57 percent to 25 percent, sets the stage for another hard-fought political contest in the Old Dominion next year.

Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell is running unopposed for the Republican nomination for governor.

But for the first time since 1985, Democrats are girding for a primary fight to decide their nominee. Del. Brian J. Moran (Alexandria) and state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, who narrowly lost to McDonnell in the 2005 attorney general’s race, have announced they plan to run. Terry McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and adviser to Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, is also considering a run.

The nomination is up for grabs in a three-way fight, according to the poll. When self-identified Democrats and independents who lean Democratic were asked which candidate they prefer as the nominee, 16 percent named Moran, 12 percent McAuliffe and 11 percent Deeds.

More than half the respondents said they were undecided. Moran’s narrow advantage is within the margin of error. Only a small percentage of registered voters will turn out in the June primary, so it’s hard to make any broad conclusions about the findings. In addition, the race will change dramatically once the candidates begin to campaign.

With McAuliffe and Moran living in Northern Virginia, the conventional wisdom is that Deeds benefits from a three-way fight for the nomination. But the poll finds the three candidates are separated by five percentage points or less in Hampton Roads, Richmond and the western part of the state.

In Northern Virginia, Moran has 22 percent of the vote and McAuliffe 12 percent. Deeds is drawing only 6 percent in Northern Virginia.

Black voters and self-described liberals, who tend to vote in higher percentages in Democratic primaries, will likely play a key role in determining the nominee.

Moran holds an eight-point advantage over McAuliffe among African Americans. McAuliffe and Moran are tied among voters who identified themselves as liberals.

White men essentially split their votes among the three candidates, and Moran holds a seven-point advantage among white women. Deeds does best among moderate Democrats.

The survey, conducted Oct. 22 to 25, did not match McDonnell against any of the potential Democratic candidates.

Because he is likely running unopposed for the Republican nomination, McDonnell will be able to spend the winter and spring stockpiling money, organizing his campaign and developing a message for the fall, while the Democrats duke it out.

McDonnell, a former legislator who had a 21-year career in Army, has a broad résumé that will make him a formidable Republican candidate. But the poll suggests McDonnell, an unabashed social and economic conservative, could face a difficult political climate once a Democratic nominee is chosen.

Self-described independents say they prefer a Democrat to win the governor’s race, by 40 percent to 25 percent. Female voters favor a Democrat by about 2 to 1, as do moderates.

Nearly 90 percent of African Americans want a Democratic governor, which is consistent with past statewide elections. The two parties are tied among white voters, a troubling sign for Republicans, who need to win this group by a big margin.

The huge showing in the poll for Democrats in Northern Virginia is a testament to the region’s shifting demographics. It also might signal voter frustration with Republicans in Richmond over the lack of new revenue for transportation.

In Hampton Roads, where traffic is also a concern, voters prefer a Democratic governor by 54 percent to 32 percent. Even in the historically conservative Richmond and western Virginia areas, registered voters narrowly prefer a Democratic governor.

Conservatives overwhelmingly want Republicans to reclaim the governor’s race. In addition, white evangelicals favor a Republican by 2 to 1.

In the 1990s, Republicans and white evangelicals made up a large enough share of the electorate to help elect two successive Republican governors, George Allen and James S. Gilmore III. But the number of Virginia voters identifying themselves as Republicans has steadily declined during President Bush’s second term.

As McDonnell works to expand the Republican base next year, he starts with several advantages. McDonnell, whose home political base is Virginia Beach and who maintains extensive ties to the military veteran community, will probably perform far better in Hampton Roads than the nameless Republican asked about in the poll.

McDonnell, if elected, would also be Virginia’s first Republican Catholic governor. Currently, white Catholics favor a Democratic governor by 46 percent to 31 percent.

McDonnell advisers think he will do better in Northern Virginia than other recent statewide Republican candidates.

Much can and will change over the next year, including a possible backlash against a new administration and Congress in Washington. Republicans, though, might want to take note of a similar Virginia poll conducted by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University in summer 2007.

That poll found that four in 10 Virginia voters wanted the next president to be a Democrat, compared with 33 percent who said they favor a Republican. At the time, Republicans scoffed at the suggestion that Virginia, which last voted for a Democratic presidential nominee in 1964, could be up for grabs in this year’s presidential race.

But The Washington Post poll published Monday showed Democrat Barack Obama with an eight-point lead over Republican John McCain in Virginia, 52 percent to 44 percent.

Polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

Tags: hampton roads, hillary clinton, mark warner, mcauliffe, richmond, terry mcauliffe, tim kaine, washington post