Bob McDonnell
Encyclopedia
Robert Francis "Bob" McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American
politician who has been the 71st Governor of Virginia
since January 2010. A former lieutenant colonel
in the United States Army
, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates
from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia
from 2006 to 2009.
McDonnell was elected as the Governor of Virginia on the back of the campaign slogan, "Bob's for Jobs", defeating Democratic
state Senator Creigh Deeds
by a 17-point margin in a 2009 general election
marked by the late-2000s recession. McDonnell was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol
to succeed Tim Kaine
. He currently serves as chairman of the Republican Governors Association
.
Since taking office, McDonnell has declared a Confederate History Month
, successfully handed over two consecutive budget surpluses, and pushed for privatisation, extending a contract to outsource the state's computer operations and attempting to auction off the state's ABC liquor stores
, and promoted offshore drilling
for Virginia. He has sought to fund transportation improvements from non-traditional revenues sources including the proposal to auction-off liquor stores and establishing a toll booth at the Virginia-North Carolina
border. He has used his amendatory veto power to restrict state funding for abortion
s.
, the son of Emma (née Meiller) and Lt. Col. John Francis McDonnell. He is of Irish Catholic extraction on his father's side. His family moved to Fairfax County, Virginia
in 1955 when he was one year old. He spent four years of his early childhood in Germany when his father, a United States Air Force
officer, was sent out on assignment. After returning to Virginia four years later, the McDonnells permanently established residence in Fairfax County. His mother worked at Mount Vernon
. McDonnell graduated from Bishop Ireton High School
in Alexandria, Virginia
in 1972. While attending Bishop Ireton High School, McDonnell played football and broke the T. C. Williams High School
shut out streak of 20 quarters by scoring a touchdown with minutes left in the game.
McDonnell attended the University of Notre Dame
in Notre Dame, Indiana
on an ROTC
scholarship, graduating with a B.B.A. in management
in 1976. Immediately following graduation, he served as a medical supply officer in the United States Army
for four years. His military posts were medical clinics in Germany
from 1976 to 1979, and in Newport News, Virginia
from 1979 to 1981. In addition, he took night classes and received an M.B.A. from Boston University
in 1980. After leaving active duty in 1981, McDonnell worked for the American Hospital Supply Corporation, primarily in the custom products regional division.
His career path shifted from business to law and public policy when he selected a joint degree program at Regent University
. He obtained an M.A.
/J.D.
there in 1989. During his studies, McDonnell interned under Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-California).
. Their younger daughter Cailin coordinated youth outreach for the Republican Party of Virginia's election efforts in 2009.
Bob McDonnell has twin sons, both who are athletes of the class of 2014 at the University of Virginia.
, he was Co-Chair of the Committee on the Chesapeake and its Tributaries in 2000–2001. He became Chair of the Courts of Justice Committee in 2003. He also served on the Rules Committee 2000–2005, and was Assistant Majority Leader. While serving in state office, McDonnell continued to serve in the Army Reserve
as a JAG officer until retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1997.
In 2005, McDonnell ran for Attorney General. He campaigned on issues including protecting children from sexual predators, drug enforcement, identity theft, gang violence, and terrorism. The first result showed him with a victory of 323 votes, out of over 1.9 million votes cast, over his opponent, Democratic state Senator
Creigh Deeds
. Deeds filed for a recount, which began on December 20, 2005. A court decision limited the recount to just recompiling vote totals instead of examining individual optically-scanned ballots. After preliminary figures revealed 37 more votes for McDonnell and that Deeds could not make up the difference, he conceded the next day, giving McDonnell a 323 vote margin of victory. McDonnell outspent Deeds in the general election by nearly one million dollars; the VA Republican State Leadership Committee donated $2,084,089 to McDonnell's campaign. He was inaugurated on January 14, 2006, in Williamsburg
along with Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
.
Prior to a performance of the Sex Workers' Art Show at the College of William and Mary in 2008, McDonnell forbade the sale of the group's books on school grounds. McDonnell took the side of defecting Northern Virginia
Episcopalians
in a property lawsuit over the right of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
to retain church properties.
In February 2009, McDonnell resigned as Attorney General to campaign full time for the Governorship of Virginia
in the 2009 election
.
In early June, Creigh Deeds possessed a slight edge with a 47%-41% advantage in the early polls. As the campaign continued to progressed, the polls shifted toward McDonnell's favor, giving him even a commanding lead in some. When the Washington Post released McDonnell's thesis from Regent University, McDonnell's lead dwindled to only two percentage points per Rasmussen polling. As the election proceeded, McDonnell's campaign regained steam. McDonnell defeated opponent Creigh Deeds in the general election by a vote of 59%-41%, receiving the highest percentage of the vote for any candidate for governor since 1961. At the same time, the other two statewide offices on the ballot were also won by Republicans.
s, low operating cost of government and a simplified tax code
. Having lived in various parts of the state, his road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own".
The McDonnell campaign strategy cast itself as focusing on economic issues, transportation, and public safety. Bob McDonnell's proposals included new job initiatives, boosting Virginia’s tourism, hospitality, and film industries, making Wallops Island
the top commercial spaceport in America, and expanding growth in rural Virginia. McDonnell proposed measures that would move $480 million per year from school administration and put it directly into the classroom; establish more specialised high schools to support high-demand industries; increase online learning through virtual school
s; and support educational mentoring programs. McDonnell has frequently expressed his support for President Barack Obama
’s ideas on increasing parental choice through charter school
s.
, McDonnell campaigned as an opponent of elective abortion. As a state legislator, he was the lead sponsor for legislation that would have banned partial birth abortion
s, as well as legislation requiring parental consent
before a minor has an abortion and informed consent for women seeking an abortion. He opposed state and federal government funding for elective abortions.
off of the coast of Virginia while simultaneously developing new technologies for wind
, solar, biomass
, and other renewable energy
resources. He intends to expand investments in renewable energy sources and incentivize green job creation.
Political Victory Fund and won their endorsement in his 2009 campaign for Governor.
inside the Beltway, improving I-95, and finishing the Metrorail to Dulles Airport
project.
for not disclosing his full schedule and for making out-of-state political appearances as Chair of the Democratic National Committee
. McDonnell stated, "The citizens must be certain that the governor is attending to the duties for which he was elected. The governor is Virginia's chief executive and represents the commonwealth at all times." In March 2010, McDonnell received similar criticism for disclosing very few meetings or political appearances on his publicly released schedule.
was a 93-page document titled The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade. The document explored the rise in the numbers of divorces and illegitimate births, and examined public policies that may have contributed to that increase and proposed solutions. The document gained attention in the campaign because it outlined a 15-point conservative agenda, including 10 points McDonnell pursued during his years in the General Assembly, according to press analysis.
This agenda includes opposition to abortion
, support for school vouchers and covenant marriage
, and tax policies that favor heterosexual families. In his thesis, McDonnell wrote "government policy should favor married couples over 'cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators.'" McDonnell "described working women and feminists as 'detrimental' to the family."
McDonnell "criticized a landmark 1965 Supreme Court decision
" which legalized the use of contraceptives, writing that "man's basic nature is inclined towards evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse, or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter." McDonnell responded to the article, stating "Virginians will judge me on my 18-year record as a legislator and attorney general and the specific plans I have laid out for our future -- not on a decades-old academic paper I wrote as a student during the Reagan era
and haven't thought about in years."
The Washington Post
reported that McDonnell maintained: "Like everybody, my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older." McDonnell says his evolved position on family policy is best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation where he "worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work".
The McDonnell For Governor campaign printed a variety of bumper stickers appealing to many interest groups, including "Women for McDonnell", "Sportsmen for McDonnell", and "Independents for McDonnell". Some appealed to the diverse minority groups throughout the Commonwealth. Some featured the mascots of select public universities such as the University of Virginia
, Virginia Tech, James Madison University
, Virginia Military Institute
, and Old Dominion University
. "Irish for McDonnell" stickers were printed for the select Virginia residents who attended the University of Notre Dame
as well. His road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own."
, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television
and owner of the Washington Mystics
; Virginia AgPAC: the Political Action Committee of the Virginia Farm Bureau, representing over 147,000 members; the Virginia Association of Realtors, the largest trade association in Virginia with over 33,000 Members; The Virginia Credit Union League, a trade association representing the Commonwealth’s 194 not-for-profit credit unions and the 3 million member-owners residing in Virginia; The Virginia Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a group whose membership consists of over 6,000 small businesses across Virginia; and the National Rifle Association
, which reversed its pro-Deeds 2005 endorsement for Attorney General.
.
Two of McDonnell's appointments drew criticism. On May 7, 2010, McDonnell appointed Fred Malek
to chair a 31-member advisory commission
on reforming state government. On May 10, 2010, several Democratic members of the Legislature criticized the appointment due to Malek's controversial actions as personnel director in the Nixon White House and due to a 2007 SEC investigation settlement. On May 25, 2010, McDonnell was asked about the Malek appointment and stated that he was not aware of Malek's role in the Nixon Administration, a remark which State Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) told the Washington Post that McDonnell's claim was "absolutely stunning and, frankly, beyond belief."
McDonnell also nominated Robert C. Sledd to Secretary of Commerce and Trade, but withdrew the nomination in the face of bipartisan opposition prompted by Sledd's refusal to give up paid outside corporate directorships.
On January 27, 2010, McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama
's State of the Union Address
. The response was delivered to GOP lawmakers and invited friends in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates
. Critics have argued that the use of House chamber for McDonnell's speech did not comply with House Rule 82.
Since McDonnell's election as Governor in November 2009, he has shifted his fundraising activities to his "Opportunity Virginia PAC" which has raised $1,194,934 through June 2010. Many of these donations came from industries regulated by the state.
In April 2010, McDonnell renegotiated and extended a contract for outsourcing the state's computer operations to Northrop Grumman
. At that time, McDonnell proposed legislation which was adopted to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency
report to the Governor instead of an independent board. Subsequently, McDonnell was criticized when the Northrup computer systems experienced a week-long computer outage from August 25 through September 2, 2010. As a result, as many as 45,000 citizens could not renew their drivers licenses prior to their expiration. Computer systems for 26 of the state's 89 agencies were affected. An estimated 4,240 driver's license and ID card applicants have been asked to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get their photos taken again after an Aug. 25 computer outage left their original photos unrecoverable. The system also experienced an unrelated outage on August 9. Subsequently, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $250,000 to fund a state investigation of the computer outage.
The 2010 session of the General Assembly passed a bill exempting certain veterans' organizations from the registration and reporting requirements that apply to most charities which solicit donations in Virginia. The bill was introduced at the request of Bobby Thompson, director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, who has made large contributions to certain Republican candidates. After the bill passed both the House and Senate, newspaper accounts of that charity's questionable practices caused a sponsor of the bill to request McDonnell to veto it, however the governor signed the bill into law notwithstanding those requests. As a result, the organization, which is under investigation in New Mexico (which barred the USNVA before the Virginia bill was signed), Florida and Missouri, as well as other non profit veterans' organizations will not have to report to Virginia on how they spend the donations that they receive. However, McDonnell later donated to charity the $5,000 campaign contribution that he had received from Thompson. In August 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that a nation-wide arrest warrant had issued for Bobby Thompson, who had stolen the identity and Social Security Number of a victim who was not connected to the USNVA. Corday stated, "We know he bilked Ohioans out of at least $1.9 million, and we estimate that nationally he collected at least $20 million."
In January 14, 2011, McDonnell issued a directive ordering the Department of Conservation and Recreation to cease enforcing regulations that prohibit people from openly carrying firearms in state parks. He has also given preliminary approval to amend the regulations to allow people to carry open or concealed firearms in state forests. The regulations were already amended in 2003 to allow concealed weapons on park property.
On August 15, 2011, McDonnell was named chairman of the Republican Governors Association
.
) by issuing an opinion as Attorney General stating that issuing such a change in public policy was "within purview of General Assembly and, therefore, beyond scope of executive authority and is unconstitutional". After criticism from some gay rights groups, McDonnell issued an executive directive (which unlike an executive order, does not have the force of law) that prohibits employment discrimination because of sexual orientation without a rational basis.
On April 2, 2010, at the request of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Governor McDonnell issued a proclamation designating April 2010 as "Confederate
History Month" following similar designations by two of his Republican predecessors, George Allen
and James S. Gilmore. However, the last two governors, who were Democrats, did not designate such a month. Unlike Gilmore's proclamation, which included anti-slavery language, McDonnell's initial proclamation left out any direct mention of slavery, drawing criticism from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the NAACP. When initially asked why he had made the omission, McDonnell stated that "there were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia."
On April 7, 2010, McDonnell conceded that omitting slavery from his proclamation was "a major omission", apologized and amended the document. McDonnell had previously refused to rule out the possibility that he would run for Vice President in 2012; while news analysts Chris Cillizza, Mark Plotkin, and Teddy Davis have speculated that the mistake may have a significant adverse impact on McDonnell's chances for a future Vice Presidential nomination, a May 22 Time Magazine article described McDonnell as "a politician who inexplicably kneecapped himself is clawing his way back." On September 24, 2010, McDonnell addressed an academic conference on slavery and announced that he will declare April 2011 as "Civil War in Virginia" month rather than "Conferederate History Month". He also called the April 2010 proclamation an "error of haste and not of heart."
In December 2009, Governor Tim Kaine
started a process which would extend Virginia employee health benefits to same-sex partners. At McDonnell's request, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
issued a legal opinion that this change to the coverage of the state's health plan could not be made without explicit legislation authorizing it, thereby halting the administrative process to make the change. However, McDonnell did sign a law which wouid allow Virginia employers to offer private insurance coverage for employees' same-sex partners, after the bill passed with bipartisan support.
In a decision that drew international controversy, McDonnell declined to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment in the case of Teresa Lewis
, who was executed on September 23, 2010. She became the first woman executed in Virginia since 1912 and was borderline mentally retarded.
On May 21, McDonnell announced new policy on the issue of restoration of rights, imposing a 60-day deadline for his administration to act on an application once all of the required documentation is received from the applicant and the courts; reducing to two years from three years the time nonviolent felons must wait to apply for restoration of rights, and cutting to one year from two years the waiting period for reapplication if a request is denied. Of the new policy, Democratic Delegate David Englin commented, "By establishing a timely and more clearly defined process for non-violent ex-offenders seeking to have their rights restored, the Governor’s new policy has the potential make an important step in the right direction." On July 19, McDonnell restored voting rights for 506 felons out of a total of 574 eligible applications. As of September 26, 2010, McDonnell restored the rights of 780 of 889 applicants.
had not been paid off. Critics note that Virginia lacks a revenue source to amortize these new bonds. On December 9, 2010, McDonnell announced a revised transportation funding plan which includes both $1.8 billion in bonds that had been approved in 2007, as well as an additional $1.1 billion of s which McDonnell proposes to pay back from future federal transportation funds. He also proposed to spend $150 million from the 2009-2010 budget surplus and $250 million from reducing the reserves that ongoing projects carry to protect against gasoline tax revenue shortfalls. On January 9, 2011, McDonnell proposed funding projects to address traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton roads by diverting 0.25% of the sales tax collected in those areas from the General Fund into the transportation fund. Legislation is required to implement McDonnell's proposal, and Democrats responded that the revenues were needed in the General Fund for schools and public safety and that the projected revenues were insufficient to make a difference on highway needs.
On May 10, 2010, McDonnell filed an application with the Federal Highway Administration
(FHA) seeking permission to collect tolls on Interstate 95
near the North Carolina border. The highway had been constructed with taxpayer funds, 90% from the federal government and 10% from Virginia gasoline taxes. However, Virginia claims that they do not have sufficient revenues to maintain I-95 at a safe level and proposes a toll booth to raise a projected $30 to $60 million annually. McDonnell is asking FHA to authorize the toll under its "Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program."
In 2008, the Federal government and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
(WMATA) reached an agreement for federal funding of $1.5 billion in capital improvements contingent on Virginia
, Maryland
and the District of Columbia pledging to develop dedicated funding for the Metro system. WMATA is an interstate compact founded in 1967 with a board of directors whose members are appointed by each local jurisdiction in its service area, including four from Virginia appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
(NVTC). In June 2010, McDonnell threatened to withhold Virginia's WMATA funding unless the composition of WMATA's board is modified to allow Virginia's Governor to appoint two of the four Virginia seats. Currently, the interstate compact establishing WMATA specifies that its Virginia members are selected by the NVTC. In turn, Virginia law specifies that local jurisdictions appoint that Commission's members. Rather than proposing to amend either law, McDonnell merely threatened to withhold Virginia's "dedicated" matching funds if the NVTC did not appoint two people that he selected instead of appointing representatives from local jurisdictions. On June 17, 2010, Federal Transit Administrator
Peter Rogoff required a formal commitment from Virginia to match its share of the federal funds if the federal funding is to continue. On June 24, 2010, McDonnell withdrew his request to appoint two members of the Metro Board as a precondition for making the scheduled "dedicated" payment under the 2008 agreement. On July 1, 2010, the WMATA Board of Directors approved an agreement with Virginia to provide its share of matching funds without regard to McDonnell's request for Board seats. Based on this agreement, the federal funds were reconfirmed, and WMATA was able to activate a $886 million contract for 428 new metrorail cars.
. On March 10, 2010, before Congress finished its final consideration of the package, a bipartisan Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act passed the General Assembly by a 80-17 majority, which McDonnell signed on March 24, 2010. McDonnell supports Virginia's legal challenge to the Constitutionality of the final Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
. Although abortion funding was not debated during the regular session of the General Assembly, McDonnell raised the issue through the use of his amendatory veto power. During the April 21, 2010 veto session, the Virginia legislature passed restrictions on state public funding for elective abortion except in the instances of rape, incest, life of the mother, or life threatening fetal anomaly.
The House adopted $620 million in education cuts, and the Senate adopted a budget with $133 million in education cuts. The final, signed budget cut over $646 million for public schools.
Because K-12 education comprises 37% of the general fund budget, critics note that McDonnell's proposal to fund transportation bonds from the general fund would result in further education cuts in future years. McDonnell disagrees, saying he’ll lean heavily on growth in revenues rather than pulling from existing money.
Although McDonnell supported the Race to the Top
federal education funding program during McDonnell's campaign for governor, on May 26, 2010, McDonnell withdrew Virginia from the second round of "Race to the Top
". Virginia had finished 31st out of 41 states in the first round; McDonnell decided that Virginia should not file its application for the second round because he erroneously believed the competition required the use of multi-state education performance standards instead of Virginia's current standards. However, the use of common performance standards were not required and counted for 40 points out of a possible 500 total points in evaluating state proposals. McDonnell later stated on MSNBC that the Race to the Top rules precluded participating states from adopting more rigorous standards in addition to whatever multi-state standards they join. However, the "Race to the Top" regulations award the points even if states adopt standards more rigorous than the optional, common standards.
). The plan has been criticized by some environmentalists and Democrats who argue that tourism and wildlife would be threatened and that oil drilling would not make a difference in achieving long-term energy independence. Congressman Moran, among others, argued further that most of the proposed drilling area was located in an area reserved for naval operations.
McDonnell advocated drilling off the Virginia coast of the Atlantic Ocean as a possible revenue source for the state. However, under current law, Virginia will not receive any revenues from drilling in federal waters, which includes all drilling sites more than 3 miles off the coast. On May 6, 2010, the Department of Interior suspended the proposed auction of offshore Virginia leasing rights. Congressman James P. Moran (D-Va), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Interior Department, issued a statement commending the decision. On May 18, Moran forwarded to McDonnell a Department of Defense
report finding that the proposed lease site would interfere with naval operations. On May 25, McDonnell reaffirmed his interest in having oil drilling off the Virginia coast notwithstanding the BP oil spill and the inability of Virginia to get any of the royalty income from such drilling under current law. On May 27, President Obama announced that the offshore Virginia lease sale was cancelled. Subsequently, McDonnell has proposed continuing a federal environmental study of drilling off the Virginia coast or drilling for just gas and not oil. However, experts have said that liquids are almost always produced with gas offshore.
proposed a two-year $76.8 billion spending plan for adoption by the incoming state legislature. Kaine's budget proposed to rationalize state revenues by increasing the income tax while lowering property taxes and other fees. As incoming Governor, McDonnell refused to publicly recommend any modifications to Kaine's budget and instead worked with the House of Delegates to bring Kaine's plan up for a quick vote and defeat. Privately, McDonnell advocated cutting $300 million from health programs, $730 million from K-12 education, changing the state retirement system, and requiring 10 days of furloughs for state employees, all to offset a $2.2 billion budget shortfall over 2010-2012. On February 17, 2010, after political pressure, the Governor publicly released his proposed cuts. The Democratic-controlled Senate adopted a budget which restored a number of budget cuts to education, health and human services, and a House-Senate conference managed to work out a compromise on March 14 containing about $250 million in cuts before the expiration of the legislative session. However, a number of interest groups lobbied the Governor to use his amendatory veto power to alter the adopted budget.
On April 14, 2010, McDonnell proposed 96 budget amendments to the two-year 2010-2012 budget resulting in $42.1 million in spending increases and $51 million in additional budget cuts, tax increases, and court fees for criminals. He proposed to increase spending by $15 million to give incentives for SRI
and Bank of America
to keep offices in Virginia. To boost revenue, McDonnell proposed raising $7.2 million by increasing the fines on motorists who exceed the speed limit. He proposes to cut an additional $9.9 million from state funded programs for at-risk and troubled children and proposed cutting $600,000 from state grants to public radio and television stations. McDonnell also issued amendatory vetoes on non-budget legislation. For example, although Virginia has provided free electronic filing of tax returns for years, his veto would outsource electronic filing to firms that would charge a fee for that service. McDonnell also amended a bill that would authorize Planned Parenthood car license plates to prohibit Planned Parenthood from spending the funds raised from those "affinity" license plates on abortions. The Legislature met to vote on the Governor's amendments on April 21. A bipartisan majority accepted some of McDonnell's proposed cuts while rejecting others including those to public broadcasting, the funding for at-risk and troubled children and the shifting of Virginia Medicaid mental health program to a managed-care plan.
to private owners. McDonnell held eight town hall meetings around the state to discuss the plan. McDonnell argued that retail alcohol sales is not an appropriate state activity and proposes that any sales proceeds could be used to finance transportation needs. Opponents noted that the liquor stores generate $248 million per year for Virginia's general fund.
On September 8, 2010, McDonnell presented his plan for auctioning liquor licenses to his government reform commission. Under the plan, the number of stores selling liquor would triple to 1,000, with the licenses to operate these new stores being auctioned. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Of the 1,000 licenses, 600 would be available to big retailers, whose lawyers and lobbyists helped craft the governor's proposal. An additional 150 licenses would be reserved for package stories, with 250 for small retailers, such as convenience-store operators." McDonnell estimates that winning bidders would pay $265 million for the licenses, and that the state could receive $33 million from selling existing state-owned liquor store properties. In addition $160 million would be collected in wholesale license fees. To make up from the annual loss of general fund revenues from the current state-owned stores, McDonnell proposes a $17.50 per gallon excise tax (which is above the national average and above that charged in neighboring states). He would also charge an annual fee of $500 to $2,000 to each store license holder, and would impose a new 1% gross receipts tax on wholesalers of liquor. Restaurants and bars that chose to purchase alcohol from wholesalers instead of retail outlets would pay a 2.5% tax. Just before the presentation, McDonnell dropped his proposed 1.5% fee on all restaurants and retail establishments that was in earlier drafts of his plan. McDonnell proposed to call a special session of the Virginia legislature in November 2010 to consider the proposal.
The plan drew immediate opposition from conservative lawmakers as a "tax increase". It was also opposed by the 3,000-member Virginia Retail Federation, the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association, and the Virginia Wine Wholesalers Association. The Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy oppose the plan out of concerns that it will increase alcohol consumption. The plan is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Virginia Transportation Construction Industry, and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce (which said the plan should be a part of a larger effort to increase transportation funding.)
On the eve of McDonnell taking the plan to the restructuring commission for their endorsement, the Washington Post reported that he modified the plan by dropping the restaurant tax and certain other proposed fees. McDonnell is proposing to set aside over 100 licenses for companies that employ less than 50 people in order to help small, family owned stores. He also wants to give small businesses several years to pay off their auction bids. The Post suggests that "he might call off plans for a November special session" of the General Assembly. On October 4, the Malek commission voted 22 to 3 to endorse McDonnell's modified plan. The Commission proposed a number of cost savings in government operations which would offset the projected $47 million annual revenue loss from selling the ABC liquor stores.
In October 2010, McDonnell's modified plan drew criticism from Republican members of the House of Delegates, including Del. Thomas D. Gear who chairs the House subcommittee that will consider the proposal and Del. Timothy D. Hugo, chair of the House Republican caucus. Concerns heightened when Phil Cox, who heads McDonnell's political action committee, threatened to withhold campaign funds from Republican delegates who fail to support the modified plan. According to the Washington Post, "Delegates have privately complained that the plan was developed with too little input from legislators and too much from lobbyists for retail and alcohol interests." McDonnell is reportedly dropping plans to call a special session in November 2010 to consider the modified plan. On October 22, 2010, McDonnell decided not call a special session, but to instead appoint a "working group" to further refine the plan so that implementing legislation could be on the first day of the 2011 legislative session. McDonnell's working group of Republican legislators, wholesalers, distillers, and retailers seek to develop a compromise that could win adoption by the legislature.
On November 23, 2010, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee released a report which found that the McDonnell proposal had overstated the expected proceeds of liquor store sales and licenses. In response, McDonnell's spokesman said that he is committed to privatization and is considering alternative plans. McDonnell has hired a consultant to formulate a new privatization plan at a cost of $75,000 prior to the new legislative session in January 2011. The Auditors found that McDonnell's proposal would rise the retail price of distilled spirits 11 to 26 percent, which in turn would lead to a drop in liquor sales that could result in a loss of as much as $15.4 million in sales tax revenues.
In what the Washington Post described as "the biggest legislative defeat of his tenure," both houses of the Virginia General Assembly refused to hold hearings on McDonell's plan during the 2011 legislative session. Both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate killed the bill implementing McDonnell's proposal without a vote. McDonnell's director of policy, Eric Finkbeiner told the Post, "Whether we do it this year, next year or the year after, it's going to get done in this administration."
relocate its 300-job headquarters to Virginia, but stated that the renewal of Virginia's computer outsourcing contract was not linked to the relocation decision. When Defense Secretary Robert Gates
announced the closing of the 6,000-job Joint Military Command in August, 2010, McDonnell sought private meetings
to seek to preserve the jobs.
However, McDonnell was disappointed that Secretary Gates would not meet with him to discuss the issue. McDonnell was later included in a meeting between Gates and Virginia's congressional delegation on November 23, 2010.
politician who has been the 71st Governor of Virginia
since January 2010. A former lieutenant colonel
in the United States Army
, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates
from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia
from 2006 to 2009.
McDonnell was elected as the Governor of Virginia on the back of the campaign slogan, "Bob's for Jobs", defeating Democratic
state Senator Creigh Deeds
by a 17-point margin in a 2009 general election
marked by the late-2000s recession. McDonnell was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol
to succeed Tim Kaine
. He currently serves as chairman of the Republican Governors Association
.
Since taking office, McDonnell has declared a Confederate History Month
, successfully handed over two consecutive budget surpluses, and pushed for privatisation, extending a contract to outsource the state's computer operations and attempting to auction off the state's ABC liquor stores
, and promoted offshore drilling
for Virginia. He has sought to fund transportation improvements from non-traditional revenues sources including the proposal to auction-off liquor stores and establishing a toll booth at the Virginia-North Carolina
border. He has used his amendatory veto power to restrict state funding for abortion
s.
, the son of Emma (née Meiller) and Lt. Col. John Francis McDonnell. He is of Irish Catholic extraction on his father's side. His family moved to Fairfax County, Virginia
in 1955 when he was one year old. He spent four years of his early childhood in Germany when his father, a United States Air Force
officer, was sent out on assignment. After returning to Virginia four years later, the McDonnells permanently established residence in Fairfax County. His mother worked at Mount Vernon
. McDonnell graduated from Bishop Ireton High School
in Alexandria, Virginia
in 1972. While attending Bishop Ireton High School, McDonnell played football and broke the T. C. Williams High School
shut out streak of 20 quarters by scoring a touchdown with minutes left in the game.
McDonnell attended the University of Notre Dame
in Notre Dame, Indiana
on an ROTC
scholarship, graduating with a B.B.A. in management
in 1976. Immediately following graduation, he served as a medical supply officer in the United States Army
for four years. His military posts were medical clinics in Germany
from 1976 to 1979, and in Newport News, Virginia
from 1979 to 1981. In addition, he took night classes and received an M.B.A. from Boston University
in 1980. After leaving active duty in 1981, McDonnell worked for the American Hospital Supply Corporation, primarily in the custom products regional division.
His career path shifted from business to law and public policy when he selected a joint degree program at Regent University
. He obtained an M.A.
/J.D.
there in 1989. During his studies, McDonnell interned under Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-California).
. Their younger daughter Cailin coordinated youth outreach for the Republican Party of Virginia's election efforts in 2009.
Bob McDonnell has twin sons, both who are athletes of the class of 2014 at the University of Virginia.
, he was Co-Chair of the Committee on the Chesapeake and its Tributaries in 2000–2001. He became Chair of the Courts of Justice Committee in 2003. He also served on the Rules Committee 2000–2005, and was Assistant Majority Leader. While serving in state office, McDonnell continued to serve in the Army Reserve
as a JAG officer until retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1997.
In 2005, McDonnell ran for Attorney General. He campaigned on issues including protecting children from sexual predators, drug enforcement, identity theft, gang violence, and terrorism. The first result showed him with a victory of 323 votes, out of over 1.9 million votes cast, over his opponent, Democratic state Senator
Creigh Deeds
. Deeds filed for a recount, which began on December 20, 2005. A court decision limited the recount to just recompiling vote totals instead of examining individual optically-scanned ballots. After preliminary figures revealed 37 more votes for McDonnell and that Deeds could not make up the difference, he conceded the next day, giving McDonnell a 323 vote margin of victory. McDonnell outspent Deeds in the general election by nearly one million dollars; the VA Republican State Leadership Committee donated $2,084,089 to McDonnell's campaign. He was inaugurated on January 14, 2006, in Williamsburg
along with Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
.
Prior to a performance of the Sex Workers' Art Show at the College of William and Mary in 2008, McDonnell forbade the sale of the group's books on school grounds. McDonnell took the side of defecting Northern Virginia
Episcopalians
in a property lawsuit over the right of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
to retain church properties.
In February 2009, McDonnell resigned as Attorney General to campaign full time for the Governorship of Virginia
in the 2009 election
.
In early June, Creigh Deeds possessed a slight edge with a 47%-41% advantage in the early polls. As the campaign continued to progressed, the polls shifted toward McDonnell's favor, giving him even a commanding lead in some. When the Washington Post released McDonnell's thesis from Regent University, McDonnell's lead dwindled to only two percentage points per Rasmussen polling. As the election proceeded, McDonnell's campaign regained steam. McDonnell defeated opponent Creigh Deeds in the general election by a vote of 59%-41%, receiving the highest percentage of the vote for any candidate for governor since 1961. At the same time, the other two statewide offices on the ballot were also won by Republicans.
In a political and economic climate marked by the late-2000s recession, McDonnell promised that his priority as Governor would be employment for Virginians, with such campaign slogans as, "Bob's for Jobs". He supported right-to-work law
s, low operating cost of government and a simplified tax code
. Having lived in various parts of the state, his road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own".
The McDonnell campaign strategy cast itself as focusing on economic issues, transportation, and public safety. Bob McDonnell's proposals included new job initiatives, boosting Virginia’s tourism, hospitality, and film industries, making Wallops Island
the top commercial spaceport in America, and expanding growth in rural Virginia. McDonnell proposed measures that would move $480 million per year from school administration and put it directly into the classroom; establish more specialised high schools to support high-demand industries; increase online learning through virtual school
s; and support educational mentoring programs. McDonnell has frequently expressed his support for President Barack Obama
’s ideas on increasing parental choice through charter school
s.
, McDonnell campaigned as an opponent of elective abortion. As a state legislator, he was the lead sponsor for legislation that would have banned partial birth abortion
s, as well as legislation requiring parental consent
before a minor has an abortion and informed consent for women seeking an abortion. He opposed state and federal government funding for elective abortions.
off of the coast of Virginia while simultaneously developing new technologies for wind
, solar, biomass
, and other renewable energy
resources. He intends to expand investments in renewable energy sources and incentivize green job creation.
Political Victory Fund and won their endorsement in his 2009 campaign for Governor.
inside the Beltway, improving I-95, and finishing the Metrorail to Dulles Airport
project.
for not disclosing his full schedule and for making out-of-state political appearances as Chair of the Democratic National Committee
. McDonnell stated, "The citizens must be certain that the governor is attending to the duties for which he was elected. The governor is Virginia's chief executive and represents the commonwealth at all times." In March 2010, McDonnell received similar criticism for disclosing very few meetings or political appearances on his publicly released schedule.
was a 93-page document titled The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade. The document explored the rise in the numbers of divorces and illegitimate births, and examined public policies that may have contributed to that increase and proposed solutions. The document gained attention in the campaign because it outlined a 15-point conservative agenda, including 10 points McDonnell pursued during his years in the General Assembly, according to press analysis.
This agenda includes opposition to abortion
, support for school vouchers and covenant marriage
, and tax policies that favor heterosexual families. In his thesis, McDonnell wrote "government policy should favor married couples over 'cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators.'" McDonnell "described working women and feminists as 'detrimental' to the family."
McDonnell "criticized a landmark 1965 Supreme Court decision
" which legalized the use of contraceptives, writing that "man's basic nature is inclined towards evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse, or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter." McDonnell responded to the article, stating "Virginians will judge me on my 18-year record as a legislator and attorney general and the specific plans I have laid out for our future -- not on a decades-old academic paper I wrote as a student during the Reagan era
and haven't thought about in years."
The Washington Post
reported that McDonnell maintained: "Like everybody, my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older." McDonnell says his evolved position on family policy is best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation where he "worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work".
The McDonnell For Governor campaign printed a variety of bumper stickers appealing to many interest groups, including "Women for McDonnell", "Sportsmen for McDonnell", and "Independents for McDonnell". Some appealed to the diverse minority groups throughout the Commonwealth. Some featured the mascots of select public universities such as the University of Virginia
, Virginia Tech, James Madison University
, Virginia Military Institute
, and Old Dominion University
. "Irish for McDonnell" stickers were printed for the select Virginia residents who attended the University of Notre Dame
as well. His road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own."
, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television
and owner of the Washington Mystics
; Virginia AgPAC: the Political Action Committee of the Virginia Farm Bureau, representing over 147,000 members; the Virginia Association of Realtors, the largest trade association in Virginia with over 33,000 Members; The Virginia Credit Union League, a trade association representing the Commonwealth’s 194 not-for-profit credit unions and the 3 million member-owners residing in Virginia; The Virginia Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a group whose membership consists of over 6,000 small businesses across Virginia; and the National Rifle Association
, which reversed its pro-Deeds 2005 endorsement for Attorney General.
.
Two of McDonnell's appointments drew criticism. On May 7, 2010, McDonnell appointed Fred Malek
to chair a 31-member advisory commission
on reforming state government. On May 10, 2010, several Democratic members of the Legislature criticized the appointment due to Malek's controversial actions as personnel director in the Nixon White House and due to a 2007 SEC investigation settlement. On May 25, 2010, McDonnell was asked about the Malek appointment and stated that he was not aware of Malek's role in the Nixon Administration, a remark which State Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) told the Washington Post that McDonnell's claim was "absolutely stunning and, frankly, beyond belief."
McDonnell also nominated Robert C. Sledd to Secretary of Commerce and Trade, but withdrew the nomination in the face of bipartisan opposition prompted by Sledd's refusal to give up paid outside corporate directorships.
On January 27, 2010, McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama
's State of the Union Address
. The response was delivered to GOP lawmakers and invited friends in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates
. Critics have argued that the use of House chamber for McDonnell's speech did not comply with House Rule 82.
Since McDonnell's election as Governor in November 2009, he has shifted his fundraising activities to his "Opportunity Virginia PAC" which has raised $1,194,934 through June 2010. Many of these donations came from industries regulated by the state.
In April 2010, McDonnell renegotiated and extended a contract for outsourcing the state's computer operations to Northrop Grumman
. At that time, McDonnell proposed legislation which was adopted to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency
report to the Governor instead of an independent board. Subsequently, McDonnell was criticized when the Northrup computer systems experienced a week-long computer outage from August 25 through September 2, 2010. As a result, as many as 45,000 citizens could not renew their drivers licenses prior to their expiration. Computer systems for 26 of the state's 89 agencies were affected. An estimated 4,240 driver's license and ID card applicants have been asked to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get their photos taken again after an Aug. 25 computer outage left their original photos unrecoverable. The system also experienced an unrelated outage on August 9. Subsequently, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $250,000 to fund a state investigation of the computer outage.
The 2010 session of the General Assembly passed a bill exempting certain veterans' organizations from the registration and reporting requirements that apply to most charities which solicit donations in Virginia. The bill was introduced at the request of Bobby Thompson, director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, who has made large contributions to certain Republican candidates. After the bill passed both the House and Senate, newspaper accounts of that charity's questionable practices caused a sponsor of the bill to request McDonnell to veto it, however the governor signed the bill into law notwithstanding those requests. As a result, the organization, which is under investigation in New Mexico (which barred the USNVA before the Virginia bill was signed), Florida and Missouri, as well as other non profit veterans' organizations will not have to report to Virginia on how they spend the donations that they receive. However, McDonnell later donated to charity the $5,000 campaign contribution that he had received from Thompson. In August 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that a nation-wide arrest warrant had issued for Bobby Thompson, who had stolen the identity and Social Security Number of a victim who was not connected to the USNVA. Corday stated, "We know he bilked Ohioans out of at least $1.9 million, and we estimate that nationally he collected at least $20 million."
In January 14, 2011, McDonnell issued a directive ordering the Department of Conservation and Recreation to cease enforcing regulations that prohibit people from openly carrying firearms in state parks. He has also given preliminary approval to amend the regulations to allow people to carry open or concealed firearms in state forests. The regulations were already amended in 2003 to allow concealed weapons on park property.
On August 15, 2011, McDonnell was named chairman of the Republican Governors Association
.
) by issuing an opinion as Attorney General stating that issuing such a change in public policy was "within purview of General Assembly and, therefore, beyond scope of executive authority and is unconstitutional". After criticism from some gay rights groups, McDonnell issued an executive directive (which unlike an executive order, does not have the force of law) that prohibits employment discrimination because of sexual orientation without a rational basis.
On April 2, 2010, at the request of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Governor McDonnell issued a proclamation designating April 2010 as "Confederate
History Month" following similar designations by two of his Republican predecessors, George Allen
and James S. Gilmore. However, the last two governors, who were Democrats, did not designate such a month. Unlike Gilmore's proclamation, which included anti-slavery language, McDonnell's initial proclamation left out any direct mention of slavery, drawing criticism from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the NAACP. When initially asked why he had made the omission, McDonnell stated that "there were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia."
On April 7, 2010, McDonnell conceded that omitting slavery from his proclamation was "a major omission", apologized and amended the document. McDonnell had previously refused to rule out the possibility that he would run for Vice President in 2012; while news analysts Chris Cillizza, Mark Plotkin, and Teddy Davis have speculated that the mistake may have a significant adverse impact on McDonnell's chances for a future Vice Presidential nomination, a May 22 Time Magazine article described McDonnell as "a politician who inexplicably kneecapped himself is clawing his way back." On September 24, 2010, McDonnell addressed an academic conference on slavery and announced that he will declare April 2011 as "Civil War in Virginia" month rather than "Conferederate History Month". He also called the April 2010 proclamation an "error of haste and not of heart."
In December 2009, Governor Tim Kaine
started a process which would extend Virginia employee health benefits to same-sex partners. At McDonnell's request, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
issued a legal opinion that this change to the coverage of the state's health plan could not be made without explicit legislation authorizing it, thereby halting the administrative process to make the change. However, McDonnell did sign a law which wouid allow Virginia employers to offer private insurance coverage for employees' same-sex partners, after the bill passed with bipartisan support.
In a decision that drew international controversy, McDonnell declined to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment in the case of Teresa Lewis
, who was executed on September 23, 2010. She became the first woman executed in Virginia since 1912 and was borderline mentally retarded.
On May 21, McDonnell announced new policy on the issue of restoration of rights, imposing a 60-day deadline for his administration to act on an application once all of the required documentation is received from the applicant and the courts; reducing to two years from three years the time nonviolent felons must wait to apply for restoration of rights, and cutting to one year from two years the waiting period for reapplication if a request is denied. Of the new policy, Democratic Delegate David Englin commented, "By establishing a timely and more clearly defined process for non-violent ex-offenders seeking to have their rights restored, the Governor’s new policy has the potential make an important step in the right direction." On July 19, McDonnell restored voting rights for 506 felons out of a total of 574 eligible applications. As of September 26, 2010, McDonnell restored the rights of 780 of 889 applicants.
had not been paid off. Critics note that Virginia lacks a revenue source to amortize these new bonds. On December 9, 2010, McDonnell announced a revised transportation funding plan which includes both $1.8 billion in bonds that had been approved in 2007, as well as an additional $1.1 billion of s which McDonnell proposes to pay back from future federal transportation funds. He also proposed to spend $150 million from the 2009-2010 budget surplus and $250 million from reducing the reserves that ongoing projects carry to protect against gasoline tax revenue shortfalls. On January 9, 2011, McDonnell proposed funding projects to address traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton roads by diverting 0.25% of the sales tax collected in those areas from the General Fund into the transportation fund. Legislation is required to implement McDonnell's proposal, and Democrats responded that the revenues were needed in the General Fund for schools and public safety and that the projected revenues were insufficient to make a difference on highway needs.
On May 10, 2010, McDonnell filed an application with the Federal Highway Administration
(FHA) seeking permission to collect tolls on Interstate 95
near the North Carolina border. The highway had been constructed with taxpayer funds, 90% from the federal government and 10% from Virginia gasoline taxes. However, Virginia claims that they do not have sufficient revenues to maintain I-95 at a safe level and proposes a toll booth to raise a projected $30 to $60 million annually. McDonnell is asking FHA to authorize the toll under its "Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program."
In 2008, the Federal government and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
(WMATA) reached an agreement for federal funding of $1.5 billion in capital improvements contingent on Virginia
, Maryland
and the District of Columbia pledging to develop dedicated funding for the Metro system. WMATA is an interstate compact founded in 1967 with a board of directors whose members are appointed by each local jurisdiction in its service area, including four from Virginia appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
(NVTC). In June 2010, McDonnell threatened to withhold Virginia's WMATA funding unless the composition of WMATA's board is modified to allow Virginia's Governor to appoint two of the four Virginia seats. Currently, the interstate compact establishing WMATA specifies that its Virginia members are selected by the NVTC. In turn, Virginia law specifies that local jurisdictions appoint that Commission's members. Rather than proposing to amend either law, McDonnell merely threatened to withhold Virginia's "dedicated" matching funds if the NVTC did not appoint two people that he selected instead of appointing representatives from local jurisdictions. On June 17, 2010, Federal Transit Administrator
Peter Rogoff required a formal commitment from Virginia to match its share of the federal funds if the federal funding is to continue. On June 24, 2010, McDonnell withdrew his request to appoint two members of the Metro Board as a precondition for making the scheduled "dedicated" payment under the 2008 agreement. On July 1, 2010, the WMATA Board of Directors approved an agreement with Virginia to provide its share of matching funds without regard to McDonnell's request for Board seats. Based on this agreement, the federal funds were reconfirmed, and WMATA was able to activate a $886 million contract for 428 new metrorail cars.
. On March 10, 2010, before Congress finished its final consideration of the package, a bipartisan Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act passed the General Assembly by a 80-17 majority, which McDonnell signed on March 24, 2010. McDonnell supports Virginia's legal challenge to the Constitutionality of the final Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
. Although abortion funding was not debated during the regular session of the General Assembly, McDonnell raised the issue through the use of his amendatory veto power. During the April 21, 2010 veto session, the Virginia legislature passed restrictions on state public funding for elective abortion except in the instances of rape, incest, life of the mother, or life threatening fetal anomaly.
The House adopted $620 million in education cuts, and the Senate adopted a budget with $133 million in education cuts. The final, signed budget cut over $646 million for public schools.
Because K-12 education comprises 37% of the general fund budget, critics note that McDonnell's proposal to fund transportation bonds from the general fund would result in further education cuts in future years. McDonnell disagrees, saying he’ll lean heavily on growth in revenues rather than pulling from existing money.
Although McDonnell supported the Race to the Top
federal education funding program during McDonnell's campaign for governor, on May 26, 2010, McDonnell withdrew Virginia from the second round of "Race to the Top
". Virginia had finished 31st out of 41 states in the first round; McDonnell decided that Virginia should not file its application for the second round because he erroneously believed the competition required the use of multi-state education performance standards instead of Virginia's current standards. However, the use of common performance standards were not required and counted for 40 points out of a possible 500 total points in evaluating state proposals. McDonnell later stated on MSNBC that the Race to the Top rules precluded participating states from adopting more rigorous standards in addition to whatever multi-state standards they join. However, the "Race to the Top" regulations award the points even if states adopt standards more rigorous than the optional, common standards.
). The plan has been criticized by some environmentalists and Democrats who argue that tourism and wildlife would be threatened and that oil drilling would not make a difference in achieving long-term energy independence. Congressman Moran, among others, argued further that most of the proposed drilling area was located in an area reserved for naval operations.
McDonnell advocated drilling off the Virginia coast of the Atlantic Ocean as a possible revenue source for the state. However, under current law, Virginia will not receive any revenues from drilling in federal waters, which includes all drilling sites more than 3 miles off the coast. On May 6, 2010, the Department of Interior suspended the proposed auction of offshore Virginia leasing rights. Congressman James P. Moran (D-Va), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Interior Department, issued a statement commending the decision. On May 18, Moran forwarded to McDonnell a Department of Defense
report finding that the proposed lease site would interfere with naval operations. On May 25, McDonnell reaffirmed his interest in having oil drilling off the Virginia coast notwithstanding the BP oil spill and the inability of Virginia to get any of the royalty income from such drilling under current law. On May 27, President Obama announced that the offshore Virginia lease sale was cancelled. Subsequently, McDonnell has proposed continuing a federal environmental study of drilling off the Virginia coast or drilling for just gas and not oil. However, experts have said that liquids are almost always produced with gas offshore.
proposed a two-year $76.8 billion spending plan for adoption by the incoming state legislature. Kaine's budget proposed to rationalize state revenues by increasing the income tax while lowering property taxes and other fees. As incoming Governor, McDonnell refused to publicly recommend any modifications to Kaine's budget and instead worked with the House of Delegates to bring Kaine's plan up for a quick vote and defeat. Privately, McDonnell advocated cutting $300 million from health programs, $730 million from K-12 education, changing the state retirement system, and requiring 10 days of furloughs for state employees, all to offset a $2.2 billion budget shortfall over 2010-2012. On February 17, 2010, after political pressure, the Governor publicly released his proposed cuts. The Democratic-controlled Senate adopted a budget which restored a number of budget cuts to education, health and human services, and a House-Senate conference managed to work out a compromise on March 14 containing about $250 million in cuts before the expiration of the legislative session. However, a number of interest groups lobbied the Governor to use his amendatory veto power to alter the adopted budget.
On April 14, 2010, McDonnell proposed 96 budget amendments to the two-year 2010-2012 budget resulting in $42.1 million in spending increases and $51 million in additional budget cuts, tax increases, and court fees for criminals. He proposed to increase spending by $15 million to give incentives for SRI
and Bank of America
to keep offices in Virginia. To boost revenue, McDonnell proposed raising $7.2 million by increasing the fines on motorists who exceed the speed limit. He proposes to cut an additional $9.9 million from state funded programs for at-risk and troubled children and proposed cutting $600,000 from state grants to public radio and television stations. McDonnell also issued amendatory vetoes on non-budget legislation. For example, although Virginia has provided free electronic filing of tax returns for years, his veto would outsource electronic filing to firms that would charge a fee for that service. McDonnell also amended a bill that would authorize Planned Parenthood car license plates to prohibit Planned Parenthood from spending the funds raised from those "affinity" license plates on abortions. The Legislature met to vote on the Governor's amendments on April 21. A bipartisan majority accepted some of McDonnell's proposed cuts while rejecting others including those to public broadcasting, the funding for at-risk and troubled children and the shifting of Virginia Medicaid mental health program to a managed-care plan.
to private owners. McDonnell held eight town hall meetings around the state to discuss the plan. McDonnell argued that retail alcohol sales is not an appropriate state activity and proposes that any sales proceeds could be used to finance transportation needs. Opponents noted that the liquor stores generate $248 million per year for Virginia's general fund.
On September 8, 2010, McDonnell presented his plan for auctioning liquor licenses to his government reform commission. Under the plan, the number of stores selling liquor would triple to 1,000, with the licenses to operate these new stores being auctioned. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Of the 1,000 licenses, 600 would be available to big retailers, whose lawyers and lobbyists helped craft the governor's proposal. An additional 150 licenses would be reserved for package stories, with 250 for small retailers, such as convenience-store operators." McDonnell estimates that winning bidders would pay $265 million for the licenses, and that the state could receive $33 million from selling existing state-owned liquor store properties. In addition $160 million would be collected in wholesale license fees. To make up from the annual loss of general fund revenues from the current state-owned stores, McDonnell proposes a $17.50 per gallon excise tax (which is above the national average and above that charged in neighboring states). He would also charge an annual fee of $500 to $2,000 to each store license holder, and would impose a new 1% gross receipts tax on wholesalers of liquor. Restaurants and bars that chose to purchase alcohol from wholesalers instead of retail outlets would pay a 2.5% tax. Just before the presentation, McDonnell dropped his proposed 1.5% fee on all restaurants and retail establishments that was in earlier drafts of his plan. McDonnell proposed to call a special session of the Virginia legislature in November 2010 to consider the proposal.
The plan drew immediate opposition from conservative lawmakers as a "tax increase". It was also opposed by the 3,000-member Virginia Retail Federation, the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association, and the Virginia Wine Wholesalers Association. The Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy oppose the plan out of concerns that it will increase alcohol consumption. The plan is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Virginia Transportation Construction Industry, and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce (which said the plan should be a part of a larger effort to increase transportation funding.)
On the eve of McDonnell taking the plan to the restructuring commission for their endorsement, the Washington Post reported that he modified the plan by dropping the restaurant tax and certain other proposed fees. McDonnell is proposing to set aside over 100 licenses for companies that employ less than 50 people in order to help small, family owned stores. He also wants to give small businesses several years to pay off their auction bids. The Post suggests that "he might call off plans for a November special session" of the General Assembly. On October 4, the Malek commission voted 22 to 3 to endorse McDonnell's modified plan. The Commission proposed a number of cost savings in government operations which would offset the projected $47 million annual revenue loss from selling the ABC liquor stores.
In October 2010, McDonnell's modified plan drew criticism from Republican members of the House of Delegates, including Del. Thomas D. Gear who chairs the House subcommittee that will consider the proposal and Del. Timothy D. Hugo, chair of the House Republican caucus. Concerns heightened when Phil Cox, who heads McDonnell's political action committee, threatened to withhold campaign funds from Republican delegates who fail to support the modified plan. According to the Washington Post, "Delegates have privately complained that the plan was developed with too little input from legislators and too much from lobbyists for retail and alcohol interests." McDonnell is reportedly dropping plans to call a special session in November 2010 to consider the modified plan. On October 22, 2010, McDonnell decided not call a special session, but to instead appoint a "working group" to further refine the plan so that implementing legislation could be on the first day of the 2011 legislative session. McDonnell's working group of Republican legislators, wholesalers, distillers, and retailers seek to develop a compromise that could win adoption by the legislature.
On November 23, 2010, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee released a report which found that the McDonnell proposal had overstated the expected proceeds of liquor store sales and licenses. In response, McDonnell's spokesman said that he is committed to privatization and is considering alternative plans. McDonnell has hired a consultant to formulate a new privatization plan at a cost of $75,000 prior to the new legislative session in January 2011. The Auditors found that McDonnell's proposal would rise the retail price of distilled spirits 11 to 26 percent, which in turn would lead to a drop in liquor sales that could result in a loss of as much as $15.4 million in sales tax revenues.
In what the Washington Post described as "the biggest legislative defeat of his tenure," both houses of the Virginia General Assembly refused to hold hearings on McDonell's plan during the 2011 legislative session. Both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate killed the bill implementing McDonnell's proposal without a vote. McDonnell's director of policy, Eric Finkbeiner told the Post, "Whether we do it this year, next year or the year after, it's going to get done in this administration."
relocate its 300-job headquarters to Virginia, but stated that the renewal of Virginia's computer outsourcing contract was not linked to the relocation decision. When Defense Secretary Robert Gates
announced the closing of the 6,000-job Joint Military Command in August, 2010, McDonnell sought private meetings
to seek to preserve the jobs.
However, McDonnell was disappointed that Secretary Gates would not meet with him to discuss the issue. McDonnell was later included in a meeting between Gates and Virginia's congressional delegation on November 23, 2010.
politician who has been the 71st Governor of Virginia
since January 2010. A former lieutenant colonel
in the United States Army
, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates
from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia
from 2006 to 2009.
McDonnell was elected as the Governor of Virginia on the back of the campaign slogan, "Bob's for Jobs", defeating Democratic
state Senator Creigh Deeds
by a 17-point margin in a 2009 general election
marked by the late-2000s recession. McDonnell was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol
to succeed Tim Kaine
. He currently serves as chairman of the Republican Governors Association
.
Since taking office, McDonnell has declared a Confederate History Month
, successfully handed over two consecutive budget surpluses, and pushed for privatisation, extending a contract to outsource the state's computer operations and attempting to auction off the state's ABC liquor stores
, and promoted offshore drilling
for Virginia. He has sought to fund transportation improvements from non-traditional revenues sources including the proposal to auction-off liquor stores and establishing a toll booth at the Virginia-North Carolina
border. He has used his amendatory veto power to restrict state funding for abortion
s.
, the son of Emma (née Meiller) and Lt. Col. John Francis McDonnell. He is of Irish Catholic extraction on his father's side. His family moved to Fairfax County, Virginia
in 1955 when he was one year old. He spent four years of his early childhood in Germany when his father, a United States Air Force
officer, was sent out on assignment. After returning to Virginia four years later, the McDonnells permanently established residence in Fairfax County. His mother worked at Mount Vernon
. McDonnell graduated from Bishop Ireton High School
in Alexandria, Virginia
in 1972. While attending Bishop Ireton High School, McDonnell played football and broke the T. C. Williams High School
shut out streak of 20 quarters by scoring a touchdown with minutes left in the game.
McDonnell attended the University of Notre Dame
in Notre Dame, Indiana
on an ROTC
scholarship, graduating with a B.B.A. in management
in 1976. Immediately following graduation, he served as a medical supply officer in the United States Army
for four years. His military posts were medical clinics in Germany
from 1976 to 1979, and in Newport News, Virginia
from 1979 to 1981. In addition, he took night classes and received an M.B.A. from Boston University
in 1980. After leaving active duty in 1981, McDonnell worked for the American Hospital Supply Corporation, primarily in the custom products regional division.
His career path shifted from business to law and public policy when he selected a joint degree program at Regent University
. He obtained an M.A.
/J.D.
there in 1989. During his studies, McDonnell interned under Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-California).
. Their younger daughter Cailin coordinated youth outreach for the Republican Party of Virginia's election efforts in 2009.
Bob McDonnell has twin sons, both who are athletes of the class of 2014 at the University of Virginia.
, he was Co-Chair of the Committee on the Chesapeake and its Tributaries in 2000–2001. He became Chair of the Courts of Justice Committee in 2003. He also served on the Rules Committee 2000–2005, and was Assistant Majority Leader. While serving in state office, McDonnell continued to serve in the Army Reserve
as a JAG officer until retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1997.
In 2005, McDonnell ran for Attorney General. He campaigned on issues including protecting children from sexual predators, drug enforcement, identity theft, gang violence, and terrorism. The first result showed him with a victory of 323 votes, out of over 1.9 million votes cast, over his opponent, Democratic state Senator
Creigh Deeds
. Deeds filed for a recount, which began on December 20, 2005. A court decision limited the recount to just recompiling vote totals instead of examining individual optically-scanned ballots. After preliminary figures revealed 37 more votes for McDonnell and that Deeds could not make up the difference, he conceded the next day, giving McDonnell a 323 vote margin of victory. McDonnell outspent Deeds in the general election by nearly one million dollars; the VA Republican State Leadership Committee donated $2,084,089 to McDonnell's campaign. He was inaugurated on January 14, 2006, in Williamsburg
along with Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
.
Prior to a performance of the Sex Workers' Art Show at the College of William and Mary in 2008, McDonnell forbade the sale of the group's books on school grounds. McDonnell took the side of defecting Northern Virginia
Episcopalians
in a property lawsuit over the right of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
to retain church properties.
In February 2009, McDonnell resigned as Attorney General to campaign full time for the Governorship of Virginia
in the 2009 election
.
In early June, Creigh Deeds possessed a slight edge with a 47%-41% advantage in the early polls. As the campaign continued to progressed, the polls shifted toward McDonnell's favor, giving him even a commanding lead in some. When the Washington Post released McDonnell's thesis from Regent University, McDonnell's lead dwindled to only two percentage points per Rasmussen polling. As the election proceeded, McDonnell's campaign regained steam. McDonnell defeated opponent Creigh Deeds in the general election by a vote of 59%-41%, receiving the highest percentage of the vote for any candidate for governor since 1961. At the same time, the other two statewide offices on the ballot were also won by Republicans.
In a political and economic climate marked by the late-2000s recession, McDonnell promised that his priority as Governor would be employment for Virginians, with such campaign slogans as, "Bob's for Jobs". He supported right-to-work law
s, low operating cost of government and a simplified tax code
. Having lived in various parts of the state, his road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own".
The McDonnell campaign strategy cast itself as focusing on economic issues, transportation, and public safety. Bob McDonnell's proposals included new job initiatives, boosting Virginia’s tourism, hospitality, and film industries, making Wallops Island
the top commercial spaceport in America, and expanding growth in rural Virginia. McDonnell proposed measures that would move $480 million per year from school administration and put it directly into the classroom; establish more specialised high schools to support high-demand industries; increase online learning through virtual school
s; and support educational mentoring programs. McDonnell has frequently expressed his support for President Barack Obama
’s ideas on increasing parental choice through charter school
s.
, McDonnell campaigned as an opponent of elective abortion. As a state legislator, he was the lead sponsor for legislation that would have banned partial birth abortion
s, as well as legislation requiring parental consent
before a minor has an abortion and informed consent for women seeking an abortion. He opposed state and federal government funding for elective abortions.
off of the coast of Virginia while simultaneously developing new technologies for wind
, solar, biomass
, and other renewable energy
resources. He intends to expand investments in renewable energy sources and incentivize green job creation.
Political Victory Fund and won their endorsement in his 2009 campaign for Governor.
inside the Beltway, improving I-95, and finishing the Metrorail to Dulles Airport
project.
for not disclosing his full schedule and for making out-of-state political appearances as Chair of the Democratic National Committee
. McDonnell stated, "The citizens must be certain that the governor is attending to the duties for which he was elected. The governor is Virginia's chief executive and represents the commonwealth at all times." In March 2010, McDonnell received similar criticism for disclosing very few meetings or political appearances on his publicly released schedule.
was a 93-page document titled The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade. The document explored the rise in the numbers of divorces and illegitimate births, and examined public policies that may have contributed to that increase and proposed solutions. The document gained attention in the campaign because it outlined a 15-point conservative agenda, including 10 points McDonnell pursued during his years in the General Assembly, according to press analysis.
This agenda includes opposition to abortion
, support for school vouchers and covenant marriage
, and tax policies that favor heterosexual families. In his thesis, McDonnell wrote "government policy should favor married couples over 'cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators.'" McDonnell "described working women and feminists as 'detrimental' to the family."
McDonnell "criticized a landmark 1965 Supreme Court decision
" which legalized the use of contraceptives, writing that "man's basic nature is inclined towards evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse, or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter." McDonnell responded to the article, stating "Virginians will judge me on my 18-year record as a legislator and attorney general and the specific plans I have laid out for our future -- not on a decades-old academic paper I wrote as a student during the Reagan era
and haven't thought about in years."
The Washington Post
reported that McDonnell maintained: "Like everybody, my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older." McDonnell says his evolved position on family policy is best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation where he "worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work".
The McDonnell For Governor campaign printed a variety of bumper stickers appealing to many interest groups, including "Women for McDonnell", "Sportsmen for McDonnell", and "Independents for McDonnell". Some appealed to the diverse minority groups throughout the Commonwealth. Some featured the mascots of select public universities such as the University of Virginia
, Virginia Tech, James Madison University
, Virginia Military Institute
, and Old Dominion University
. "Irish for McDonnell" stickers were printed for the select Virginia residents who attended the University of Notre Dame
as well. His road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own."
, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television
and owner of the Washington Mystics
; Virginia AgPAC: the Political Action Committee of the Virginia Farm Bureau, representing over 147,000 members; the Virginia Association of Realtors, the largest trade association in Virginia with over 33,000 Members; The Virginia Credit Union League, a trade association representing the Commonwealth’s 194 not-for-profit credit unions and the 3 million member-owners residing in Virginia; The Virginia Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a group whose membership consists of over 6,000 small businesses across Virginia; and the National Rifle Association
, which reversed its pro-Deeds 2005 endorsement for Attorney General.
.
Two of McDonnell's appointments drew criticism. On May 7, 2010, McDonnell appointed Fred Malek
to chair a 31-member advisory commission
on reforming state government. On May 10, 2010, several Democratic members of the Legislature criticized the appointment due to Malek's controversial actions as personnel director in the Nixon White House and due to a 2007 SEC investigation settlement. On May 25, 2010, McDonnell was asked about the Malek appointment and stated that he was not aware of Malek's role in the Nixon Administration, a remark which State Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) told the Washington Post that McDonnell's claim was "absolutely stunning and, frankly, beyond belief."
McDonnell also nominated Robert C. Sledd to Secretary of Commerce and Trade, but withdrew the nomination in the face of bipartisan opposition prompted by Sledd's refusal to give up paid outside corporate directorships.
On January 27, 2010, McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama
's State of the Union Address
. The response was delivered to GOP lawmakers and invited friends in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates
. Critics have argued that the use of House chamber for McDonnell's speech did not comply with House Rule 82.
Since McDonnell's election as Governor in November 2009, he has shifted his fundraising activities to his "Opportunity Virginia PAC" which has raised $1,194,934 through June 2010. Many of these donations came from industries regulated by the state.
In April 2010, McDonnell renegotiated and extended a contract for outsourcing the state's computer operations to Northrop Grumman
. At that time, McDonnell proposed legislation which was adopted to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency
report to the Governor instead of an independent board. Subsequently, McDonnell was criticized when the Northrup computer systems experienced a week-long computer outage from August 25 through September 2, 2010. As a result, as many as 45,000 citizens could not renew their drivers licenses prior to their expiration. Computer systems for 26 of the state's 89 agencies were affected. An estimated 4,240 driver's license and ID card applicants have been asked to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get their photos taken again after an Aug. 25 computer outage left their original photos unrecoverable. The system also experienced an unrelated outage on August 9. Subsequently, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $250,000 to fund a state investigation of the computer outage.
The 2010 session of the General Assembly passed a bill exempting certain veterans' organizations from the registration and reporting requirements that apply to most charities which solicit donations in Virginia. The bill was introduced at the request of Bobby Thompson, director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, who has made large contributions to certain Republican candidates. After the bill passed both the House and Senate, newspaper accounts of that charity's questionable practices caused a sponsor of the bill to request McDonnell to veto it, however the governor signed the bill into law notwithstanding those requests. As a result, the organization, which is under investigation in New Mexico (which barred the USNVA before the Virginia bill was signed), Florida and Missouri, as well as other non profit veterans' organizations will not have to report to Virginia on how they spend the donations that they receive. However, McDonnell later donated to charity the $5,000 campaign contribution that he had received from Thompson. In August 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that a nation-wide arrest warrant had issued for Bobby Thompson, who had stolen the identity and Social Security Number of a victim who was not connected to the USNVA. Corday stated, "We know he bilked Ohioans out of at least $1.9 million, and we estimate that nationally he collected at least $20 million."
In January 14, 2011, McDonnell issued a directive ordering the Department of Conservation and Recreation to cease enforcing regulations that prohibit people from openly carrying firearms in state parks. He has also given preliminary approval to amend the regulations to allow people to carry open or concealed firearms in state forests. The regulations were already amended in 2003 to allow concealed weapons on park property.
On August 15, 2011, McDonnell was named chairman of the Republican Governors Association
.
) by issuing an opinion as Attorney General stating that issuing such a change in public policy was "within purview of General Assembly and, therefore, beyond scope of executive authority and is unconstitutional". After criticism from some gay rights groups, McDonnell issued an executive directive (which unlike an executive order, does not have the force of law) that prohibits employment discrimination because of sexual orientation without a rational basis.
On April 2, 2010, at the request of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Governor McDonnell issued a proclamation designating April 2010 as "Confederate
History Month" following similar designations by two of his Republican predecessors, George Allen
and James S. Gilmore. However, the last two governors, who were Democrats, did not designate such a month. Unlike Gilmore's proclamation, which included anti-slavery language, McDonnell's initial proclamation left out any direct mention of slavery, drawing criticism from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the NAACP. When initially asked why he had made the omission, McDonnell stated that "there were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia."
On April 7, 2010, McDonnell conceded that omitting slavery from his proclamation was "a major omission", apologized and amended the document. McDonnell had previously refused to rule out the possibility that he would run for Vice President in 2012; while news analysts Chris Cillizza, Mark Plotkin, and Teddy Davis have speculated that the mistake may have a significant adverse impact on McDonnell's chances for a future Vice Presidential nomination, a May 22 Time Magazine article described McDonnell as "a politician who inexplicably kneecapped himself is clawing his way back." On September 24, 2010, McDonnell addressed an academic conference on slavery and announced that he will declare April 2011 as "Civil War in Virginia" month rather than "Conferederate History Month". He also called the April 2010 proclamation an "error of haste and not of heart."
In December 2009, Governor Tim Kaine
started a process which would extend Virginia employee health benefits to same-sex partners. At McDonnell's request, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
issued a legal opinion that this change to the coverage of the state's health plan could not be made without explicit legislation authorizing it, thereby halting the administrative process to make the change. However, McDonnell did sign a law which wouid allow Virginia employers to offer private insurance coverage for employees' same-sex partners, after the bill passed with bipartisan support.
In a decision that drew international controversy, McDonnell declined to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment in the case of Teresa Lewis
, who was executed on September 23, 2010. She became the first woman executed in Virginia since 1912 and was borderline mentally retarded.
On May 21, McDonnell announced new policy on the issue of restoration of rights, imposing a 60-day deadline for his administration to act on an application once all of the required documentation is received from the applicant and the courts; reducing to two years from three years the time nonviolent felons must wait to apply for restoration of rights, and cutting to one year from two years the waiting period for reapplication if a request is denied. Of the new policy, Democratic Delegate David Englin commented, "By establishing a timely and more clearly defined process for non-violent ex-offenders seeking to have their rights restored, the Governor’s new policy has the potential make an important step in the right direction." On July 19, McDonnell restored voting rights for 506 felons out of a total of 574 eligible applications. As of September 26, 2010, McDonnell restored the rights of 780 of 889 applicants.
had not been paid off. Critics note that Virginia lacks a revenue source to amortize these new bonds. On December 9, 2010, McDonnell announced a revised transportation funding plan which includes both $1.8 billion in bonds that had been approved in 2007, as well as an additional $1.1 billion of s which McDonnell proposes to pay back from future federal transportation funds. He also proposed to spend $150 million from the 2009-2010 budget surplus and $250 million from reducing the reserves that ongoing projects carry to protect against gasoline tax revenue shortfalls. On January 9, 2011, McDonnell proposed funding projects to address traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton roads by diverting 0.25% of the sales tax collected in those areas from the General Fund into the transportation fund. Legislation is required to implement McDonnell's proposal, and Democrats responded that the revenues were needed in the General Fund for schools and public safety and that the projected revenues were insufficient to make a difference on highway needs.
On May 10, 2010, McDonnell filed an application with the Federal Highway Administration
(FHA) seeking permission to collect tolls on Interstate 95
near the North Carolina border. The highway had been constructed with taxpayer funds, 90% from the federal government and 10% from Virginia gasoline taxes. However, Virginia claims that they do not have sufficient revenues to maintain I-95 at a safe level and proposes a toll booth to raise a projected $30 to $60 million annually. McDonnell is asking FHA to authorize the toll under its "Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program."
In 2008, the Federal government and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
(WMATA) reached an agreement for federal funding of $1.5 billion in capital improvements contingent on Virginia
, Maryland
and the District of Columbia pledging to develop dedicated funding for the Metro system. WMATA is an interstate compact founded in 1967 with a board of directors whose members are appointed by each local jurisdiction in its service area, including four from Virginia appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
(NVTC). In June 2010, McDonnell threatened to withhold Virginia's WMATA funding unless the composition of WMATA's board is modified to allow Virginia's Governor to appoint two of the four Virginia seats. Currently, the interstate compact establishing WMATA specifies that its Virginia members are selected by the NVTC. In turn, Virginia law specifies that local jurisdictions appoint that Commission's members. Rather than proposing to amend either law, McDonnell merely threatened to withhold Virginia's "dedicated" matching funds if the NVTC did not appoint two people that he selected instead of appointing representatives from local jurisdictions. On June 17, 2010, Federal Transit Administrator
Peter Rogoff required a formal commitment from Virginia to match its share of the federal funds if the federal funding is to continue. On June 24, 2010, McDonnell withdrew his request to appoint two members of the Metro Board as a precondition for making the scheduled "dedicated" payment under the 2008 agreement. On July 1, 2010, the WMATA Board of Directors approved an agreement with Virginia to provide its share of matching funds without regard to McDonnell's request for Board seats. Based on this agreement, the federal funds were reconfirmed, and WMATA was able to activate a $886 million contract for 428 new metrorail cars.
. On March 10, 2010, before Congress finished its final consideration of the package, a bipartisan Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act passed the General Assembly by a 80-17 majority, which McDonnell signed on March 24, 2010. McDonnell supports Virginia's legal challenge to the Constitutionality of the final Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
. Although abortion funding was not debated during the regular session of the General Assembly, McDonnell raised the issue through the use of his amendatory veto power. During the April 21, 2010 veto session, the Virginia legislature passed restrictions on state public funding for elective abortion except in the instances of rape, incest, life of the mother, or life threatening fetal anomaly.
The House adopted $620 million in education cuts, and the Senate adopted a budget with $133 million in education cuts. The final, signed budget cut over $646 million for public schools.
Because K-12 education comprises 37% of the general fund budget, critics note that McDonnell's proposal to fund transportation bonds from the general fund would result in further education cuts in future years. McDonnell disagrees, saying he’ll lean heavily on growth in revenues rather than pulling from existing money.
Although McDonnell supported the Race to the Top
federal education funding program during McDonnell's campaign for governor, on May 26, 2010, McDonnell withdrew Virginia from the second round of "Race to the Top
". Virginia had finished 31st out of 41 states in the first round; McDonnell decided that Virginia should not file its application for the second round because he erroneously believed the competition required the use of multi-state education performance standards instead of Virginia's current standards. However, the use of common performance standards were not required and counted for 40 points out of a possible 500 total points in evaluating state proposals. McDonnell later stated on MSNBC that the Race to the Top rules precluded participating states from adopting more rigorous standards in addition to whatever multi-state standards they join. However, the "Race to the Top" regulations award the points even if states adopt standards more rigorous than the optional, common standards.
). The plan has been criticized by some environmentalists and Democrats who argue that tourism and wildlife would be threatened and that oil drilling would not make a difference in achieving long-term energy independence. Congressman Moran, among others, argued further that most of the proposed drilling area was located in an area reserved for naval operations.
McDonnell advocated drilling off the Virginia coast of the Atlantic Ocean as a possible revenue source for the state. However, under current law, Virginia will not receive any revenues from drilling in federal waters, which includes all drilling sites more than 3 miles off the coast. On May 6, 2010, the Department of Interior suspended the proposed auction of offshore Virginia leasing rights. Congressman James P. Moran (D-Va), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Interior Department, issued a statement commending the decision. On May 18, Moran forwarded to McDonnell a Department of Defense
report finding that the proposed lease site would interfere with naval operations. On May 25, McDonnell reaffirmed his interest in having oil drilling off the Virginia coast notwithstanding the BP oil spill and the inability of Virginia to get any of the royalty income from such drilling under current law. On May 27, President Obama announced that the offshore Virginia lease sale was cancelled. Subsequently, McDonnell has proposed continuing a federal environmental study of drilling off the Virginia coast or drilling for just gas and not oil. However, experts have said that liquids are almost always produced with gas offshore.
proposed a two-year $76.8 billion spending plan for adoption by the incoming state legislature. Kaine's budget proposed to rationalize state revenues by increasing the income tax while lowering property taxes and other fees. As incoming Governor, McDonnell refused to publicly recommend any modifications to Kaine's budget and instead worked with the House of Delegates to bring Kaine's plan up for a quick vote and defeat. Privately, McDonnell advocated cutting $300 million from health programs, $730 million from K-12 education, changing the state retirement system, and requiring 10 days of furloughs for state employees, all to offset a $2.2 billion budget shortfall over 2010-2012. On February 17, 2010, after political pressure, the Governor publicly released his proposed cuts. The Democratic-controlled Senate adopted a budget which restored a number of budget cuts to education, health and human services, and a House-Senate conference managed to work out a compromise on March 14 containing about $250 million in cuts before the expiration of the legislative session. However, a number of interest groups lobbied the Governor to use his amendatory veto power to alter the adopted budget.
On April 14, 2010, McDonnell proposed 96 budget amendments to the two-year 2010-2012 budget resulting in $42.1 million in spending increases and $51 million in additional budget cuts, tax increases, and court fees for criminals. He proposed to increase spending by $15 million to give incentives for SRI
and Bank of America
to keep offices in Virginia. To boost revenue, McDonnell proposed raising $7.2 million by increasing the fines on motorists who exceed the speed limit. He proposes to cut an additional $9.9 million from state funded programs for at-risk and troubled children and proposed cutting $600,000 from state grants to public radio and television stations. McDonnell also issued amendatory vetoes on non-budget legislation. For example, although Virginia has provided free electronic filing of tax returns for years, his veto would outsource electronic filing to firms that would charge a fee for that service. McDonnell also amended a bill that would authorize Planned Parenthood car license plates to prohibit Planned Parenthood from spending the funds raised from those "affinity" license plates on abortions. The Legislature met to vote on the Governor's amendments on April 21. A bipartisan majority accepted some of McDonnell's proposed cuts while rejecting others including those to public broadcasting, the funding for at-risk and troubled children and the shifting of Virginia Medicaid mental health program to a managed-care plan.
to private owners. McDonnell held eight town hall meetings around the state to discuss the plan. McDonnell argued that retail alcohol sales is not an appropriate state activity and proposes that any sales proceeds could be used to finance transportation needs. Opponents noted that the liquor stores generate $248 million per year for Virginia's general fund.
On September 8, 2010, McDonnell presented his plan for auctioning liquor licenses to his government reform commission. Under the plan, the number of stores selling liquor would triple to 1,000, with the licenses to operate these new stores being auctioned. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Of the 1,000 licenses, 600 would be available to big retailers, whose lawyers and lobbyists helped craft the governor's proposal. An additional 150 licenses would be reserved for package stories, with 250 for small retailers, such as convenience-store operators." McDonnell estimates that winning bidders would pay $265 million for the licenses, and that the state could receive $33 million from selling existing state-owned liquor store properties. In addition $160 million would be collected in wholesale license fees. To make up from the annual loss of general fund revenues from the current state-owned stores, McDonnell proposes a $17.50 per gallon excise tax (which is above the national average and above that charged in neighboring states). He would also charge an annual fee of $500 to $2,000 to each store license holder, and would impose a new 1% gross receipts tax on wholesalers of liquor. Restaurants and bars that chose to purchase alcohol from wholesalers instead of retail outlets would pay a 2.5% tax. Just before the presentation, McDonnell dropped his proposed 1.5% fee on all restaurants and retail establishments that was in earlier drafts of his plan. McDonnell proposed to call a special session of the Virginia legislature in November 2010 to consider the proposal.
The plan drew immediate opposition from conservative lawmakers as a "tax increase". It was also opposed by the 3,000-member Virginia Retail Federation, the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association, and the Virginia Wine Wholesalers Association. The Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy oppose the plan out of concerns that it will increase alcohol consumption. The plan is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Virginia Transportation Construction Industry, and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce (which said the plan should be a part of a larger effort to increase transportation funding.)
On the eve of McDonnell taking the plan to the restructuring commission for their endorsement, the Washington Post reported that he modified the plan by dropping the restaurant tax and certain other proposed fees. McDonnell is proposing to set aside over 100 licenses for companies that employ less than 50 people in order to help small, family owned stores. He also wants to give small businesses several years to pay off their auction bids. The Post suggests that "he might call off plans for a November special session" of the General Assembly. On October 4, the Malek commission voted 22 to 3 to endorse McDonnell's modified plan. The Commission proposed a number of cost savings in government operations which would offset the projected $47 million annual revenue loss from selling the ABC liquor stores.
In October 2010, McDonnell's modified plan drew criticism from Republican members of the House of Delegates, including Del. Thomas D. Gear who chairs the House subcommittee that will consider the proposal and Del. Timothy D. Hugo, chair of the House Republican caucus. Concerns heightened when Phil Cox, who heads McDonnell's political action committee, threatened to withhold campaign funds from Republican delegates who fail to support the modified plan. According to the Washington Post, "Delegates have privately complained that the plan was developed with too little input from legislators and too much from lobbyists for retail and alcohol interests." McDonnell is reportedly dropping plans to call a special session in November 2010 to consider the modified plan. On October 22, 2010, McDonnell decided not call a special session, but to instead appoint a "working group" to further refine the plan so that implementing legislation could be on the first day of the 2011 legislative session. McDonnell's working group of Republican legislators, wholesalers, distillers, and retailers seek to develop a compromise that could win adoption by the legislature.
On November 23, 2010, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee released a report which found that the McDonnell proposal had overstated the expected proceeds of liquor store sales and licenses. In response, McDonnell's spokesman said that he is committed to privatization and is considering alternative plans. McDonnell has hired a consultant to formulate a new privatization plan at a cost of $75,000 prior to the new legislative session in January 2011. The Auditors found that McDonnell's proposal would rise the retail price of distilled spirits 11 to 26 percent, which in turn would lead to a drop in liquor sales that could result in a loss of as much as $15.4 million in sales tax revenues.
In what the Washington Post described as "the biggest legislative defeat of his tenure," both houses of the Virginia General Assembly refused to hold hearings on McDonell's plan during the 2011 legislative session. Both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate killed the bill implementing McDonnell's proposal without a vote. McDonnell's director of policy, Eric Finkbeiner told the Post, "Whether we do it this year, next year or the year after, it's going to get done in this administration."
relocate its 300-job headquarters to Virginia, but stated that the renewal of Virginia's computer outsourcing contract was not linked to the relocation decision. When Defense Secretary Robert Gates
announced the closing of the 6,000-job Joint Military Command in August, 2010, McDonnell sought private meetings
to seek to preserve the jobs.
However, McDonnell was disappointed that Secretary Gates would not meet with him to discuss the issue. McDonnell was later included in a meeting between Gates and Virginia's congressional delegation on November 23, 2010.
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician who has been the 71st Governor of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
since January 2010. A former lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia
Attorney General of Virginia
The Attorney General of Virginia is an executive office in the Government of Virginia. Attorneys General are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election . There are no term limits restricting the number of terms someone can serve as Attorney General...
from 2006 to 2009.
McDonnell was elected as the Governor of Virginia on the back of the campaign slogan, "Bob's for Jobs", defeating Democratic
Democratic Party of Virginia
The Democratic Party of Virginia is based in Richmond in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party of the United States. The organization is governed by a State Party Plan, which guarantees an open and fair candidate selection process...
state Senator Creigh Deeds
Creigh Deeds
Robert Creigh Deeds is an American politician who was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia in 2009. He also ran in the 2005 race for Attorney General of Virginia. He was defeated in both of the above races by Bob McDonnell. Deeds lost by just 323 votes in 2005, but was defeated by a...
by a 17-point margin in a 2009 general election
Virginia gubernatorial election, 2009
The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2009 took place on November 3, 2009. The election chose Bob McDonnell as the next Governor, Bill Bolling re-elected as Lieutenant Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli as the next Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The winners were inaugurated on January...
marked by the late-2000s recession. McDonnell was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol
Virginia State Capitol
The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government in the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the third capital of Virginia. It houses the oldest legislative body in the United States, the Virginia General Assembly...
to succeed Tim Kaine
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
. He currently serves as chairman of the Republican Governors Association
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
.
Since taking office, McDonnell has declared a Confederate History Month
Confederate History Month
Confederate History Month is a month annually designated by six state governments in the Southern United States for the purpose of recognizing and honoring the history of the Confederate States of America...
, successfully handed over two consecutive budget surpluses, and pushed for privatisation, extending a contract to outsource the state's computer operations and attempting to auction off the state's ABC liquor stores
Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is a state public safety agency providing control, service, revenue and a wide range of services to residents and localities throughout the Commonwealth...
, and promoted offshore drilling
Offshore drilling
Offshore drilling refers to a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled through the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently produce hydrocarbons which lie in rock formations beneath the seabed...
for Virginia. He has sought to fund transportation improvements from non-traditional revenues sources including the proposal to auction-off liquor stores and establishing a toll booth at the Virginia-North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
border. He has used his amendatory veto power to restrict state funding for abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s.
Early life, education, and career
McDonnell was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, the son of Emma (née Meiller) and Lt. Col. John Francis McDonnell. He is of Irish Catholic extraction on his father's side. His family moved to Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
in 1955 when he was one year old. He spent four years of his early childhood in Germany when his father, a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
officer, was sent out on assignment. After returning to Virginia four years later, the McDonnells permanently established residence in Fairfax County. His mother worked at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
. McDonnell graduated from Bishop Ireton High School
Bishop Ireton High School
Bishop Ireton High School is a Roman Catholic High School located in Alexandria, Virginia. The school was founded in 1964 by the Oblates of St. Francis DeSales, an order of Catholic priests sometimes called Salesians, and originally admitted only male students...
in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
in 1972. While attending Bishop Ireton High School, McDonnell played football and broke the T. C. Williams High School
T. C. Williams High School
T. C. Williams High School is a public high school in Alexandria, Virginia, named after former superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams of Alexandria City Public Schools who served from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s...
shut out streak of 20 quarters by scoring a touchdown with minutes left in the game.
McDonnell attended the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame is a census-designated place north of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States; it includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. Notre Dame is split between Clay and Portage Townships...
on an ROTC
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.The U.S...
scholarship, graduating with a B.B.A. in management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
in 1976. Immediately following graduation, he served as a medical supply officer in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
for four years. His military posts were medical clinics in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
from 1976 to 1979, and in Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
from 1979 to 1981. In addition, he took night classes and received an M.B.A. from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
in 1980. After leaving active duty in 1981, McDonnell worked for the American Hospital Supply Corporation, primarily in the custom products regional division.
His career path shifted from business to law and public policy when he selected a joint degree program at Regent University
Regent University
Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as Christian Broadcasting Network University. A satellite campus located in...
. He obtained an M.A.
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts is a high academic degree offered at many universities in Europe and the United States.A Master of Arts, Magister Artium, or Magister in Artibus may also refer to:...
/J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
there in 1989. During his studies, McDonnell interned under Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-California).
Personal life and family
McDonnell is married to Maureen Patricia McDonnell (née Gardner), with whom he has five children. The oldest, Jeanine, served as a U.S. Army platoon officer in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Their younger daughter Cailin coordinated youth outreach for the Republican Party of Virginia's election efforts in 2009.
Bob McDonnell has twin sons, both who are athletes of the class of 2014 at the University of Virginia.
House of Delegates
McDonnell first ran and was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1992, serving seven terms (14 years). He represented the 84th district in Virginia Beach. Under the 1998–2001 power-sharing arrangement between House Republicans and DemocratsDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, he was Co-Chair of the Committee on the Chesapeake and its Tributaries in 2000–2001. He became Chair of the Courts of Justice Committee in 2003. He also served on the Rules Committee 2000–2005, and was Assistant Majority Leader. While serving in state office, McDonnell continued to serve in the Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
as a JAG officer until retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1997.
Campaign
Senate of Virginia
The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia...
Creigh Deeds
Creigh Deeds
Robert Creigh Deeds is an American politician who was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia in 2009. He also ran in the 2005 race for Attorney General of Virginia. He was defeated in both of the above races by Bob McDonnell. Deeds lost by just 323 votes in 2005, but was defeated by a...
. Deeds filed for a recount, which began on December 20, 2005. A court decision limited the recount to just recompiling vote totals instead of examining individual optically-scanned ballots. After preliminary figures revealed 37 more votes for McDonnell and that Deeds could not make up the difference, he conceded the next day, giving McDonnell a 323 vote margin of victory. McDonnell outspent Deeds in the general election by nearly one million dollars; the VA Republican State Leadership Committee donated $2,084,089 to McDonnell's campaign. He was inaugurated on January 14, 2006, in Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
along with Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
Bill Bolling
William T. "Bill" Bolling is the current Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Running as a Republican, he was elected twice to the position by defeating his Democratic opponent in both the 2005 and 2009 general elections. He is the first Lieutenant Governor in the Commonwealth of Virginia to serve two...
.
Other acts
In 2007, McDonnell "played a key role in early negotiations" on the transportation package that was the key issue of contention in the General Assembly. However, subsequently the package was declared unconstitutional based on a challenge filed by a Republican state senator.Prior to a performance of the Sex Workers' Art Show at the College of William and Mary in 2008, McDonnell forbade the sale of the group's books on school grounds. McDonnell took the side of defecting Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
Episcopalians
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
in a property lawsuit over the right of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
The Diocese of Virginia is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America encompassing 38 counties in the northern and central parts of the state of Virginia. The diocese was organized in 1785 and is one of the Episcopal Church's nine original dioceses. However, the diocese has...
to retain church properties.
In February 2009, McDonnell resigned as Attorney General to campaign full time for the Governorship of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
in the 2009 election
Virginia gubernatorial election, 2009
The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2009 took place on November 3, 2009. The election chose Bob McDonnell as the next Governor, Bill Bolling re-elected as Lieutenant Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli as the next Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The winners were inaugurated on January...
.
Candidate for governor
McDonnell announced his candidacy for the 2009 Virginia Gubernatorial election at American Legion's Boy's State of Virginia 2007, making him the seventh consecutive elected Attorney General to run. The statewide candidates, including McDonnell as Governor, were selected at a Republican State convention rather than a primary. Fewer than two weeks later, State Senator R. Creigh Deeds won his party’s nomination in a primary, setting up a "rematch" from the state attorney general's race four years earlier.In early June, Creigh Deeds possessed a slight edge with a 47%-41% advantage in the early polls. As the campaign continued to progressed, the polls shifted toward McDonnell's favor, giving him even a commanding lead in some. When the Washington Post released McDonnell's thesis from Regent University, McDonnell's lead dwindled to only two percentage points per Rasmussen polling. As the election proceeded, McDonnell's campaign regained steam. McDonnell defeated opponent Creigh Deeds in the general election by a vote of 59%-41%, receiving the highest percentage of the vote for any candidate for governor since 1961. At the same time, the other two statewide offices on the ballot were also won by Republicans.
Issues
In a political and economic climate marked by the late-2000s recession, McDonnell promised that his priority as Governor would be employment for Virginians, with such campaign slogans as, "Bob's for Jobs". He supported right-to-work lawRight-to-work law
Right-to-work laws are statutes enforced in twenty-two U.S. states, mostly in the southern or western U.S., allowed under provisions of the federal Taft–Hartley Act, which prohibit agreements between labor unions and employers that make membership, payment of union dues, or fees a condition of...
s, low operating cost of government and a simplified tax code
Tax code
In the UK, every person paid under the PAYE scheme is allocated a tax code by HM Revenue and Customs. This is usually in the form of a number followed by a letter suffix, though other 'non-standard' codes are also used. This code describes to employers how much tax to deduct from an employee. The...
. Having lived in various parts of the state, his road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own".
The McDonnell campaign strategy cast itself as focusing on economic issues, transportation, and public safety. Bob McDonnell's proposals included new job initiatives, boosting Virginia’s tourism, hospitality, and film industries, making Wallops Island
Wallops Island
Wallops Island is a island off the east coast of Virginia, part of the barrier islands that stretch along the eastern seaboard of the United States of America.It is located in Accomack County, Virginia...
the top commercial spaceport in America, and expanding growth in rural Virginia. McDonnell proposed measures that would move $480 million per year from school administration and put it directly into the classroom; establish more specialised high schools to support high-demand industries; increase online learning through virtual school
Virtual school
A virtual school or cyberschool describes an institution that teaches courses entirely or primarily through online methods. Though there are tens of thousands of commercial and non-accredited courses available online, the term "virtual school" is generally reserved for accredited schools that teach...
s; and support educational mentoring programs. McDonnell has frequently expressed his support for President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
’s ideas on increasing parental choice through charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
s.
Abortion
Identifying as pro-lifePro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
, McDonnell campaigned as an opponent of elective abortion. As a state legislator, he was the lead sponsor for legislation that would have banned partial birth abortion
Late-term abortion
Late termination of pregnancy or late-term abortions are abortions which are performed during a later stage of pregnancy. Late-term abortions are more controversial than abortion in general because the fetus is more developed and sometimes viable.-Definition:A late-term abortion often refers to an...
s, as well as legislation requiring parental consent
Parental consent
Parental consent laws in some countries require that one or more parents consent to or be notified before their minor child can legally engage in certain activities....
before a minor has an abortion and informed consent for women seeking an abortion. He opposed state and federal government funding for elective abortions.
Energy
McDonnell advocated making Virginia the energy capital of the East Coast. He supported drilling for oilOffshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast
Offshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast for oil and gas took place from 1947 to the early 1980s. Oil companies drilled 5 wells in Atlantic Florida state waters and 51 exploratory wells on federal leases on the outer continental shelf of the Atlantic coast. None of the wells were completed as...
off of the coast of Virginia while simultaneously developing new technologies for wind
Wind energy
Wind energy is the kinetic energy of air in motion; see also wind power.Total wind energy flowing through an imaginary area A during the time t is:E = ½ m v2 = ½ v 2...
, solar, biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
, and other renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
resources. He intends to expand investments in renewable energy sources and incentivize green job creation.
Gun rights
McDonnell campaigned as a gun rights advocate. He holds an "A" rating from the NRANational Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
Political Victory Fund and won their endorsement in his 2009 campaign for Governor.
Same-sex marriage
McDonnell advocated for a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman, and therefore opposes same-sex marriage.Transportation
McDonnell's campaign also turned to transportation, a major issue in heavily congested areas of Virginia, advocating issuing $3 billion in transportation bonds that had been approved by the Virginia General Assembly in 2007 but not funded with a revenue source, modernizing the Virginia Department of Transportation, and encouraging public-private partnerships to improve infrastructure. He has supported widening I-66Interstate 66
Interstate 66 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. As indicated by its even route number, it runs in an east–west direction. Its western terminus is at Middletown, Virginia, at an intersection with Interstate 81; its eastern terminus is in Washington, D.C., at an...
inside the Beltway, improving I-95, and finishing the Metrorail to Dulles Airport
Silver Line (Washington Metro)
The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, formally dubbed the Silver Line, is an extension of the Washington Metro rapid transit system, currently under construction with the goal of providing rapid transit service to Dulles International Airport and Tysons Corner...
project.
Transparency
During McDonnell's campaign, he criticized then-Governor Tim KaineTim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
for not disclosing his full schedule and for making out-of-state political appearances as Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
. McDonnell stated, "The citizens must be certain that the governor is attending to the duties for which he was elected. The governor is Virginia's chief executive and represents the commonwealth at all times." In March 2010, McDonnell received similar criticism for disclosing very few meetings or political appearances on his publicly released schedule.
Thesis
McDonnell's 1989 thesis for Regent UniversityRegent University
Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as Christian Broadcasting Network University. A satellite campus located in...
was a 93-page document titled The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade. The document explored the rise in the numbers of divorces and illegitimate births, and examined public policies that may have contributed to that increase and proposed solutions. The document gained attention in the campaign because it outlined a 15-point conservative agenda, including 10 points McDonnell pursued during his years in the General Assembly, according to press analysis.
This agenda includes opposition to abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, support for school vouchers and covenant marriage
Covenant marriage
In some parts of the United States, a covenant marriage is a legally distinct kind of marriage, in which the marrying couple agree to obtain pre-marital counseling and accept more limited grounds for divorce...
, and tax policies that favor heterosexual families. In his thesis, McDonnell wrote "government policy should favor married couples over 'cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators.'" McDonnell "described working women and feminists as 'detrimental' to the family."
McDonnell "criticized a landmark 1965 Supreme Court decision
Griswold v. Connecticut
Griswold v. Connecticut, , was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution protected a right to privacy. The case involved a Connecticut law that prohibited the use of contraceptives...
" which legalized the use of contraceptives, writing that "man's basic nature is inclined towards evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse, or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter." McDonnell responded to the article, stating "Virginians will judge me on my 18-year record as a legislator and attorney general and the specific plans I have laid out for our future -- not on a decades-old academic paper I wrote as a student during the Reagan era
Reagan Era
The Reagan Era or Age of Reagan is a periodization of recent American history used by historians and political observers to emphasize that the conservative "Reagan Revolution" led by President Ronald Reagan in domestic and foreign policy had a permanent impact...
and haven't thought about in years."
The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
reported that McDonnell maintained: "Like everybody, my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older." McDonnell says his evolved position on family policy is best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation where he "worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work".
Campaign organization and financial support
McDonnell's campaign headquarters was located in Richmond. His campaign finance report for September 15, 2009 indicates that he had nearly 1,500 more new donors than the Deeds campaign had total donors, a total of 6,239 donors, 4,946 of them new.The McDonnell For Governor campaign printed a variety of bumper stickers appealing to many interest groups, including "Women for McDonnell", "Sportsmen for McDonnell", and "Independents for McDonnell". Some appealed to the diverse minority groups throughout the Commonwealth. Some featured the mascots of select public universities such as the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, Virginia Tech, James Madison University
James Madison University
James Madison University is a public coeducational research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the university has undergone four name changes before settling with James Madison University...
, Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
, and Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
. "Irish for McDonnell" stickers were printed for the select Virginia residents who attended the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
as well. His road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own."
Endorsements
McDonnell was endorsed by Sheila JohnsonSheila Johnson
Sheila Crump Johnson is the team president, managing partner, and governor of the WNBA's Washington Mystics, a position she gained before the 2005 season. On May 24, 2005, Washington Sports and Entertainment Chairman, Abe Pollin, sold the Mystics to Lincoln Holdings LLC, where Johnson served as...
, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
and owner of the Washington Mystics
Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...
; Virginia AgPAC: the Political Action Committee of the Virginia Farm Bureau, representing over 147,000 members; the Virginia Association of Realtors, the largest trade association in Virginia with over 33,000 Members; The Virginia Credit Union League, a trade association representing the Commonwealth’s 194 not-for-profit credit unions and the 3 million member-owners residing in Virginia; The Virginia Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a group whose membership consists of over 6,000 small businesses across Virginia; and the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
, which reversed its pro-Deeds 2005 endorsement for Attorney General.
Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia
On January 16, 2010, McDonnell was inaugurated as the 71st governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, succeeding Kaine as governor. This was the first inaugural ceremony to occur on the newly renovated steps of the Virginia State Capitol. In keeping with tradition, McDonnell signed executive orders after taking the oath. Instead of keeping with a 30-year practice by signing an executive order banning discrimination in state employment (which he later signed on February 5), McDonnell signed orders establishing a Commission on job creation and a Virginia Commission on Government Reform and RestructuringVirginia Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring
The Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring is an advisory group that will make recommendations to the Governor on how to improve the operation of Virginia's government...
.
Two of McDonnell's appointments drew criticism. On May 7, 2010, McDonnell appointed Fred Malek
Fred Malek
Frederic Vincent "Fred" Malek is the former President of Marriott Hotels and Northwest Airlines and former assistant to United States Presidents Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush. Malek served as a National Finance Committee co-chair of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign...
to chair a 31-member advisory commission
Virginia Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring
The Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring is an advisory group that will make recommendations to the Governor on how to improve the operation of Virginia's government...
on reforming state government. On May 10, 2010, several Democratic members of the Legislature criticized the appointment due to Malek's controversial actions as personnel director in the Nixon White House and due to a 2007 SEC investigation settlement. On May 25, 2010, McDonnell was asked about the Malek appointment and stated that he was not aware of Malek's role in the Nixon Administration, a remark which State Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) told the Washington Post that McDonnell's claim was "absolutely stunning and, frankly, beyond belief."
McDonnell also nominated Robert C. Sledd to Secretary of Commerce and Trade, but withdrew the nomination in the face of bipartisan opposition prompted by Sledd's refusal to give up paid outside corporate directorships.
On January 27, 2010, McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's State of the Union Address
2010 State of the Union Address
The 2010 State of the Union Address was given by United States President Barack Obama on January 27, 2010, to a joint session of Congress. It was aired on all the major networks starting at 9 p.m. ET...
. The response was delivered to GOP lawmakers and invited friends in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
. Critics have argued that the use of House chamber for McDonnell's speech did not comply with House Rule 82.
Since McDonnell's election as Governor in November 2009, he has shifted his fundraising activities to his "Opportunity Virginia PAC" which has raised $1,194,934 through June 2010. Many of these donations came from industries regulated by the state.
In April 2010, McDonnell renegotiated and extended a contract for outsourcing the state's computer operations to Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
. At that time, McDonnell proposed legislation which was adopted to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Virginia Information Technologies Agency
The Virginia Information Technologies Agency is an executive department which provides computer services to other Virginia departments and agencies...
report to the Governor instead of an independent board. Subsequently, McDonnell was criticized when the Northrup computer systems experienced a week-long computer outage from August 25 through September 2, 2010. As a result, as many as 45,000 citizens could not renew their drivers licenses prior to their expiration. Computer systems for 26 of the state's 89 agencies were affected. An estimated 4,240 driver's license and ID card applicants have been asked to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get their photos taken again after an Aug. 25 computer outage left their original photos unrecoverable. The system also experienced an unrelated outage on August 9. Subsequently, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $250,000 to fund a state investigation of the computer outage.
The 2010 session of the General Assembly passed a bill exempting certain veterans' organizations from the registration and reporting requirements that apply to most charities which solicit donations in Virginia. The bill was introduced at the request of Bobby Thompson, director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, who has made large contributions to certain Republican candidates. After the bill passed both the House and Senate, newspaper accounts of that charity's questionable practices caused a sponsor of the bill to request McDonnell to veto it, however the governor signed the bill into law notwithstanding those requests. As a result, the organization, which is under investigation in New Mexico (which barred the USNVA before the Virginia bill was signed), Florida and Missouri, as well as other non profit veterans' organizations will not have to report to Virginia on how they spend the donations that they receive. However, McDonnell later donated to charity the $5,000 campaign contribution that he had received from Thompson. In August 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that a nation-wide arrest warrant had issued for Bobby Thompson, who had stolen the identity and Social Security Number of a victim who was not connected to the USNVA. Corday stated, "We know he bilked Ohioans out of at least $1.9 million, and we estimate that nationally he collected at least $20 million."
In January 14, 2011, McDonnell issued a directive ordering the Department of Conservation and Recreation to cease enforcing regulations that prohibit people from openly carrying firearms in state parks. He has also given preliminary approval to amend the regulations to allow people to carry open or concealed firearms in state forests. The regulations were already amended in 2003 to allow concealed weapons on park property.
On August 15, 2011, McDonnell was named chairman of the Republican Governors Association
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
.
Social issues
On February 5, 2010, McDonnell signed an executive order that prohibits discrimination "on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political affiliation, or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities", reversing protections for gays and lesbians in Virginia, and rescinding the order that Gov. Kaine signed on January 14, 2006, which had covered all of these groups. McDonnell previously challenged Kaine's executive order (which was similar to the one issued by Kaine's predecessor Mark WarnerMark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...
) by issuing an opinion as Attorney General stating that issuing such a change in public policy was "within purview of General Assembly and, therefore, beyond scope of executive authority and is unconstitutional". After criticism from some gay rights groups, McDonnell issued an executive directive (which unlike an executive order, does not have the force of law) that prohibits employment discrimination because of sexual orientation without a rational basis.
On April 2, 2010, at the request of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Governor McDonnell issued a proclamation designating April 2010 as "Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
History Month" following similar designations by two of his Republican predecessors, George Allen
George Allen (U.S. politician)
George Felix Allen is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the son of former NFL head coach George Allen. Allen served Virginia in the state legislature, as the 67th Governor, and in both bodies of the U.S. Congress, winning election to the Senate in 2000...
and James S. Gilmore. However, the last two governors, who were Democrats, did not designate such a month. Unlike Gilmore's proclamation, which included anti-slavery language, McDonnell's initial proclamation left out any direct mention of slavery, drawing criticism from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the NAACP. When initially asked why he had made the omission, McDonnell stated that "there were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia."
On April 7, 2010, McDonnell conceded that omitting slavery from his proclamation was "a major omission", apologized and amended the document. McDonnell had previously refused to rule out the possibility that he would run for Vice President in 2012; while news analysts Chris Cillizza, Mark Plotkin, and Teddy Davis have speculated that the mistake may have a significant adverse impact on McDonnell's chances for a future Vice Presidential nomination, a May 22 Time Magazine article described McDonnell as "a politician who inexplicably kneecapped himself is clawing his way back." On September 24, 2010, McDonnell addressed an academic conference on slavery and announced that he will declare April 2011 as "Civil War in Virginia" month rather than "Conferederate History Month". He also called the April 2010 proclamation an "error of haste and not of heart."
In December 2009, Governor Tim Kaine
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
started a process which would extend Virginia employee health benefits to same-sex partners. At McDonnell's request, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
Ken Cuccinelli
Kenneth Thomas 'Ken' Cuccinelli II is a U.S. politician and the Attorney General of Virginia. From 2002 until January 16, 2010 he was a Republican member of the Senate of Virginia, representing the 37th district in Fairfax County...
issued a legal opinion that this change to the coverage of the state's health plan could not be made without explicit legislation authorizing it, thereby halting the administrative process to make the change. However, McDonnell did sign a law which wouid allow Virginia employers to offer private insurance coverage for employees' same-sex partners, after the bill passed with bipartisan support.
In a decision that drew international controversy, McDonnell declined to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment in the case of Teresa Lewis
Teresa Lewis
Teresa Wilson Bean Lewis was an American who was the only woman on death row in Virginia prior to her execution. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection for using sex and money to arrange for the murders of her husband and stepson in October 2002...
, who was executed on September 23, 2010. She became the first woman executed in Virginia since 1912 and was borderline mentally retarded.
Voting rights restoration for felons
In April 2010, McDonnell drew criticism from black leaders and civil rights groups when a draft policy proposal was mistakenly sent to 200 felons, informing them of his decision to require a written essay from each applicant seeking to have voting and other civil rights restored. Previously, applicants for restored voting rights were required to fill out a one page application. Only Virginia and Kentucky require the Governor to act on individual requests for restoring voting rights.On May 21, McDonnell announced new policy on the issue of restoration of rights, imposing a 60-day deadline for his administration to act on an application once all of the required documentation is received from the applicant and the courts; reducing to two years from three years the time nonviolent felons must wait to apply for restoration of rights, and cutting to one year from two years the waiting period for reapplication if a request is denied. Of the new policy, Democratic Delegate David Englin commented, "By establishing a timely and more clearly defined process for non-violent ex-offenders seeking to have their rights restored, the Governor’s new policy has the potential make an important step in the right direction." On July 19, McDonnell restored voting rights for 506 felons out of a total of 574 eligible applications. As of September 26, 2010, McDonnell restored the rights of 780 of 889 applicants.
Transportation
On April 30, 2010, McDonnell authorized issuing $493 million in transportation bonds in May 2010 and an additional $1.493 billion over the five years to finance previously approved transportation projects. The bonds were a part of a transportation package enacted three years ago, but the bonds were not issued while Republican State Delegate Robert Marshall filed a lawsuit challenging the Constitutionality of that package and while certain transportation notes issued during the Gilmore AdministrationJim Gilmore
James Stuart "Jim" Gilmore III is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia, former 68th Governor of Virginia, and a member of the Republican Party. A native Virginian, Gilmore studied at the University of Virginia, and then served in the U.S. Army as a counterintelligence agent...
had not been paid off. Critics note that Virginia lacks a revenue source to amortize these new bonds. On December 9, 2010, McDonnell announced a revised transportation funding plan which includes both $1.8 billion in bonds that had been approved in 2007, as well as an additional $1.1 billion of s which McDonnell proposes to pay back from future federal transportation funds. He also proposed to spend $150 million from the 2009-2010 budget surplus and $250 million from reducing the reserves that ongoing projects carry to protect against gasoline tax revenue shortfalls. On January 9, 2011, McDonnell proposed funding projects to address traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton roads by diverting 0.25% of the sales tax collected in those areas from the General Fund into the transportation fund. Legislation is required to implement McDonnell's proposal, and Democrats responded that the revenues were needed in the General Fund for schools and public safety and that the projected revenues were insufficient to make a difference on highway needs.
On May 10, 2010, McDonnell filed an application with the Federal Highway Administration
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...
(FHA) seeking permission to collect tolls on Interstate 95
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, Providence, New Haven, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore,...
near the North Carolina border. The highway had been constructed with taxpayer funds, 90% from the federal government and 10% from Virginia gasoline taxes. However, Virginia claims that they do not have sufficient revenues to maintain I-95 at a safe level and proposes a toll booth to raise a projected $30 to $60 million annually. McDonnell is asking FHA to authorize the toll under its "Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program."
In 2008, the Federal government and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess...
(WMATA) reached an agreement for federal funding of $1.5 billion in capital improvements contingent on Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and the District of Columbia pledging to develop dedicated funding for the Metro system. WMATA is an interstate compact founded in 1967 with a board of directors whose members are appointed by each local jurisdiction in its service area, including four from Virginia appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission is an independent agency in the Commonwealth of Virginia to promote and improve transportation. It covers the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and the Cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax. NVTC manages the Northern Virginia...
(NVTC). In June 2010, McDonnell threatened to withhold Virginia's WMATA funding unless the composition of WMATA's board is modified to allow Virginia's Governor to appoint two of the four Virginia seats. Currently, the interstate compact establishing WMATA specifies that its Virginia members are selected by the NVTC. In turn, Virginia law specifies that local jurisdictions appoint that Commission's members. Rather than proposing to amend either law, McDonnell merely threatened to withhold Virginia's "dedicated" matching funds if the NVTC did not appoint two people that he selected instead of appointing representatives from local jurisdictions. On June 17, 2010, Federal Transit Administrator
Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...
Peter Rogoff required a formal commitment from Virginia to match its share of the federal funds if the federal funding is to continue. On June 24, 2010, McDonnell withdrew his request to appoint two members of the Metro Board as a precondition for making the scheduled "dedicated" payment under the 2008 agreement. On July 1, 2010, the WMATA Board of Directors approved an agreement with Virginia to provide its share of matching funds without regard to McDonnell's request for Board seats. Based on this agreement, the federal funds were reconfirmed, and WMATA was able to activate a $886 million contract for 428 new metrorail cars.
Health care
In April 2010, McDonnell signed a bill seeking to nullify the insurance purchase requirement in the then proposed federal health care legislationPatient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
. On March 10, 2010, before Congress finished its final consideration of the package, a bipartisan Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act passed the General Assembly by a 80-17 majority, which McDonnell signed on March 24, 2010. McDonnell supports Virginia's legal challenge to the Constitutionality of the final Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
. Although abortion funding was not debated during the regular session of the General Assembly, McDonnell raised the issue through the use of his amendatory veto power. During the April 21, 2010 veto session, the Virginia legislature passed restrictions on state public funding for elective abortion except in the instances of rape, incest, life of the mother, or life threatening fetal anomaly.
Education
In Virginia, public schools are funded from both local real estate taxes as well as state general funds under a formula that attempts to assure minimum state-wide standards called "The Standards of Quality." Virginia also earmarks revenues from its state lottery for education. Outgoing Governor Tim Kaine proposed $11.4 billion for K-12 education in the 2010-2012 budget. On February 17, 2010, McDonnell proposed $268.8 million in additional cuts. McDonnell's cuts included 1) changing the formula for measuring the ability of localities to pay for education, 2) reducing funding for technology expenditures, and 3) reducing funding under the Standards of Quality.The House adopted $620 million in education cuts, and the Senate adopted a budget with $133 million in education cuts. The final, signed budget cut over $646 million for public schools.
Because K-12 education comprises 37% of the general fund budget, critics note that McDonnell's proposal to fund transportation bonds from the general fund would result in further education cuts in future years. McDonnell disagrees, saying he’ll lean heavily on growth in revenues rather than pulling from existing money.
Although McDonnell supported the Race to the Top
Race to the Top
Race to the Top, abbreviated R2T, RTTT or RTT, is a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education competition designed to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education...
federal education funding program during McDonnell's campaign for governor, on May 26, 2010, McDonnell withdrew Virginia from the second round of "Race to the Top
Race to the Top
Race to the Top, abbreviated R2T, RTTT or RTT, is a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education competition designed to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education...
". Virginia had finished 31st out of 41 states in the first round; McDonnell decided that Virginia should not file its application for the second round because he erroneously believed the competition required the use of multi-state education performance standards instead of Virginia's current standards. However, the use of common performance standards were not required and counted for 40 points out of a possible 500 total points in evaluating state proposals. McDonnell later stated on MSNBC that the Race to the Top rules precluded participating states from adopting more rigorous standards in addition to whatever multi-state standards they join. However, the "Race to the Top" regulations award the points even if states adopt standards more rigorous than the optional, common standards.
Offshore drilling
Previously, the General Assembly passed a bill in 2006 that would allow exploratory gas drilling 50 miles off the coast. On March 11, 2010, McDonnell signed into law bipartisan offshore drilling legislation that would allow the drilling for oil and gas in federal waters 50 miles or more off the coast of Virginia if also permitted by the Federal government. (see Offshore drilling on the US Atlantic coastOffshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast
Offshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast for oil and gas took place from 1947 to the early 1980s. Oil companies drilled 5 wells in Atlantic Florida state waters and 51 exploratory wells on federal leases on the outer continental shelf of the Atlantic coast. None of the wells were completed as...
). The plan has been criticized by some environmentalists and Democrats who argue that tourism and wildlife would be threatened and that oil drilling would not make a difference in achieving long-term energy independence. Congressman Moran, among others, argued further that most of the proposed drilling area was located in an area reserved for naval operations.
McDonnell advocated drilling off the Virginia coast of the Atlantic Ocean as a possible revenue source for the state. However, under current law, Virginia will not receive any revenues from drilling in federal waters, which includes all drilling sites more than 3 miles off the coast. On May 6, 2010, the Department of Interior suspended the proposed auction of offshore Virginia leasing rights. Congressman James P. Moran (D-Va), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Interior Department, issued a statement commending the decision. On May 18, Moran forwarded to McDonnell a Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
report finding that the proposed lease site would interfere with naval operations. On May 25, McDonnell reaffirmed his interest in having oil drilling off the Virginia coast notwithstanding the BP oil spill and the inability of Virginia to get any of the royalty income from such drilling under current law. On May 27, President Obama announced that the offshore Virginia lease sale was cancelled. Subsequently, McDonnell has proposed continuing a federal environmental study of drilling off the Virginia coast or drilling for just gas and not oil. However, experts have said that liquids are almost always produced with gas offshore.
Budget
On December 18, 2009, outgoing Governor Tim KaineTim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
proposed a two-year $76.8 billion spending plan for adoption by the incoming state legislature. Kaine's budget proposed to rationalize state revenues by increasing the income tax while lowering property taxes and other fees. As incoming Governor, McDonnell refused to publicly recommend any modifications to Kaine's budget and instead worked with the House of Delegates to bring Kaine's plan up for a quick vote and defeat. Privately, McDonnell advocated cutting $300 million from health programs, $730 million from K-12 education, changing the state retirement system, and requiring 10 days of furloughs for state employees, all to offset a $2.2 billion budget shortfall over 2010-2012. On February 17, 2010, after political pressure, the Governor publicly released his proposed cuts. The Democratic-controlled Senate adopted a budget which restored a number of budget cuts to education, health and human services, and a House-Senate conference managed to work out a compromise on March 14 containing about $250 million in cuts before the expiration of the legislative session. However, a number of interest groups lobbied the Governor to use his amendatory veto power to alter the adopted budget.
On April 14, 2010, McDonnell proposed 96 budget amendments to the two-year 2010-2012 budget resulting in $42.1 million in spending increases and $51 million in additional budget cuts, tax increases, and court fees for criminals. He proposed to increase spending by $15 million to give incentives for SRI
SRI
Sri may refer to:*Sri, a Hindu honorific; not to be confused with Sir, a title of respect used in several modern contexts*Sri Lanka, an island state at the south tip of India, formerly called Ceylon*SRi, a car specification badge...
and Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
to keep offices in Virginia. To boost revenue, McDonnell proposed raising $7.2 million by increasing the fines on motorists who exceed the speed limit. He proposes to cut an additional $9.9 million from state funded programs for at-risk and troubled children and proposed cutting $600,000 from state grants to public radio and television stations. McDonnell also issued amendatory vetoes on non-budget legislation. For example, although Virginia has provided free electronic filing of tax returns for years, his veto would outsource electronic filing to firms that would charge a fee for that service. McDonnell also amended a bill that would authorize Planned Parenthood car license plates to prohibit Planned Parenthood from spending the funds raised from those "affinity" license plates on abortions. The Legislature met to vote on the Governor's amendments on April 21. A bipartisan majority accepted some of McDonnell's proposed cuts while rejecting others including those to public broadcasting, the funding for at-risk and troubled children and the shifting of Virginia Medicaid mental health program to a managed-care plan.
Results from 2010 Fiscal Year
The first budget enacted under the McDonnell administration took effect on July 1, 2010. Two of McDonnell's legislative initiatives did increase the surplus for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. First, the budget bill accelerated the payment of state sales taxes resulting in a one-time shift of revenues that would otherwise have been collected in July 2010 into the old fiscal year. Second, the budget bill deferred a $620 million payment to the Virginia Retirement System to future years. The end of year surplus will trigger the payment of a 3% bonus to state employees in December 2010. Both Republicans and Democrats responded by asking McDonnell to use the surplus to reverse the Virginia Retirement System deferral.Liquor sales
In August 2010, McDonnell embarked on a promotional tour advocating legislation to sell Virginia's liquor storesVirginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is a state public safety agency providing control, service, revenue and a wide range of services to residents and localities throughout the Commonwealth...
to private owners. McDonnell held eight town hall meetings around the state to discuss the plan. McDonnell argued that retail alcohol sales is not an appropriate state activity and proposes that any sales proceeds could be used to finance transportation needs. Opponents noted that the liquor stores generate $248 million per year for Virginia's general fund.
On September 8, 2010, McDonnell presented his plan for auctioning liquor licenses to his government reform commission. Under the plan, the number of stores selling liquor would triple to 1,000, with the licenses to operate these new stores being auctioned. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Of the 1,000 licenses, 600 would be available to big retailers, whose lawyers and lobbyists helped craft the governor's proposal. An additional 150 licenses would be reserved for package stories, with 250 for small retailers, such as convenience-store operators." McDonnell estimates that winning bidders would pay $265 million for the licenses, and that the state could receive $33 million from selling existing state-owned liquor store properties. In addition $160 million would be collected in wholesale license fees. To make up from the annual loss of general fund revenues from the current state-owned stores, McDonnell proposes a $17.50 per gallon excise tax (which is above the national average and above that charged in neighboring states). He would also charge an annual fee of $500 to $2,000 to each store license holder, and would impose a new 1% gross receipts tax on wholesalers of liquor. Restaurants and bars that chose to purchase alcohol from wholesalers instead of retail outlets would pay a 2.5% tax. Just before the presentation, McDonnell dropped his proposed 1.5% fee on all restaurants and retail establishments that was in earlier drafts of his plan. McDonnell proposed to call a special session of the Virginia legislature in November 2010 to consider the proposal.
The plan drew immediate opposition from conservative lawmakers as a "tax increase". It was also opposed by the 3,000-member Virginia Retail Federation, the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association, and the Virginia Wine Wholesalers Association. The Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy oppose the plan out of concerns that it will increase alcohol consumption. The plan is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Virginia Transportation Construction Industry, and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce (which said the plan should be a part of a larger effort to increase transportation funding.)
On the eve of McDonnell taking the plan to the restructuring commission for their endorsement, the Washington Post reported that he modified the plan by dropping the restaurant tax and certain other proposed fees. McDonnell is proposing to set aside over 100 licenses for companies that employ less than 50 people in order to help small, family owned stores. He also wants to give small businesses several years to pay off their auction bids. The Post suggests that "he might call off plans for a November special session" of the General Assembly. On October 4, the Malek commission voted 22 to 3 to endorse McDonnell's modified plan. The Commission proposed a number of cost savings in government operations which would offset the projected $47 million annual revenue loss from selling the ABC liquor stores.
In October 2010, McDonnell's modified plan drew criticism from Republican members of the House of Delegates, including Del. Thomas D. Gear who chairs the House subcommittee that will consider the proposal and Del. Timothy D. Hugo, chair of the House Republican caucus. Concerns heightened when Phil Cox, who heads McDonnell's political action committee, threatened to withhold campaign funds from Republican delegates who fail to support the modified plan. According to the Washington Post, "Delegates have privately complained that the plan was developed with too little input from legislators and too much from lobbyists for retail and alcohol interests." McDonnell is reportedly dropping plans to call a special session in November 2010 to consider the modified plan. On October 22, 2010, McDonnell decided not call a special session, but to instead appoint a "working group" to further refine the plan so that implementing legislation could be on the first day of the 2011 legislative session. McDonnell's working group of Republican legislators, wholesalers, distillers, and retailers seek to develop a compromise that could win adoption by the legislature.
On November 23, 2010, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee released a report which found that the McDonnell proposal had overstated the expected proceeds of liquor store sales and licenses. In response, McDonnell's spokesman said that he is committed to privatization and is considering alternative plans. McDonnell has hired a consultant to formulate a new privatization plan at a cost of $75,000 prior to the new legislative session in January 2011. The Auditors found that McDonnell's proposal would rise the retail price of distilled spirits 11 to 26 percent, which in turn would lead to a drop in liquor sales that could result in a loss of as much as $15.4 million in sales tax revenues.
In what the Washington Post described as "the biggest legislative defeat of his tenure," both houses of the Virginia General Assembly refused to hold hearings on McDonell's plan during the 2011 legislative session. Both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate killed the bill implementing McDonnell's proposal without a vote. McDonnell's director of policy, Eric Finkbeiner told the Post, "Whether we do it this year, next year or the year after, it's going to get done in this administration."
Job creation
McDonnell amended the budget to increase the incentives that a governor can provide employers to relocate to Virginia or to remain in Virginia. He campaigned to have Northrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
relocate its 300-job headquarters to Virginia, but stated that the renewal of Virginia's computer outsourcing contract was not linked to the relocation decision. When Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
announced the closing of the 6,000-job Joint Military Command in August, 2010, McDonnell sought private meetings
to seek to preserve the jobs.
However, McDonnell was disappointed that Secretary Gates would not meet with him to discuss the issue. McDonnell was later included in a meeting between Gates and Virginia's congressional delegation on November 23, 2010.
Reapportionment
McDonnell has played a significant role in the reapportionment conducted in response to the 2010 census. McDonnell appointed his own bipartisan advisory commission on redistricting. In a special session of the General Assembly, the redistricting of both the House of Delegates and the State Senate were passed in single bill that was approved by the House with a 86 to 8 vote and the Senate with a 22 to 18 vote. The bill was developed without regard to the advisory commission's recommendations. On April 15, 2011, McDonnell vetoed the reapportionment bill on the grounds that "the Senate plan is the kind of political gerrymandering that Virginians have ask that we leave in the past." Although McDonnell had the power to amend the bill with his veto, he simply sent it back for the General Assembly to either over-ride the veto or adopt a different bill. Because the Democrats lack the 2/3 majority necessary to over-ride the veto, the State Senate must adopt a new plan. At first, Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw promised to merely readopt the vetoed redistricting map, but has now begun negotiations with the Governor's office regarding a new plan. Republican members of the House and Senate have criticized the Governor for overturning the timetable for approval of new districts prior to the 2011 elections. After lengthy negotiations, on April 28, both houses passed a revised set of district maps and Governor McDonnell announced that he would sign the revised bill.Electoral history
Robert Francis "Bob" McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician who has been the 71st Governor of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
since January 2010. A former lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia
Attorney General of Virginia
The Attorney General of Virginia is an executive office in the Government of Virginia. Attorneys General are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election . There are no term limits restricting the number of terms someone can serve as Attorney General...
from 2006 to 2009.
McDonnell was elected as the Governor of Virginia on the back of the campaign slogan, "Bob's for Jobs", defeating Democratic
Democratic Party of Virginia
The Democratic Party of Virginia is based in Richmond in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party of the United States. The organization is governed by a State Party Plan, which guarantees an open and fair candidate selection process...
state Senator Creigh Deeds
Creigh Deeds
Robert Creigh Deeds is an American politician who was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia in 2009. He also ran in the 2005 race for Attorney General of Virginia. He was defeated in both of the above races by Bob McDonnell. Deeds lost by just 323 votes in 2005, but was defeated by a...
by a 17-point margin in a 2009 general election
Virginia gubernatorial election, 2009
The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2009 took place on November 3, 2009. The election chose Bob McDonnell as the next Governor, Bill Bolling re-elected as Lieutenant Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli as the next Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The winners were inaugurated on January...
marked by the late-2000s recession. McDonnell was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol
Virginia State Capitol
The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government in the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the third capital of Virginia. It houses the oldest legislative body in the United States, the Virginia General Assembly...
to succeed Tim Kaine
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
. He currently serves as chairman of the Republican Governors Association
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
.
Since taking office, McDonnell has declared a Confederate History Month
Confederate History Month
Confederate History Month is a month annually designated by six state governments in the Southern United States for the purpose of recognizing and honoring the history of the Confederate States of America...
, successfully handed over two consecutive budget surpluses, and pushed for privatisation, extending a contract to outsource the state's computer operations and attempting to auction off the state's ABC liquor stores
Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is a state public safety agency providing control, service, revenue and a wide range of services to residents and localities throughout the Commonwealth...
, and promoted offshore drilling
Offshore drilling
Offshore drilling refers to a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled through the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently produce hydrocarbons which lie in rock formations beneath the seabed...
for Virginia. He has sought to fund transportation improvements from non-traditional revenues sources including the proposal to auction-off liquor stores and establishing a toll booth at the Virginia-North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
border. He has used his amendatory veto power to restrict state funding for abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s.
Early life, education, and career
McDonnell was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, the son of Emma (née Meiller) and Lt. Col. John Francis McDonnell. He is of Irish Catholic extraction on his father's side. His family moved to Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
in 1955 when he was one year old. He spent four years of his early childhood in Germany when his father, a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
officer, was sent out on assignment. After returning to Virginia four years later, the McDonnells permanently established residence in Fairfax County. His mother worked at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
. McDonnell graduated from Bishop Ireton High School
Bishop Ireton High School
Bishop Ireton High School is a Roman Catholic High School located in Alexandria, Virginia. The school was founded in 1964 by the Oblates of St. Francis DeSales, an order of Catholic priests sometimes called Salesians, and originally admitted only male students...
in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
in 1972. While attending Bishop Ireton High School, McDonnell played football and broke the T. C. Williams High School
T. C. Williams High School
T. C. Williams High School is a public high school in Alexandria, Virginia, named after former superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams of Alexandria City Public Schools who served from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s...
shut out streak of 20 quarters by scoring a touchdown with minutes left in the game.
McDonnell attended the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame is a census-designated place north of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States; it includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. Notre Dame is split between Clay and Portage Townships...
on an ROTC
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.The U.S...
scholarship, graduating with a B.B.A. in management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
in 1976. Immediately following graduation, he served as a medical supply officer in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
for four years. His military posts were medical clinics in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
from 1976 to 1979, and in Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
from 1979 to 1981. In addition, he took night classes and received an M.B.A. from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
in 1980. After leaving active duty in 1981, McDonnell worked for the American Hospital Supply Corporation, primarily in the custom products regional division.
His career path shifted from business to law and public policy when he selected a joint degree program at Regent University
Regent University
Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as Christian Broadcasting Network University. A satellite campus located in...
. He obtained an M.A.
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts is a high academic degree offered at many universities in Europe and the United States.A Master of Arts, Magister Artium, or Magister in Artibus may also refer to:...
/J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
there in 1989. During his studies, McDonnell interned under Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-California).
Personal life and family
McDonnell is married to Maureen Patricia McDonnell (née Gardner), with whom he has five children. The oldest, Jeanine, served as a U.S. Army platoon officer in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Their younger daughter Cailin coordinated youth outreach for the Republican Party of Virginia's election efforts in 2009.
Bob McDonnell has twin sons, both who are athletes of the class of 2014 at the University of Virginia.
House of Delegates
McDonnell first ran and was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1992, serving seven terms (14 years). He represented the 84th district in Virginia Beach. Under the 1998–2001 power-sharing arrangement between House Republicans and DemocratsDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, he was Co-Chair of the Committee on the Chesapeake and its Tributaries in 2000–2001. He became Chair of the Courts of Justice Committee in 2003. He also served on the Rules Committee 2000–2005, and was Assistant Majority Leader. While serving in state office, McDonnell continued to serve in the Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
as a JAG officer until retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1997.
Campaign
Senate of Virginia
The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia...
Creigh Deeds
Creigh Deeds
Robert Creigh Deeds is an American politician who was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia in 2009. He also ran in the 2005 race for Attorney General of Virginia. He was defeated in both of the above races by Bob McDonnell. Deeds lost by just 323 votes in 2005, but was defeated by a...
. Deeds filed for a recount, which began on December 20, 2005. A court decision limited the recount to just recompiling vote totals instead of examining individual optically-scanned ballots. After preliminary figures revealed 37 more votes for McDonnell and that Deeds could not make up the difference, he conceded the next day, giving McDonnell a 323 vote margin of victory. McDonnell outspent Deeds in the general election by nearly one million dollars; the VA Republican State Leadership Committee donated $2,084,089 to McDonnell's campaign. He was inaugurated on January 14, 2006, in Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
along with Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
Bill Bolling
William T. "Bill" Bolling is the current Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Running as a Republican, he was elected twice to the position by defeating his Democratic opponent in both the 2005 and 2009 general elections. He is the first Lieutenant Governor in the Commonwealth of Virginia to serve two...
.
Other acts
In 2007, McDonnell "played a key role in early negotiations" on the transportation package that was the key issue of contention in the General Assembly. However, subsequently the package was declared unconstitutional based on a challenge filed by a Republican state senator.Prior to a performance of the Sex Workers' Art Show at the College of William and Mary in 2008, McDonnell forbade the sale of the group's books on school grounds. McDonnell took the side of defecting Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
Episcopalians
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
in a property lawsuit over the right of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
The Diocese of Virginia is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America encompassing 38 counties in the northern and central parts of the state of Virginia. The diocese was organized in 1785 and is one of the Episcopal Church's nine original dioceses. However, the diocese has...
to retain church properties.
In February 2009, McDonnell resigned as Attorney General to campaign full time for the Governorship of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
in the 2009 election
Virginia gubernatorial election, 2009
The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2009 took place on November 3, 2009. The election chose Bob McDonnell as the next Governor, Bill Bolling re-elected as Lieutenant Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli as the next Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The winners were inaugurated on January...
.
Candidate for governor
McDonnell announced his candidacy for the 2009 Virginia Gubernatorial election at American Legion's Boy's State of Virginia 2007, making him the seventh consecutive elected Attorney General to run. The statewide candidates, including McDonnell as Governor, were selected at a Republican State convention rather than a primary. Fewer than two weeks later, State Senator R. Creigh Deeds won his party’s nomination in a primary, setting up a "rematch" from the state attorney general's race four years earlier.In early June, Creigh Deeds possessed a slight edge with a 47%-41% advantage in the early polls. As the campaign continued to progressed, the polls shifted toward McDonnell's favor, giving him even a commanding lead in some. When the Washington Post released McDonnell's thesis from Regent University, McDonnell's lead dwindled to only two percentage points per Rasmussen polling. As the election proceeded, McDonnell's campaign regained steam. McDonnell defeated opponent Creigh Deeds in the general election by a vote of 59%-41%, receiving the highest percentage of the vote for any candidate for governor since 1961. At the same time, the other two statewide offices on the ballot were also won by Republicans.
Issues
In a political and economic climate marked by the late-2000s recession, McDonnell promised that his priority as Governor would be employment for Virginians, with such campaign slogans as, "Bob's for Jobs". He supported right-to-work law
Right-to-work law
Right-to-work laws are statutes enforced in twenty-two U.S. states, mostly in the southern or western U.S., allowed under provisions of the federal Taft–Hartley Act, which prohibit agreements between labor unions and employers that make membership, payment of union dues, or fees a condition of...
s, low operating cost of government and a simplified tax code
Tax code
In the UK, every person paid under the PAYE scheme is allocated a tax code by HM Revenue and Customs. This is usually in the form of a number followed by a letter suffix, though other 'non-standard' codes are also used. This code describes to employers how much tax to deduct from an employee. The...
. Having lived in various parts of the state, his road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own".
The McDonnell campaign strategy cast itself as focusing on economic issues, transportation, and public safety. Bob McDonnell's proposals included new job initiatives, boosting Virginia’s tourism, hospitality, and film industries, making Wallops Island
Wallops Island
Wallops Island is a island off the east coast of Virginia, part of the barrier islands that stretch along the eastern seaboard of the United States of America.It is located in Accomack County, Virginia...
the top commercial spaceport in America, and expanding growth in rural Virginia. McDonnell proposed measures that would move $480 million per year from school administration and put it directly into the classroom; establish more specialised high schools to support high-demand industries; increase online learning through virtual school
Virtual school
A virtual school or cyberschool describes an institution that teaches courses entirely or primarily through online methods. Though there are tens of thousands of commercial and non-accredited courses available online, the term "virtual school" is generally reserved for accredited schools that teach...
s; and support educational mentoring programs. McDonnell has frequently expressed his support for President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
’s ideas on increasing parental choice through charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
s.
Abortion
Identifying as pro-lifePro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
, McDonnell campaigned as an opponent of elective abortion. As a state legislator, he was the lead sponsor for legislation that would have banned partial birth abortion
Late-term abortion
Late termination of pregnancy or late-term abortions are abortions which are performed during a later stage of pregnancy. Late-term abortions are more controversial than abortion in general because the fetus is more developed and sometimes viable.-Definition:A late-term abortion often refers to an...
s, as well as legislation requiring parental consent
Parental consent
Parental consent laws in some countries require that one or more parents consent to or be notified before their minor child can legally engage in certain activities....
before a minor has an abortion and informed consent for women seeking an abortion. He opposed state and federal government funding for elective abortions.
Energy
McDonnell advocated making Virginia the energy capital of the East Coast. He supported drilling for oilOffshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast
Offshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast for oil and gas took place from 1947 to the early 1980s. Oil companies drilled 5 wells in Atlantic Florida state waters and 51 exploratory wells on federal leases on the outer continental shelf of the Atlantic coast. None of the wells were completed as...
off of the coast of Virginia while simultaneously developing new technologies for wind
Wind energy
Wind energy is the kinetic energy of air in motion; see also wind power.Total wind energy flowing through an imaginary area A during the time t is:E = ½ m v2 = ½ v 2...
, solar, biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
, and other renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
resources. He intends to expand investments in renewable energy sources and incentivize green job creation.
Gun rights
McDonnell campaigned as a gun rights advocate. He holds an "A" rating from the NRANational Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
Political Victory Fund and won their endorsement in his 2009 campaign for Governor.
Same-sex marriage
McDonnell advocated for a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman, and therefore opposes same-sex marriage.Transportation
McDonnell's campaign also turned to transportation, a major issue in heavily congested areas of Virginia, advocating issuing $3 billion in transportation bonds that had been approved by the Virginia General Assembly in 2007 but not funded with a revenue source, modernizing the Virginia Department of Transportation, and encouraging public-private partnerships to improve infrastructure. He has supported widening I-66Interstate 66
Interstate 66 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. As indicated by its even route number, it runs in an east–west direction. Its western terminus is at Middletown, Virginia, at an intersection with Interstate 81; its eastern terminus is in Washington, D.C., at an...
inside the Beltway, improving I-95, and finishing the Metrorail to Dulles Airport
Silver Line (Washington Metro)
The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, formally dubbed the Silver Line, is an extension of the Washington Metro rapid transit system, currently under construction with the goal of providing rapid transit service to Dulles International Airport and Tysons Corner...
project.
Transparency
During McDonnell's campaign, he criticized then-Governor Tim KaineTim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
for not disclosing his full schedule and for making out-of-state political appearances as Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
. McDonnell stated, "The citizens must be certain that the governor is attending to the duties for which he was elected. The governor is Virginia's chief executive and represents the commonwealth at all times." In March 2010, McDonnell received similar criticism for disclosing very few meetings or political appearances on his publicly released schedule.
Thesis
McDonnell's 1989 thesis for Regent UniversityRegent University
Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as Christian Broadcasting Network University. A satellite campus located in...
was a 93-page document titled The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade. The document explored the rise in the numbers of divorces and illegitimate births, and examined public policies that may have contributed to that increase and proposed solutions. The document gained attention in the campaign because it outlined a 15-point conservative agenda, including 10 points McDonnell pursued during his years in the General Assembly, according to press analysis.
This agenda includes opposition to abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, support for school vouchers and covenant marriage
Covenant marriage
In some parts of the United States, a covenant marriage is a legally distinct kind of marriage, in which the marrying couple agree to obtain pre-marital counseling and accept more limited grounds for divorce...
, and tax policies that favor heterosexual families. In his thesis, McDonnell wrote "government policy should favor married couples over 'cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators.'" McDonnell "described working women and feminists as 'detrimental' to the family."
McDonnell "criticized a landmark 1965 Supreme Court decision
Griswold v. Connecticut
Griswold v. Connecticut, , was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution protected a right to privacy. The case involved a Connecticut law that prohibited the use of contraceptives...
" which legalized the use of contraceptives, writing that "man's basic nature is inclined towards evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse, or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter." McDonnell responded to the article, stating "Virginians will judge me on my 18-year record as a legislator and attorney general and the specific plans I have laid out for our future -- not on a decades-old academic paper I wrote as a student during the Reagan era
Reagan Era
The Reagan Era or Age of Reagan is a periodization of recent American history used by historians and political observers to emphasize that the conservative "Reagan Revolution" led by President Ronald Reagan in domestic and foreign policy had a permanent impact...
and haven't thought about in years."
The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
reported that McDonnell maintained: "Like everybody, my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older." McDonnell says his evolved position on family policy is best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation where he "worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work".
Campaign organization and financial support
McDonnell's campaign headquarters was located in Richmond. His campaign finance report for September 15, 2009 indicates that he had nearly 1,500 more new donors than the Deeds campaign had total donors, a total of 6,239 donors, 4,946 of them new.The McDonnell For Governor campaign printed a variety of bumper stickers appealing to many interest groups, including "Women for McDonnell", "Sportsmen for McDonnell", and "Independents for McDonnell". Some appealed to the diverse minority groups throughout the Commonwealth. Some featured the mascots of select public universities such as the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, Virginia Tech, James Madison University
James Madison University
James Madison University is a public coeducational research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the university has undergone four name changes before settling with James Madison University...
, Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
, and Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
. "Irish for McDonnell" stickers were printed for the select Virginia residents who attended the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
as well. His road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own."
Endorsements
McDonnell was endorsed by Sheila JohnsonSheila Johnson
Sheila Crump Johnson is the team president, managing partner, and governor of the WNBA's Washington Mystics, a position she gained before the 2005 season. On May 24, 2005, Washington Sports and Entertainment Chairman, Abe Pollin, sold the Mystics to Lincoln Holdings LLC, where Johnson served as...
, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
and owner of the Washington Mystics
Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...
; Virginia AgPAC: the Political Action Committee of the Virginia Farm Bureau, representing over 147,000 members; the Virginia Association of Realtors, the largest trade association in Virginia with over 33,000 Members; The Virginia Credit Union League, a trade association representing the Commonwealth’s 194 not-for-profit credit unions and the 3 million member-owners residing in Virginia; The Virginia Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a group whose membership consists of over 6,000 small businesses across Virginia; and the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
, which reversed its pro-Deeds 2005 endorsement for Attorney General.
Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia
On January 16, 2010, McDonnell was inaugurated as the 71st governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, succeeding Kaine as governor. This was the first inaugural ceremony to occur on the newly renovated steps of the Virginia State Capitol. In keeping with tradition, McDonnell signed executive orders after taking the oath. Instead of keeping with a 30-year practice by signing an executive order banning discrimination in state employment (which he later signed on February 5), McDonnell signed orders establishing a Commission on job creation and a Virginia Commission on Government Reform and RestructuringVirginia Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring
The Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring is an advisory group that will make recommendations to the Governor on how to improve the operation of Virginia's government...
.
Two of McDonnell's appointments drew criticism. On May 7, 2010, McDonnell appointed Fred Malek
Fred Malek
Frederic Vincent "Fred" Malek is the former President of Marriott Hotels and Northwest Airlines and former assistant to United States Presidents Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush. Malek served as a National Finance Committee co-chair of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign...
to chair a 31-member advisory commission
Virginia Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring
The Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring is an advisory group that will make recommendations to the Governor on how to improve the operation of Virginia's government...
on reforming state government. On May 10, 2010, several Democratic members of the Legislature criticized the appointment due to Malek's controversial actions as personnel director in the Nixon White House and due to a 2007 SEC investigation settlement. On May 25, 2010, McDonnell was asked about the Malek appointment and stated that he was not aware of Malek's role in the Nixon Administration, a remark which State Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) told the Washington Post that McDonnell's claim was "absolutely stunning and, frankly, beyond belief."
McDonnell also nominated Robert C. Sledd to Secretary of Commerce and Trade, but withdrew the nomination in the face of bipartisan opposition prompted by Sledd's refusal to give up paid outside corporate directorships.
On January 27, 2010, McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's State of the Union Address
2010 State of the Union Address
The 2010 State of the Union Address was given by United States President Barack Obama on January 27, 2010, to a joint session of Congress. It was aired on all the major networks starting at 9 p.m. ET...
. The response was delivered to GOP lawmakers and invited friends in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
. Critics have argued that the use of House chamber for McDonnell's speech did not comply with House Rule 82.
Since McDonnell's election as Governor in November 2009, he has shifted his fundraising activities to his "Opportunity Virginia PAC" which has raised $1,194,934 through June 2010. Many of these donations came from industries regulated by the state.
In April 2010, McDonnell renegotiated and extended a contract for outsourcing the state's computer operations to Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
. At that time, McDonnell proposed legislation which was adopted to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Virginia Information Technologies Agency
The Virginia Information Technologies Agency is an executive department which provides computer services to other Virginia departments and agencies...
report to the Governor instead of an independent board. Subsequently, McDonnell was criticized when the Northrup computer systems experienced a week-long computer outage from August 25 through September 2, 2010. As a result, as many as 45,000 citizens could not renew their drivers licenses prior to their expiration. Computer systems for 26 of the state's 89 agencies were affected. An estimated 4,240 driver's license and ID card applicants have been asked to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get their photos taken again after an Aug. 25 computer outage left their original photos unrecoverable. The system also experienced an unrelated outage on August 9. Subsequently, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $250,000 to fund a state investigation of the computer outage.
The 2010 session of the General Assembly passed a bill exempting certain veterans' organizations from the registration and reporting requirements that apply to most charities which solicit donations in Virginia. The bill was introduced at the request of Bobby Thompson, director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, who has made large contributions to certain Republican candidates. After the bill passed both the House and Senate, newspaper accounts of that charity's questionable practices caused a sponsor of the bill to request McDonnell to veto it, however the governor signed the bill into law notwithstanding those requests. As a result, the organization, which is under investigation in New Mexico (which barred the USNVA before the Virginia bill was signed), Florida and Missouri, as well as other non profit veterans' organizations will not have to report to Virginia on how they spend the donations that they receive. However, McDonnell later donated to charity the $5,000 campaign contribution that he had received from Thompson. In August 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that a nation-wide arrest warrant had issued for Bobby Thompson, who had stolen the identity and Social Security Number of a victim who was not connected to the USNVA. Corday stated, "We know he bilked Ohioans out of at least $1.9 million, and we estimate that nationally he collected at least $20 million."
In January 14, 2011, McDonnell issued a directive ordering the Department of Conservation and Recreation to cease enforcing regulations that prohibit people from openly carrying firearms in state parks. He has also given preliminary approval to amend the regulations to allow people to carry open or concealed firearms in state forests. The regulations were already amended in 2003 to allow concealed weapons on park property.
On August 15, 2011, McDonnell was named chairman of the Republican Governors Association
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
.
Social issues
On February 5, 2010, McDonnell signed an executive order that prohibits discrimination "on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political affiliation, or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities", reversing protections for gays and lesbians in Virginia, and rescinding the order that Gov. Kaine signed on January 14, 2006, which had covered all of these groups. McDonnell previously challenged Kaine's executive order (which was similar to the one issued by Kaine's predecessor Mark WarnerMark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...
) by issuing an opinion as Attorney General stating that issuing such a change in public policy was "within purview of General Assembly and, therefore, beyond scope of executive authority and is unconstitutional". After criticism from some gay rights groups, McDonnell issued an executive directive (which unlike an executive order, does not have the force of law) that prohibits employment discrimination because of sexual orientation without a rational basis.
On April 2, 2010, at the request of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Governor McDonnell issued a proclamation designating April 2010 as "Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
History Month" following similar designations by two of his Republican predecessors, George Allen
George Allen (U.S. politician)
George Felix Allen is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the son of former NFL head coach George Allen. Allen served Virginia in the state legislature, as the 67th Governor, and in both bodies of the U.S. Congress, winning election to the Senate in 2000...
and James S. Gilmore. However, the last two governors, who were Democrats, did not designate such a month. Unlike Gilmore's proclamation, which included anti-slavery language, McDonnell's initial proclamation left out any direct mention of slavery, drawing criticism from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the NAACP. When initially asked why he had made the omission, McDonnell stated that "there were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia."
On April 7, 2010, McDonnell conceded that omitting slavery from his proclamation was "a major omission", apologized and amended the document. McDonnell had previously refused to rule out the possibility that he would run for Vice President in 2012; while news analysts Chris Cillizza, Mark Plotkin, and Teddy Davis have speculated that the mistake may have a significant adverse impact on McDonnell's chances for a future Vice Presidential nomination, a May 22 Time Magazine article described McDonnell as "a politician who inexplicably kneecapped himself is clawing his way back." On September 24, 2010, McDonnell addressed an academic conference on slavery and announced that he will declare April 2011 as "Civil War in Virginia" month rather than "Conferederate History Month". He also called the April 2010 proclamation an "error of haste and not of heart."
In December 2009, Governor Tim Kaine
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
started a process which would extend Virginia employee health benefits to same-sex partners. At McDonnell's request, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
Ken Cuccinelli
Kenneth Thomas 'Ken' Cuccinelli II is a U.S. politician and the Attorney General of Virginia. From 2002 until January 16, 2010 he was a Republican member of the Senate of Virginia, representing the 37th district in Fairfax County...
issued a legal opinion that this change to the coverage of the state's health plan could not be made without explicit legislation authorizing it, thereby halting the administrative process to make the change. However, McDonnell did sign a law which wouid allow Virginia employers to offer private insurance coverage for employees' same-sex partners, after the bill passed with bipartisan support.
In a decision that drew international controversy, McDonnell declined to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment in the case of Teresa Lewis
Teresa Lewis
Teresa Wilson Bean Lewis was an American who was the only woman on death row in Virginia prior to her execution. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection for using sex and money to arrange for the murders of her husband and stepson in October 2002...
, who was executed on September 23, 2010. She became the first woman executed in Virginia since 1912 and was borderline mentally retarded.
Voting rights restoration for felons
In April 2010, McDonnell drew criticism from black leaders and civil rights groups when a draft policy proposal was mistakenly sent to 200 felons, informing them of his decision to require a written essay from each applicant seeking to have voting and other civil rights restored. Previously, applicants for restored voting rights were required to fill out a one page application. Only Virginia and Kentucky require the Governor to act on individual requests for restoring voting rights.On May 21, McDonnell announced new policy on the issue of restoration of rights, imposing a 60-day deadline for his administration to act on an application once all of the required documentation is received from the applicant and the courts; reducing to two years from three years the time nonviolent felons must wait to apply for restoration of rights, and cutting to one year from two years the waiting period for reapplication if a request is denied. Of the new policy, Democratic Delegate David Englin commented, "By establishing a timely and more clearly defined process for non-violent ex-offenders seeking to have their rights restored, the Governor’s new policy has the potential make an important step in the right direction." On July 19, McDonnell restored voting rights for 506 felons out of a total of 574 eligible applications. As of September 26, 2010, McDonnell restored the rights of 780 of 889 applicants.
Transportation
On April 30, 2010, McDonnell authorized issuing $493 million in transportation bonds in May 2010 and an additional $1.493 billion over the five years to finance previously approved transportation projects. The bonds were a part of a transportation package enacted three years ago, but the bonds were not issued while Republican State Delegate Robert Marshall filed a lawsuit challenging the Constitutionality of that package and while certain transportation notes issued during the Gilmore AdministrationJim Gilmore
James Stuart "Jim" Gilmore III is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia, former 68th Governor of Virginia, and a member of the Republican Party. A native Virginian, Gilmore studied at the University of Virginia, and then served in the U.S. Army as a counterintelligence agent...
had not been paid off. Critics note that Virginia lacks a revenue source to amortize these new bonds. On December 9, 2010, McDonnell announced a revised transportation funding plan which includes both $1.8 billion in bonds that had been approved in 2007, as well as an additional $1.1 billion of s which McDonnell proposes to pay back from future federal transportation funds. He also proposed to spend $150 million from the 2009-2010 budget surplus and $250 million from reducing the reserves that ongoing projects carry to protect against gasoline tax revenue shortfalls. On January 9, 2011, McDonnell proposed funding projects to address traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton roads by diverting 0.25% of the sales tax collected in those areas from the General Fund into the transportation fund. Legislation is required to implement McDonnell's proposal, and Democrats responded that the revenues were needed in the General Fund for schools and public safety and that the projected revenues were insufficient to make a difference on highway needs.
On May 10, 2010, McDonnell filed an application with the Federal Highway Administration
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...
(FHA) seeking permission to collect tolls on Interstate 95
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, Providence, New Haven, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore,...
near the North Carolina border. The highway had been constructed with taxpayer funds, 90% from the federal government and 10% from Virginia gasoline taxes. However, Virginia claims that they do not have sufficient revenues to maintain I-95 at a safe level and proposes a toll booth to raise a projected $30 to $60 million annually. McDonnell is asking FHA to authorize the toll under its "Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program."
In 2008, the Federal government and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess...
(WMATA) reached an agreement for federal funding of $1.5 billion in capital improvements contingent on Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and the District of Columbia pledging to develop dedicated funding for the Metro system. WMATA is an interstate compact founded in 1967 with a board of directors whose members are appointed by each local jurisdiction in its service area, including four from Virginia appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission is an independent agency in the Commonwealth of Virginia to promote and improve transportation. It covers the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and the Cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax. NVTC manages the Northern Virginia...
(NVTC). In June 2010, McDonnell threatened to withhold Virginia's WMATA funding unless the composition of WMATA's board is modified to allow Virginia's Governor to appoint two of the four Virginia seats. Currently, the interstate compact establishing WMATA specifies that its Virginia members are selected by the NVTC. In turn, Virginia law specifies that local jurisdictions appoint that Commission's members. Rather than proposing to amend either law, McDonnell merely threatened to withhold Virginia's "dedicated" matching funds if the NVTC did not appoint two people that he selected instead of appointing representatives from local jurisdictions. On June 17, 2010, Federal Transit Administrator
Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...
Peter Rogoff required a formal commitment from Virginia to match its share of the federal funds if the federal funding is to continue. On June 24, 2010, McDonnell withdrew his request to appoint two members of the Metro Board as a precondition for making the scheduled "dedicated" payment under the 2008 agreement. On July 1, 2010, the WMATA Board of Directors approved an agreement with Virginia to provide its share of matching funds without regard to McDonnell's request for Board seats. Based on this agreement, the federal funds were reconfirmed, and WMATA was able to activate a $886 million contract for 428 new metrorail cars.
Health care
In April 2010, McDonnell signed a bill seeking to nullify the insurance purchase requirement in the then proposed federal health care legislationPatient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
. On March 10, 2010, before Congress finished its final consideration of the package, a bipartisan Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act passed the General Assembly by a 80-17 majority, which McDonnell signed on March 24, 2010. McDonnell supports Virginia's legal challenge to the Constitutionality of the final Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
. Although abortion funding was not debated during the regular session of the General Assembly, McDonnell raised the issue through the use of his amendatory veto power. During the April 21, 2010 veto session, the Virginia legislature passed restrictions on state public funding for elective abortion except in the instances of rape, incest, life of the mother, or life threatening fetal anomaly.
Education
In Virginia, public schools are funded from both local real estate taxes as well as state general funds under a formula that attempts to assure minimum state-wide standards called "The Standards of Quality." Virginia also earmarks revenues from its state lottery for education. Outgoing Governor Tim Kaine proposed $11.4 billion for K-12 education in the 2010-2012 budget. On February 17, 2010, McDonnell proposed $268.8 million in additional cuts. McDonnell's cuts included 1) changing the formula for measuring the ability of localities to pay for education, 2) reducing funding for technology expenditures, and 3) reducing funding under the Standards of Quality.The House adopted $620 million in education cuts, and the Senate adopted a budget with $133 million in education cuts. The final, signed budget cut over $646 million for public schools.
Because K-12 education comprises 37% of the general fund budget, critics note that McDonnell's proposal to fund transportation bonds from the general fund would result in further education cuts in future years. McDonnell disagrees, saying he’ll lean heavily on growth in revenues rather than pulling from existing money.
Although McDonnell supported the Race to the Top
Race to the Top
Race to the Top, abbreviated R2T, RTTT or RTT, is a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education competition designed to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education...
federal education funding program during McDonnell's campaign for governor, on May 26, 2010, McDonnell withdrew Virginia from the second round of "Race to the Top
Race to the Top
Race to the Top, abbreviated R2T, RTTT or RTT, is a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education competition designed to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education...
". Virginia had finished 31st out of 41 states in the first round; McDonnell decided that Virginia should not file its application for the second round because he erroneously believed the competition required the use of multi-state education performance standards instead of Virginia's current standards. However, the use of common performance standards were not required and counted for 40 points out of a possible 500 total points in evaluating state proposals. McDonnell later stated on MSNBC that the Race to the Top rules precluded participating states from adopting more rigorous standards in addition to whatever multi-state standards they join. However, the "Race to the Top" regulations award the points even if states adopt standards more rigorous than the optional, common standards.
Offshore drilling
Previously, the General Assembly passed a bill in 2006 that would allow exploratory gas drilling 50 miles off the coast. On March 11, 2010, McDonnell signed into law bipartisan offshore drilling legislation that would allow the drilling for oil and gas in federal waters 50 miles or more off the coast of Virginia if also permitted by the Federal government. (see Offshore drilling on the US Atlantic coastOffshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast
Offshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast for oil and gas took place from 1947 to the early 1980s. Oil companies drilled 5 wells in Atlantic Florida state waters and 51 exploratory wells on federal leases on the outer continental shelf of the Atlantic coast. None of the wells were completed as...
). The plan has been criticized by some environmentalists and Democrats who argue that tourism and wildlife would be threatened and that oil drilling would not make a difference in achieving long-term energy independence. Congressman Moran, among others, argued further that most of the proposed drilling area was located in an area reserved for naval operations.
McDonnell advocated drilling off the Virginia coast of the Atlantic Ocean as a possible revenue source for the state. However, under current law, Virginia will not receive any revenues from drilling in federal waters, which includes all drilling sites more than 3 miles off the coast. On May 6, 2010, the Department of Interior suspended the proposed auction of offshore Virginia leasing rights. Congressman James P. Moran (D-Va), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Interior Department, issued a statement commending the decision. On May 18, Moran forwarded to McDonnell a Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
report finding that the proposed lease site would interfere with naval operations. On May 25, McDonnell reaffirmed his interest in having oil drilling off the Virginia coast notwithstanding the BP oil spill and the inability of Virginia to get any of the royalty income from such drilling under current law. On May 27, President Obama announced that the offshore Virginia lease sale was cancelled. Subsequently, McDonnell has proposed continuing a federal environmental study of drilling off the Virginia coast or drilling for just gas and not oil. However, experts have said that liquids are almost always produced with gas offshore.
Budget
On December 18, 2009, outgoing Governor Tim KaineTim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
proposed a two-year $76.8 billion spending plan for adoption by the incoming state legislature. Kaine's budget proposed to rationalize state revenues by increasing the income tax while lowering property taxes and other fees. As incoming Governor, McDonnell refused to publicly recommend any modifications to Kaine's budget and instead worked with the House of Delegates to bring Kaine's plan up for a quick vote and defeat. Privately, McDonnell advocated cutting $300 million from health programs, $730 million from K-12 education, changing the state retirement system, and requiring 10 days of furloughs for state employees, all to offset a $2.2 billion budget shortfall over 2010-2012. On February 17, 2010, after political pressure, the Governor publicly released his proposed cuts. The Democratic-controlled Senate adopted a budget which restored a number of budget cuts to education, health and human services, and a House-Senate conference managed to work out a compromise on March 14 containing about $250 million in cuts before the expiration of the legislative session. However, a number of interest groups lobbied the Governor to use his amendatory veto power to alter the adopted budget.
On April 14, 2010, McDonnell proposed 96 budget amendments to the two-year 2010-2012 budget resulting in $42.1 million in spending increases and $51 million in additional budget cuts, tax increases, and court fees for criminals. He proposed to increase spending by $15 million to give incentives for SRI
SRI
Sri may refer to:*Sri, a Hindu honorific; not to be confused with Sir, a title of respect used in several modern contexts*Sri Lanka, an island state at the south tip of India, formerly called Ceylon*SRi, a car specification badge...
and Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
to keep offices in Virginia. To boost revenue, McDonnell proposed raising $7.2 million by increasing the fines on motorists who exceed the speed limit. He proposes to cut an additional $9.9 million from state funded programs for at-risk and troubled children and proposed cutting $600,000 from state grants to public radio and television stations. McDonnell also issued amendatory vetoes on non-budget legislation. For example, although Virginia has provided free electronic filing of tax returns for years, his veto would outsource electronic filing to firms that would charge a fee for that service. McDonnell also amended a bill that would authorize Planned Parenthood car license plates to prohibit Planned Parenthood from spending the funds raised from those "affinity" license plates on abortions. The Legislature met to vote on the Governor's amendments on April 21. A bipartisan majority accepted some of McDonnell's proposed cuts while rejecting others including those to public broadcasting, the funding for at-risk and troubled children and the shifting of Virginia Medicaid mental health program to a managed-care plan.
Results from 2010 Fiscal Year
The first budget enacted under the McDonnell administration took effect on July 1, 2010. Two of McDonnell's legislative initiatives did increase the surplus for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. First, the budget bill accelerated the payment of state sales taxes resulting in a one-time shift of revenues that would otherwise have been collected in July 2010 into the old fiscal year. Second, the budget bill deferred a $620 million payment to the Virginia Retirement System to future years. The end of year surplus will trigger the payment of a 3% bonus to state employees in December 2010. Both Republicans and Democrats responded by asking McDonnell to use the surplus to reverse the Virginia Retirement System deferral.Liquor sales
In August 2010, McDonnell embarked on a promotional tour advocating legislation to sell Virginia's liquor storesVirginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is a state public safety agency providing control, service, revenue and a wide range of services to residents and localities throughout the Commonwealth...
to private owners. McDonnell held eight town hall meetings around the state to discuss the plan. McDonnell argued that retail alcohol sales is not an appropriate state activity and proposes that any sales proceeds could be used to finance transportation needs. Opponents noted that the liquor stores generate $248 million per year for Virginia's general fund.
On September 8, 2010, McDonnell presented his plan for auctioning liquor licenses to his government reform commission. Under the plan, the number of stores selling liquor would triple to 1,000, with the licenses to operate these new stores being auctioned. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Of the 1,000 licenses, 600 would be available to big retailers, whose lawyers and lobbyists helped craft the governor's proposal. An additional 150 licenses would be reserved for package stories, with 250 for small retailers, such as convenience-store operators." McDonnell estimates that winning bidders would pay $265 million for the licenses, and that the state could receive $33 million from selling existing state-owned liquor store properties. In addition $160 million would be collected in wholesale license fees. To make up from the annual loss of general fund revenues from the current state-owned stores, McDonnell proposes a $17.50 per gallon excise tax (which is above the national average and above that charged in neighboring states). He would also charge an annual fee of $500 to $2,000 to each store license holder, and would impose a new 1% gross receipts tax on wholesalers of liquor. Restaurants and bars that chose to purchase alcohol from wholesalers instead of retail outlets would pay a 2.5% tax. Just before the presentation, McDonnell dropped his proposed 1.5% fee on all restaurants and retail establishments that was in earlier drafts of his plan. McDonnell proposed to call a special session of the Virginia legislature in November 2010 to consider the proposal.
The plan drew immediate opposition from conservative lawmakers as a "tax increase". It was also opposed by the 3,000-member Virginia Retail Federation, the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association, and the Virginia Wine Wholesalers Association. The Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy oppose the plan out of concerns that it will increase alcohol consumption. The plan is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Virginia Transportation Construction Industry, and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce (which said the plan should be a part of a larger effort to increase transportation funding.)
On the eve of McDonnell taking the plan to the restructuring commission for their endorsement, the Washington Post reported that he modified the plan by dropping the restaurant tax and certain other proposed fees. McDonnell is proposing to set aside over 100 licenses for companies that employ less than 50 people in order to help small, family owned stores. He also wants to give small businesses several years to pay off their auction bids. The Post suggests that "he might call off plans for a November special session" of the General Assembly. On October 4, the Malek commission voted 22 to 3 to endorse McDonnell's modified plan. The Commission proposed a number of cost savings in government operations which would offset the projected $47 million annual revenue loss from selling the ABC liquor stores.
In October 2010, McDonnell's modified plan drew criticism from Republican members of the House of Delegates, including Del. Thomas D. Gear who chairs the House subcommittee that will consider the proposal and Del. Timothy D. Hugo, chair of the House Republican caucus. Concerns heightened when Phil Cox, who heads McDonnell's political action committee, threatened to withhold campaign funds from Republican delegates who fail to support the modified plan. According to the Washington Post, "Delegates have privately complained that the plan was developed with too little input from legislators and too much from lobbyists for retail and alcohol interests." McDonnell is reportedly dropping plans to call a special session in November 2010 to consider the modified plan. On October 22, 2010, McDonnell decided not call a special session, but to instead appoint a "working group" to further refine the plan so that implementing legislation could be on the first day of the 2011 legislative session. McDonnell's working group of Republican legislators, wholesalers, distillers, and retailers seek to develop a compromise that could win adoption by the legislature.
On November 23, 2010, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee released a report which found that the McDonnell proposal had overstated the expected proceeds of liquor store sales and licenses. In response, McDonnell's spokesman said that he is committed to privatization and is considering alternative plans. McDonnell has hired a consultant to formulate a new privatization plan at a cost of $75,000 prior to the new legislative session in January 2011. The Auditors found that McDonnell's proposal would rise the retail price of distilled spirits 11 to 26 percent, which in turn would lead to a drop in liquor sales that could result in a loss of as much as $15.4 million in sales tax revenues.
In what the Washington Post described as "the biggest legislative defeat of his tenure," both houses of the Virginia General Assembly refused to hold hearings on McDonell's plan during the 2011 legislative session. Both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate killed the bill implementing McDonnell's proposal without a vote. McDonnell's director of policy, Eric Finkbeiner told the Post, "Whether we do it this year, next year or the year after, it's going to get done in this administration."
Job creation
McDonnell amended the budget to increase the incentives that a governor can provide employers to relocate to Virginia or to remain in Virginia. He campaigned to have Northrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
relocate its 300-job headquarters to Virginia, but stated that the renewal of Virginia's computer outsourcing contract was not linked to the relocation decision. When Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
announced the closing of the 6,000-job Joint Military Command in August, 2010, McDonnell sought private meetings
to seek to preserve the jobs.
However, McDonnell was disappointed that Secretary Gates would not meet with him to discuss the issue. McDonnell was later included in a meeting between Gates and Virginia's congressional delegation on November 23, 2010.
Reapportionment
McDonnell has played a significant role in the reapportionment conducted in response to the 2010 census. McDonnell appointed his own bipartisan advisory commission on redistricting. In a special session of the General Assembly, the redistricting of both the House of Delegates and the State Senate were passed in single bill that was approved by the House with a 86 to 8 vote and the Senate with a 22 to 18 vote. The bill was developed without regard to the advisory commission's recommendations. On April 15, 2011, McDonnell vetoed the reapportionment bill on the grounds that "the Senate plan is the kind of political gerrymandering that Virginians have ask that we leave in the past." Although McDonnell had the power to amend the bill with his veto, he simply sent it back for the General Assembly to either over-ride the veto or adopt a different bill. Because the Democrats lack the 2/3 majority necessary to over-ride the veto, the State Senate must adopt a new plan. At first, Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw promised to merely readopt the vetoed redistricting map, but has now begun negotiations with the Governor's office regarding a new plan. Republican members of the House and Senate have criticized the Governor for overturning the timetable for approval of new districts prior to the 2011 elections. After lengthy negotiations, on April 28, both houses passed a revised set of district maps and Governor McDonnell announced that he would sign the revised bill.Electoral history
Robert Francis "Bob" McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician who has been the 71st Governor of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
since January 2010. A former lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia
Attorney General of Virginia
The Attorney General of Virginia is an executive office in the Government of Virginia. Attorneys General are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election . There are no term limits restricting the number of terms someone can serve as Attorney General...
from 2006 to 2009.
McDonnell was elected as the Governor of Virginia on the back of the campaign slogan, "Bob's for Jobs", defeating Democratic
Democratic Party of Virginia
The Democratic Party of Virginia is based in Richmond in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party of the United States. The organization is governed by a State Party Plan, which guarantees an open and fair candidate selection process...
state Senator Creigh Deeds
Creigh Deeds
Robert Creigh Deeds is an American politician who was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia in 2009. He also ran in the 2005 race for Attorney General of Virginia. He was defeated in both of the above races by Bob McDonnell. Deeds lost by just 323 votes in 2005, but was defeated by a...
by a 17-point margin in a 2009 general election
Virginia gubernatorial election, 2009
The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2009 took place on November 3, 2009. The election chose Bob McDonnell as the next Governor, Bill Bolling re-elected as Lieutenant Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli as the next Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The winners were inaugurated on January...
marked by the late-2000s recession. McDonnell was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol
Virginia State Capitol
The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government in the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the third capital of Virginia. It houses the oldest legislative body in the United States, the Virginia General Assembly...
to succeed Tim Kaine
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
. He currently serves as chairman of the Republican Governors Association
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
.
Since taking office, McDonnell has declared a Confederate History Month
Confederate History Month
Confederate History Month is a month annually designated by six state governments in the Southern United States for the purpose of recognizing and honoring the history of the Confederate States of America...
, successfully handed over two consecutive budget surpluses, and pushed for privatisation, extending a contract to outsource the state's computer operations and attempting to auction off the state's ABC liquor stores
Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is a state public safety agency providing control, service, revenue and a wide range of services to residents and localities throughout the Commonwealth...
, and promoted offshore drilling
Offshore drilling
Offshore drilling refers to a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled through the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently produce hydrocarbons which lie in rock formations beneath the seabed...
for Virginia. He has sought to fund transportation improvements from non-traditional revenues sources including the proposal to auction-off liquor stores and establishing a toll booth at the Virginia-North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
border. He has used his amendatory veto power to restrict state funding for abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s.
Early life, education, and career
McDonnell was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, the son of Emma (née Meiller) and Lt. Col. John Francis McDonnell. He is of Irish Catholic extraction on his father's side. His family moved to Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
in 1955 when he was one year old. He spent four years of his early childhood in Germany when his father, a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
officer, was sent out on assignment. After returning to Virginia four years later, the McDonnells permanently established residence in Fairfax County. His mother worked at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
. McDonnell graduated from Bishop Ireton High School
Bishop Ireton High School
Bishop Ireton High School is a Roman Catholic High School located in Alexandria, Virginia. The school was founded in 1964 by the Oblates of St. Francis DeSales, an order of Catholic priests sometimes called Salesians, and originally admitted only male students...
in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
in 1972. While attending Bishop Ireton High School, McDonnell played football and broke the T. C. Williams High School
T. C. Williams High School
T. C. Williams High School is a public high school in Alexandria, Virginia, named after former superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams of Alexandria City Public Schools who served from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s...
shut out streak of 20 quarters by scoring a touchdown with minutes left in the game.
McDonnell attended the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame is a census-designated place north of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States; it includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. Notre Dame is split between Clay and Portage Townships...
on an ROTC
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.The U.S...
scholarship, graduating with a B.B.A. in management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
in 1976. Immediately following graduation, he served as a medical supply officer in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
for four years. His military posts were medical clinics in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
from 1976 to 1979, and in Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
from 1979 to 1981. In addition, he took night classes and received an M.B.A. from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
in 1980. After leaving active duty in 1981, McDonnell worked for the American Hospital Supply Corporation, primarily in the custom products regional division.
His career path shifted from business to law and public policy when he selected a joint degree program at Regent University
Regent University
Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as Christian Broadcasting Network University. A satellite campus located in...
. He obtained an M.A.
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts is a high academic degree offered at many universities in Europe and the United States.A Master of Arts, Magister Artium, or Magister in Artibus may also refer to:...
/J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
there in 1989. During his studies, McDonnell interned under Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-California).
Personal life and family
McDonnell is married to Maureen Patricia McDonnell (née Gardner), with whom he has five children. The oldest, Jeanine, served as a U.S. Army platoon officer in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Their younger daughter Cailin coordinated youth outreach for the Republican Party of Virginia's election efforts in 2009.
Bob McDonnell has twin sons, both who are athletes of the class of 2014 at the University of Virginia.
House of Delegates
McDonnell first ran and was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1992, serving seven terms (14 years). He represented the 84th district in Virginia Beach. Under the 1998–2001 power-sharing arrangement between House Republicans and DemocratsDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, he was Co-Chair of the Committee on the Chesapeake and its Tributaries in 2000–2001. He became Chair of the Courts of Justice Committee in 2003. He also served on the Rules Committee 2000–2005, and was Assistant Majority Leader. While serving in state office, McDonnell continued to serve in the Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
as a JAG officer until retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1997.
Campaign
Senate of Virginia
The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia...
Creigh Deeds
Creigh Deeds
Robert Creigh Deeds is an American politician who was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia in 2009. He also ran in the 2005 race for Attorney General of Virginia. He was defeated in both of the above races by Bob McDonnell. Deeds lost by just 323 votes in 2005, but was defeated by a...
. Deeds filed for a recount, which began on December 20, 2005. A court decision limited the recount to just recompiling vote totals instead of examining individual optically-scanned ballots. After preliminary figures revealed 37 more votes for McDonnell and that Deeds could not make up the difference, he conceded the next day, giving McDonnell a 323 vote margin of victory. McDonnell outspent Deeds in the general election by nearly one million dollars; the VA Republican State Leadership Committee donated $2,084,089 to McDonnell's campaign. He was inaugurated on January 14, 2006, in Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
along with Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
Bill Bolling
William T. "Bill" Bolling is the current Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Running as a Republican, he was elected twice to the position by defeating his Democratic opponent in both the 2005 and 2009 general elections. He is the first Lieutenant Governor in the Commonwealth of Virginia to serve two...
.
Other acts
In 2007, McDonnell "played a key role in early negotiations" on the transportation package that was the key issue of contention in the General Assembly. However, subsequently the package was declared unconstitutional based on a challenge filed by a Republican state senator.Prior to a performance of the Sex Workers' Art Show at the College of William and Mary in 2008, McDonnell forbade the sale of the group's books on school grounds. McDonnell took the side of defecting Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
Episcopalians
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
in a property lawsuit over the right of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
The Diocese of Virginia is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America encompassing 38 counties in the northern and central parts of the state of Virginia. The diocese was organized in 1785 and is one of the Episcopal Church's nine original dioceses. However, the diocese has...
to retain church properties.
In February 2009, McDonnell resigned as Attorney General to campaign full time for the Governorship of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
in the 2009 election
Virginia gubernatorial election, 2009
The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2009 took place on November 3, 2009. The election chose Bob McDonnell as the next Governor, Bill Bolling re-elected as Lieutenant Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli as the next Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The winners were inaugurated on January...
.
Candidate for governor
McDonnell announced his candidacy for the 2009 Virginia Gubernatorial election at American Legion's Boy's State of Virginia 2007, making him the seventh consecutive elected Attorney General to run. The statewide candidates, including McDonnell as Governor, were selected at a Republican State convention rather than a primary. Fewer than two weeks later, State Senator R. Creigh Deeds won his party’s nomination in a primary, setting up a "rematch" from the state attorney general's race four years earlier.In early June, Creigh Deeds possessed a slight edge with a 47%-41% advantage in the early polls. As the campaign continued to progressed, the polls shifted toward McDonnell's favor, giving him even a commanding lead in some. When the Washington Post released McDonnell's thesis from Regent University, McDonnell's lead dwindled to only two percentage points per Rasmussen polling. As the election proceeded, McDonnell's campaign regained steam. McDonnell defeated opponent Creigh Deeds in the general election by a vote of 59%-41%, receiving the highest percentage of the vote for any candidate for governor since 1961. At the same time, the other two statewide offices on the ballot were also won by Republicans.
Issues
In a political and economic climate marked by the late-2000s recession, McDonnell promised that his priority as Governor would be employment for Virginians, with such campaign slogans as, "Bob's for Jobs". He supported right-to-work law
Right-to-work law
Right-to-work laws are statutes enforced in twenty-two U.S. states, mostly in the southern or western U.S., allowed under provisions of the federal Taft–Hartley Act, which prohibit agreements between labor unions and employers that make membership, payment of union dues, or fees a condition of...
s, low operating cost of government and a simplified tax code
Tax code
In the UK, every person paid under the PAYE scheme is allocated a tax code by HM Revenue and Customs. This is usually in the form of a number followed by a letter suffix, though other 'non-standard' codes are also used. This code describes to employers how much tax to deduct from an employee. The...
. Having lived in various parts of the state, his road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own".
The McDonnell campaign strategy cast itself as focusing on economic issues, transportation, and public safety. Bob McDonnell's proposals included new job initiatives, boosting Virginia’s tourism, hospitality, and film industries, making Wallops Island
Wallops Island
Wallops Island is a island off the east coast of Virginia, part of the barrier islands that stretch along the eastern seaboard of the United States of America.It is located in Accomack County, Virginia...
the top commercial spaceport in America, and expanding growth in rural Virginia. McDonnell proposed measures that would move $480 million per year from school administration and put it directly into the classroom; establish more specialised high schools to support high-demand industries; increase online learning through virtual school
Virtual school
A virtual school or cyberschool describes an institution that teaches courses entirely or primarily through online methods. Though there are tens of thousands of commercial and non-accredited courses available online, the term "virtual school" is generally reserved for accredited schools that teach...
s; and support educational mentoring programs. McDonnell has frequently expressed his support for President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
’s ideas on increasing parental choice through charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
s.
Abortion
Identifying as pro-lifePro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
, McDonnell campaigned as an opponent of elective abortion. As a state legislator, he was the lead sponsor for legislation that would have banned partial birth abortion
Late-term abortion
Late termination of pregnancy or late-term abortions are abortions which are performed during a later stage of pregnancy. Late-term abortions are more controversial than abortion in general because the fetus is more developed and sometimes viable.-Definition:A late-term abortion often refers to an...
s, as well as legislation requiring parental consent
Parental consent
Parental consent laws in some countries require that one or more parents consent to or be notified before their minor child can legally engage in certain activities....
before a minor has an abortion and informed consent for women seeking an abortion. He opposed state and federal government funding for elective abortions.
Energy
McDonnell advocated making Virginia the energy capital of the East Coast. He supported drilling for oilOffshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast
Offshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast for oil and gas took place from 1947 to the early 1980s. Oil companies drilled 5 wells in Atlantic Florida state waters and 51 exploratory wells on federal leases on the outer continental shelf of the Atlantic coast. None of the wells were completed as...
off of the coast of Virginia while simultaneously developing new technologies for wind
Wind energy
Wind energy is the kinetic energy of air in motion; see also wind power.Total wind energy flowing through an imaginary area A during the time t is:E = ½ m v2 = ½ v 2...
, solar, biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
, and other renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
resources. He intends to expand investments in renewable energy sources and incentivize green job creation.
Gun rights
McDonnell campaigned as a gun rights advocate. He holds an "A" rating from the NRANational Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
Political Victory Fund and won their endorsement in his 2009 campaign for Governor.
Same-sex marriage
McDonnell advocated for a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman, and therefore opposes same-sex marriage.Transportation
McDonnell's campaign also turned to transportation, a major issue in heavily congested areas of Virginia, advocating issuing $3 billion in transportation bonds that had been approved by the Virginia General Assembly in 2007 but not funded with a revenue source, modernizing the Virginia Department of Transportation, and encouraging public-private partnerships to improve infrastructure. He has supported widening I-66Interstate 66
Interstate 66 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. As indicated by its even route number, it runs in an east–west direction. Its western terminus is at Middletown, Virginia, at an intersection with Interstate 81; its eastern terminus is in Washington, D.C., at an...
inside the Beltway, improving I-95, and finishing the Metrorail to Dulles Airport
Silver Line (Washington Metro)
The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, formally dubbed the Silver Line, is an extension of the Washington Metro rapid transit system, currently under construction with the goal of providing rapid transit service to Dulles International Airport and Tysons Corner...
project.
Transparency
During McDonnell's campaign, he criticized then-Governor Tim KaineTim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
for not disclosing his full schedule and for making out-of-state political appearances as Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
. McDonnell stated, "The citizens must be certain that the governor is attending to the duties for which he was elected. The governor is Virginia's chief executive and represents the commonwealth at all times." In March 2010, McDonnell received similar criticism for disclosing very few meetings or political appearances on his publicly released schedule.
Thesis
McDonnell's 1989 thesis for Regent UniversityRegent University
Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as Christian Broadcasting Network University. A satellite campus located in...
was a 93-page document titled The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade. The document explored the rise in the numbers of divorces and illegitimate births, and examined public policies that may have contributed to that increase and proposed solutions. The document gained attention in the campaign because it outlined a 15-point conservative agenda, including 10 points McDonnell pursued during his years in the General Assembly, according to press analysis.
This agenda includes opposition to abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, support for school vouchers and covenant marriage
Covenant marriage
In some parts of the United States, a covenant marriage is a legally distinct kind of marriage, in which the marrying couple agree to obtain pre-marital counseling and accept more limited grounds for divorce...
, and tax policies that favor heterosexual families. In his thesis, McDonnell wrote "government policy should favor married couples over 'cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators.'" McDonnell "described working women and feminists as 'detrimental' to the family."
McDonnell "criticized a landmark 1965 Supreme Court decision
Griswold v. Connecticut
Griswold v. Connecticut, , was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution protected a right to privacy. The case involved a Connecticut law that prohibited the use of contraceptives...
" which legalized the use of contraceptives, writing that "man's basic nature is inclined towards evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse, or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter." McDonnell responded to the article, stating "Virginians will judge me on my 18-year record as a legislator and attorney general and the specific plans I have laid out for our future -- not on a decades-old academic paper I wrote as a student during the Reagan era
Reagan Era
The Reagan Era or Age of Reagan is a periodization of recent American history used by historians and political observers to emphasize that the conservative "Reagan Revolution" led by President Ronald Reagan in domestic and foreign policy had a permanent impact...
and haven't thought about in years."
The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
reported that McDonnell maintained: "Like everybody, my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older." McDonnell says his evolved position on family policy is best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation where he "worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work".
Campaign organization and financial support
McDonnell's campaign headquarters was located in Richmond. His campaign finance report for September 15, 2009 indicates that he had nearly 1,500 more new donors than the Deeds campaign had total donors, a total of 6,239 donors, 4,946 of them new.The McDonnell For Governor campaign printed a variety of bumper stickers appealing to many interest groups, including "Women for McDonnell", "Sportsmen for McDonnell", and "Independents for McDonnell". Some appealed to the diverse minority groups throughout the Commonwealth. Some featured the mascots of select public universities such as the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, Virginia Tech, James Madison University
James Madison University
James Madison University is a public coeducational research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the university has undergone four name changes before settling with James Madison University...
, Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
, and Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
. "Irish for McDonnell" stickers were printed for the select Virginia residents who attended the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
as well. His road-side billboard varied with geographic location, describing him as "Tidewater's Own", "Northern Virginia's Own" and "Fairfax's Own."
Endorsements
McDonnell was endorsed by Sheila JohnsonSheila Johnson
Sheila Crump Johnson is the team president, managing partner, and governor of the WNBA's Washington Mystics, a position she gained before the 2005 season. On May 24, 2005, Washington Sports and Entertainment Chairman, Abe Pollin, sold the Mystics to Lincoln Holdings LLC, where Johnson served as...
, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
and owner of the Washington Mystics
Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...
; Virginia AgPAC: the Political Action Committee of the Virginia Farm Bureau, representing over 147,000 members; the Virginia Association of Realtors, the largest trade association in Virginia with over 33,000 Members; The Virginia Credit Union League, a trade association representing the Commonwealth’s 194 not-for-profit credit unions and the 3 million member-owners residing in Virginia; The Virginia Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a group whose membership consists of over 6,000 small businesses across Virginia; and the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
, which reversed its pro-Deeds 2005 endorsement for Attorney General.
Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia
On January 16, 2010, McDonnell was inaugurated as the 71st governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, succeeding Kaine as governor. This was the first inaugural ceremony to occur on the newly renovated steps of the Virginia State Capitol. In keeping with tradition, McDonnell signed executive orders after taking the oath. Instead of keeping with a 30-year practice by signing an executive order banning discrimination in state employment (which he later signed on February 5), McDonnell signed orders establishing a Commission on job creation and a Virginia Commission on Government Reform and RestructuringVirginia Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring
The Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring is an advisory group that will make recommendations to the Governor on how to improve the operation of Virginia's government...
.
Two of McDonnell's appointments drew criticism. On May 7, 2010, McDonnell appointed Fred Malek
Fred Malek
Frederic Vincent "Fred" Malek is the former President of Marriott Hotels and Northwest Airlines and former assistant to United States Presidents Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush. Malek served as a National Finance Committee co-chair of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign...
to chair a 31-member advisory commission
Virginia Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring
The Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring is an advisory group that will make recommendations to the Governor on how to improve the operation of Virginia's government...
on reforming state government. On May 10, 2010, several Democratic members of the Legislature criticized the appointment due to Malek's controversial actions as personnel director in the Nixon White House and due to a 2007 SEC investigation settlement. On May 25, 2010, McDonnell was asked about the Malek appointment and stated that he was not aware of Malek's role in the Nixon Administration, a remark which State Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) told the Washington Post that McDonnell's claim was "absolutely stunning and, frankly, beyond belief."
McDonnell also nominated Robert C. Sledd to Secretary of Commerce and Trade, but withdrew the nomination in the face of bipartisan opposition prompted by Sledd's refusal to give up paid outside corporate directorships.
On January 27, 2010, McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's State of the Union Address
2010 State of the Union Address
The 2010 State of the Union Address was given by United States President Barack Obama on January 27, 2010, to a joint session of Congress. It was aired on all the major networks starting at 9 p.m. ET...
. The response was delivered to GOP lawmakers and invited friends in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
. Critics have argued that the use of House chamber for McDonnell's speech did not comply with House Rule 82.
Since McDonnell's election as Governor in November 2009, he has shifted his fundraising activities to his "Opportunity Virginia PAC" which has raised $1,194,934 through June 2010. Many of these donations came from industries regulated by the state.
In April 2010, McDonnell renegotiated and extended a contract for outsourcing the state's computer operations to Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
. At that time, McDonnell proposed legislation which was adopted to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency
Virginia Information Technologies Agency
The Virginia Information Technologies Agency is an executive department which provides computer services to other Virginia departments and agencies...
report to the Governor instead of an independent board. Subsequently, McDonnell was criticized when the Northrup computer systems experienced a week-long computer outage from August 25 through September 2, 2010. As a result, as many as 45,000 citizens could not renew their drivers licenses prior to their expiration. Computer systems for 26 of the state's 89 agencies were affected. An estimated 4,240 driver's license and ID card applicants have been asked to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get their photos taken again after an Aug. 25 computer outage left their original photos unrecoverable. The system also experienced an unrelated outage on August 9. Subsequently, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $250,000 to fund a state investigation of the computer outage.
The 2010 session of the General Assembly passed a bill exempting certain veterans' organizations from the registration and reporting requirements that apply to most charities which solicit donations in Virginia. The bill was introduced at the request of Bobby Thompson, director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, who has made large contributions to certain Republican candidates. After the bill passed both the House and Senate, newspaper accounts of that charity's questionable practices caused a sponsor of the bill to request McDonnell to veto it, however the governor signed the bill into law notwithstanding those requests. As a result, the organization, which is under investigation in New Mexico (which barred the USNVA before the Virginia bill was signed), Florida and Missouri, as well as other non profit veterans' organizations will not have to report to Virginia on how they spend the donations that they receive. However, McDonnell later donated to charity the $5,000 campaign contribution that he had received from Thompson. In August 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that a nation-wide arrest warrant had issued for Bobby Thompson, who had stolen the identity and Social Security Number of a victim who was not connected to the USNVA. Corday stated, "We know he bilked Ohioans out of at least $1.9 million, and we estimate that nationally he collected at least $20 million."
In January 14, 2011, McDonnell issued a directive ordering the Department of Conservation and Recreation to cease enforcing regulations that prohibit people from openly carrying firearms in state parks. He has also given preliminary approval to amend the regulations to allow people to carry open or concealed firearms in state forests. The regulations were already amended in 2003 to allow concealed weapons on park property.
On August 15, 2011, McDonnell was named chairman of the Republican Governors Association
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
.
Social issues
On February 5, 2010, McDonnell signed an executive order that prohibits discrimination "on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political affiliation, or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities", reversing protections for gays and lesbians in Virginia, and rescinding the order that Gov. Kaine signed on January 14, 2006, which had covered all of these groups. McDonnell previously challenged Kaine's executive order (which was similar to the one issued by Kaine's predecessor Mark WarnerMark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...
) by issuing an opinion as Attorney General stating that issuing such a change in public policy was "within purview of General Assembly and, therefore, beyond scope of executive authority and is unconstitutional". After criticism from some gay rights groups, McDonnell issued an executive directive (which unlike an executive order, does not have the force of law) that prohibits employment discrimination because of sexual orientation without a rational basis.
On April 2, 2010, at the request of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Governor McDonnell issued a proclamation designating April 2010 as "Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
History Month" following similar designations by two of his Republican predecessors, George Allen
George Allen (U.S. politician)
George Felix Allen is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the son of former NFL head coach George Allen. Allen served Virginia in the state legislature, as the 67th Governor, and in both bodies of the U.S. Congress, winning election to the Senate in 2000...
and James S. Gilmore. However, the last two governors, who were Democrats, did not designate such a month. Unlike Gilmore's proclamation, which included anti-slavery language, McDonnell's initial proclamation left out any direct mention of slavery, drawing criticism from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the NAACP. When initially asked why he had made the omission, McDonnell stated that "there were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia."
On April 7, 2010, McDonnell conceded that omitting slavery from his proclamation was "a major omission", apologized and amended the document. McDonnell had previously refused to rule out the possibility that he would run for Vice President in 2012; while news analysts Chris Cillizza, Mark Plotkin, and Teddy Davis have speculated that the mistake may have a significant adverse impact on McDonnell's chances for a future Vice Presidential nomination, a May 22 Time Magazine article described McDonnell as "a politician who inexplicably kneecapped himself is clawing his way back." On September 24, 2010, McDonnell addressed an academic conference on slavery and announced that he will declare April 2011 as "Civil War in Virginia" month rather than "Conferederate History Month". He also called the April 2010 proclamation an "error of haste and not of heart."
In December 2009, Governor Tim Kaine
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
started a process which would extend Virginia employee health benefits to same-sex partners. At McDonnell's request, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli
Ken Cuccinelli
Kenneth Thomas 'Ken' Cuccinelli II is a U.S. politician and the Attorney General of Virginia. From 2002 until January 16, 2010 he was a Republican member of the Senate of Virginia, representing the 37th district in Fairfax County...
issued a legal opinion that this change to the coverage of the state's health plan could not be made without explicit legislation authorizing it, thereby halting the administrative process to make the change. However, McDonnell did sign a law which wouid allow Virginia employers to offer private insurance coverage for employees' same-sex partners, after the bill passed with bipartisan support.
In a decision that drew international controversy, McDonnell declined to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment in the case of Teresa Lewis
Teresa Lewis
Teresa Wilson Bean Lewis was an American who was the only woman on death row in Virginia prior to her execution. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection for using sex and money to arrange for the murders of her husband and stepson in October 2002...
, who was executed on September 23, 2010. She became the first woman executed in Virginia since 1912 and was borderline mentally retarded.
Voting rights restoration for felons
In April 2010, McDonnell drew criticism from black leaders and civil rights groups when a draft policy proposal was mistakenly sent to 200 felons, informing them of his decision to require a written essay from each applicant seeking to have voting and other civil rights restored. Previously, applicants for restored voting rights were required to fill out a one page application. Only Virginia and Kentucky require the Governor to act on individual requests for restoring voting rights.On May 21, McDonnell announced new policy on the issue of restoration of rights, imposing a 60-day deadline for his administration to act on an application once all of the required documentation is received from the applicant and the courts; reducing to two years from three years the time nonviolent felons must wait to apply for restoration of rights, and cutting to one year from two years the waiting period for reapplication if a request is denied. Of the new policy, Democratic Delegate David Englin commented, "By establishing a timely and more clearly defined process for non-violent ex-offenders seeking to have their rights restored, the Governor’s new policy has the potential make an important step in the right direction." On July 19, McDonnell restored voting rights for 506 felons out of a total of 574 eligible applications. As of September 26, 2010, McDonnell restored the rights of 780 of 889 applicants.
Transportation
On April 30, 2010, McDonnell authorized issuing $493 million in transportation bonds in May 2010 and an additional $1.493 billion over the five years to finance previously approved transportation projects. The bonds were a part of a transportation package enacted three years ago, but the bonds were not issued while Republican State Delegate Robert Marshall filed a lawsuit challenging the Constitutionality of that package and while certain transportation notes issued during the Gilmore AdministrationJim Gilmore
James Stuart "Jim" Gilmore III is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia, former 68th Governor of Virginia, and a member of the Republican Party. A native Virginian, Gilmore studied at the University of Virginia, and then served in the U.S. Army as a counterintelligence agent...
had not been paid off. Critics note that Virginia lacks a revenue source to amortize these new bonds. On December 9, 2010, McDonnell announced a revised transportation funding plan which includes both $1.8 billion in bonds that had been approved in 2007, as well as an additional $1.1 billion of s which McDonnell proposes to pay back from future federal transportation funds. He also proposed to spend $150 million from the 2009-2010 budget surplus and $250 million from reducing the reserves that ongoing projects carry to protect against gasoline tax revenue shortfalls. On January 9, 2011, McDonnell proposed funding projects to address traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton roads by diverting 0.25% of the sales tax collected in those areas from the General Fund into the transportation fund. Legislation is required to implement McDonnell's proposal, and Democrats responded that the revenues were needed in the General Fund for schools and public safety and that the projected revenues were insufficient to make a difference on highway needs.
On May 10, 2010, McDonnell filed an application with the Federal Highway Administration
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...
(FHA) seeking permission to collect tolls on Interstate 95
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, Providence, New Haven, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore,...
near the North Carolina border. The highway had been constructed with taxpayer funds, 90% from the federal government and 10% from Virginia gasoline taxes. However, Virginia claims that they do not have sufficient revenues to maintain I-95 at a safe level and proposes a toll booth to raise a projected $30 to $60 million annually. McDonnell is asking FHA to authorize the toll under its "Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program."
In 2008, the Federal government and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess...
(WMATA) reached an agreement for federal funding of $1.5 billion in capital improvements contingent on Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and the District of Columbia pledging to develop dedicated funding for the Metro system. WMATA is an interstate compact founded in 1967 with a board of directors whose members are appointed by each local jurisdiction in its service area, including four from Virginia appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission is an independent agency in the Commonwealth of Virginia to promote and improve transportation. It covers the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and the Cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax. NVTC manages the Northern Virginia...
(NVTC). In June 2010, McDonnell threatened to withhold Virginia's WMATA funding unless the composition of WMATA's board is modified to allow Virginia's Governor to appoint two of the four Virginia seats. Currently, the interstate compact establishing WMATA specifies that its Virginia members are selected by the NVTC. In turn, Virginia law specifies that local jurisdictions appoint that Commission's members. Rather than proposing to amend either law, McDonnell merely threatened to withhold Virginia's "dedicated" matching funds if the NVTC did not appoint two people that he selected instead of appointing representatives from local jurisdictions. On June 17, 2010, Federal Transit Administrator
Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...
Peter Rogoff required a formal commitment from Virginia to match its share of the federal funds if the federal funding is to continue. On June 24, 2010, McDonnell withdrew his request to appoint two members of the Metro Board as a precondition for making the scheduled "dedicated" payment under the 2008 agreement. On July 1, 2010, the WMATA Board of Directors approved an agreement with Virginia to provide its share of matching funds without regard to McDonnell's request for Board seats. Based on this agreement, the federal funds were reconfirmed, and WMATA was able to activate a $886 million contract for 428 new metrorail cars.
Health care
In April 2010, McDonnell signed a bill seeking to nullify the insurance purchase requirement in the then proposed federal health care legislationPatient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
. On March 10, 2010, before Congress finished its final consideration of the package, a bipartisan Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act passed the General Assembly by a 80-17 majority, which McDonnell signed on March 24, 2010. McDonnell supports Virginia's legal challenge to the Constitutionality of the final Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
. Although abortion funding was not debated during the regular session of the General Assembly, McDonnell raised the issue through the use of his amendatory veto power. During the April 21, 2010 veto session, the Virginia legislature passed restrictions on state public funding for elective abortion except in the instances of rape, incest, life of the mother, or life threatening fetal anomaly.
Education
In Virginia, public schools are funded from both local real estate taxes as well as state general funds under a formula that attempts to assure minimum state-wide standards called "The Standards of Quality." Virginia also earmarks revenues from its state lottery for education. Outgoing Governor Tim Kaine proposed $11.4 billion for K-12 education in the 2010-2012 budget. On February 17, 2010, McDonnell proposed $268.8 million in additional cuts. McDonnell's cuts included 1) changing the formula for measuring the ability of localities to pay for education, 2) reducing funding for technology expenditures, and 3) reducing funding under the Standards of Quality.The House adopted $620 million in education cuts, and the Senate adopted a budget with $133 million in education cuts. The final, signed budget cut over $646 million for public schools.
Because K-12 education comprises 37% of the general fund budget, critics note that McDonnell's proposal to fund transportation bonds from the general fund would result in further education cuts in future years. McDonnell disagrees, saying he’ll lean heavily on growth in revenues rather than pulling from existing money.
Although McDonnell supported the Race to the Top
Race to the Top
Race to the Top, abbreviated R2T, RTTT or RTT, is a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education competition designed to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education...
federal education funding program during McDonnell's campaign for governor, on May 26, 2010, McDonnell withdrew Virginia from the second round of "Race to the Top
Race to the Top
Race to the Top, abbreviated R2T, RTTT or RTT, is a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education competition designed to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education...
". Virginia had finished 31st out of 41 states in the first round; McDonnell decided that Virginia should not file its application for the second round because he erroneously believed the competition required the use of multi-state education performance standards instead of Virginia's current standards. However, the use of common performance standards were not required and counted for 40 points out of a possible 500 total points in evaluating state proposals. McDonnell later stated on MSNBC that the Race to the Top rules precluded participating states from adopting more rigorous standards in addition to whatever multi-state standards they join. However, the "Race to the Top" regulations award the points even if states adopt standards more rigorous than the optional, common standards.
Offshore drilling
Previously, the General Assembly passed a bill in 2006 that would allow exploratory gas drilling 50 miles off the coast. On March 11, 2010, McDonnell signed into law bipartisan offshore drilling legislation that would allow the drilling for oil and gas in federal waters 50 miles or more off the coast of Virginia if also permitted by the Federal government. (see Offshore drilling on the US Atlantic coastOffshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast
Offshore drilling on the US Atlantic coast for oil and gas took place from 1947 to the early 1980s. Oil companies drilled 5 wells in Atlantic Florida state waters and 51 exploratory wells on federal leases on the outer continental shelf of the Atlantic coast. None of the wells were completed as...
). The plan has been criticized by some environmentalists and Democrats who argue that tourism and wildlife would be threatened and that oil drilling would not make a difference in achieving long-term energy independence. Congressman Moran, among others, argued further that most of the proposed drilling area was located in an area reserved for naval operations.
McDonnell advocated drilling off the Virginia coast of the Atlantic Ocean as a possible revenue source for the state. However, under current law, Virginia will not receive any revenues from drilling in federal waters, which includes all drilling sites more than 3 miles off the coast. On May 6, 2010, the Department of Interior suspended the proposed auction of offshore Virginia leasing rights. Congressman James P. Moran (D-Va), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Interior Department, issued a statement commending the decision. On May 18, Moran forwarded to McDonnell a Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
report finding that the proposed lease site would interfere with naval operations. On May 25, McDonnell reaffirmed his interest in having oil drilling off the Virginia coast notwithstanding the BP oil spill and the inability of Virginia to get any of the royalty income from such drilling under current law. On May 27, President Obama announced that the offshore Virginia lease sale was cancelled. Subsequently, McDonnell has proposed continuing a federal environmental study of drilling off the Virginia coast or drilling for just gas and not oil. However, experts have said that liquids are almost always produced with gas offshore.
Budget
On December 18, 2009, outgoing Governor Tim KaineTim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
proposed a two-year $76.8 billion spending plan for adoption by the incoming state legislature. Kaine's budget proposed to rationalize state revenues by increasing the income tax while lowering property taxes and other fees. As incoming Governor, McDonnell refused to publicly recommend any modifications to Kaine's budget and instead worked with the House of Delegates to bring Kaine's plan up for a quick vote and defeat. Privately, McDonnell advocated cutting $300 million from health programs, $730 million from K-12 education, changing the state retirement system, and requiring 10 days of furloughs for state employees, all to offset a $2.2 billion budget shortfall over 2010-2012. On February 17, 2010, after political pressure, the Governor publicly released his proposed cuts. The Democratic-controlled Senate adopted a budget which restored a number of budget cuts to education, health and human services, and a House-Senate conference managed to work out a compromise on March 14 containing about $250 million in cuts before the expiration of the legislative session. However, a number of interest groups lobbied the Governor to use his amendatory veto power to alter the adopted budget.
On April 14, 2010, McDonnell proposed 96 budget amendments to the two-year 2010-2012 budget resulting in $42.1 million in spending increases and $51 million in additional budget cuts, tax increases, and court fees for criminals. He proposed to increase spending by $15 million to give incentives for SRI
SRI
Sri may refer to:*Sri, a Hindu honorific; not to be confused with Sir, a title of respect used in several modern contexts*Sri Lanka, an island state at the south tip of India, formerly called Ceylon*SRi, a car specification badge...
and Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
to keep offices in Virginia. To boost revenue, McDonnell proposed raising $7.2 million by increasing the fines on motorists who exceed the speed limit. He proposes to cut an additional $9.9 million from state funded programs for at-risk and troubled children and proposed cutting $600,000 from state grants to public radio and television stations. McDonnell also issued amendatory vetoes on non-budget legislation. For example, although Virginia has provided free electronic filing of tax returns for years, his veto would outsource electronic filing to firms that would charge a fee for that service. McDonnell also amended a bill that would authorize Planned Parenthood car license plates to prohibit Planned Parenthood from spending the funds raised from those "affinity" license plates on abortions. The Legislature met to vote on the Governor's amendments on April 21. A bipartisan majority accepted some of McDonnell's proposed cuts while rejecting others including those to public broadcasting, the funding for at-risk and troubled children and the shifting of Virginia Medicaid mental health program to a managed-care plan.
Results from 2010 Fiscal Year
The first budget enacted under the McDonnell administration took effect on July 1, 2010. Two of McDonnell's legislative initiatives did increase the surplus for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. First, the budget bill accelerated the payment of state sales taxes resulting in a one-time shift of revenues that would otherwise have been collected in July 2010 into the old fiscal year. Second, the budget bill deferred a $620 million payment to the Virginia Retirement System to future years. The end of year surplus will trigger the payment of a 3% bonus to state employees in December 2010. Both Republicans and Democrats responded by asking McDonnell to use the surplus to reverse the Virginia Retirement System deferral.Liquor sales
In August 2010, McDonnell embarked on a promotional tour advocating legislation to sell Virginia's liquor storesVirginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is a state public safety agency providing control, service, revenue and a wide range of services to residents and localities throughout the Commonwealth...
to private owners. McDonnell held eight town hall meetings around the state to discuss the plan. McDonnell argued that retail alcohol sales is not an appropriate state activity and proposes that any sales proceeds could be used to finance transportation needs. Opponents noted that the liquor stores generate $248 million per year for Virginia's general fund.
On September 8, 2010, McDonnell presented his plan for auctioning liquor licenses to his government reform commission. Under the plan, the number of stores selling liquor would triple to 1,000, with the licenses to operate these new stores being auctioned. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Of the 1,000 licenses, 600 would be available to big retailers, whose lawyers and lobbyists helped craft the governor's proposal. An additional 150 licenses would be reserved for package stories, with 250 for small retailers, such as convenience-store operators." McDonnell estimates that winning bidders would pay $265 million for the licenses, and that the state could receive $33 million from selling existing state-owned liquor store properties. In addition $160 million would be collected in wholesale license fees. To make up from the annual loss of general fund revenues from the current state-owned stores, McDonnell proposes a $17.50 per gallon excise tax (which is above the national average and above that charged in neighboring states). He would also charge an annual fee of $500 to $2,000 to each store license holder, and would impose a new 1% gross receipts tax on wholesalers of liquor. Restaurants and bars that chose to purchase alcohol from wholesalers instead of retail outlets would pay a 2.5% tax. Just before the presentation, McDonnell dropped his proposed 1.5% fee on all restaurants and retail establishments that was in earlier drafts of his plan. McDonnell proposed to call a special session of the Virginia legislature in November 2010 to consider the proposal.
The plan drew immediate opposition from conservative lawmakers as a "tax increase". It was also opposed by the 3,000-member Virginia Retail Federation, the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association, and the Virginia Wine Wholesalers Association. The Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy oppose the plan out of concerns that it will increase alcohol consumption. The plan is endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Virginia Transportation Construction Industry, and the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce (which said the plan should be a part of a larger effort to increase transportation funding.)
On the eve of McDonnell taking the plan to the restructuring commission for their endorsement, the Washington Post reported that he modified the plan by dropping the restaurant tax and certain other proposed fees. McDonnell is proposing to set aside over 100 licenses for companies that employ less than 50 people in order to help small, family owned stores. He also wants to give small businesses several years to pay off their auction bids. The Post suggests that "he might call off plans for a November special session" of the General Assembly. On October 4, the Malek commission voted 22 to 3 to endorse McDonnell's modified plan. The Commission proposed a number of cost savings in government operations which would offset the projected $47 million annual revenue loss from selling the ABC liquor stores.
In October 2010, McDonnell's modified plan drew criticism from Republican members of the House of Delegates, including Del. Thomas D. Gear who chairs the House subcommittee that will consider the proposal and Del. Timothy D. Hugo, chair of the House Republican caucus. Concerns heightened when Phil Cox, who heads McDonnell's political action committee, threatened to withhold campaign funds from Republican delegates who fail to support the modified plan. According to the Washington Post, "Delegates have privately complained that the plan was developed with too little input from legislators and too much from lobbyists for retail and alcohol interests." McDonnell is reportedly dropping plans to call a special session in November 2010 to consider the modified plan. On October 22, 2010, McDonnell decided not call a special session, but to instead appoint a "working group" to further refine the plan so that implementing legislation could be on the first day of the 2011 legislative session. McDonnell's working group of Republican legislators, wholesalers, distillers, and retailers seek to develop a compromise that could win adoption by the legislature.
On November 23, 2010, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee released a report which found that the McDonnell proposal had overstated the expected proceeds of liquor store sales and licenses. In response, McDonnell's spokesman said that he is committed to privatization and is considering alternative plans. McDonnell has hired a consultant to formulate a new privatization plan at a cost of $75,000 prior to the new legislative session in January 2011. The Auditors found that McDonnell's proposal would rise the retail price of distilled spirits 11 to 26 percent, which in turn would lead to a drop in liquor sales that could result in a loss of as much as $15.4 million in sales tax revenues.
In what the Washington Post described as "the biggest legislative defeat of his tenure," both houses of the Virginia General Assembly refused to hold hearings on McDonell's plan during the 2011 legislative session. Both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate killed the bill implementing McDonnell's proposal without a vote. McDonnell's director of policy, Eric Finkbeiner told the Post, "Whether we do it this year, next year or the year after, it's going to get done in this administration."
Job creation
McDonnell amended the budget to increase the incentives that a governor can provide employers to relocate to Virginia or to remain in Virginia. He campaigned to have Northrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
relocate its 300-job headquarters to Virginia, but stated that the renewal of Virginia's computer outsourcing contract was not linked to the relocation decision. When Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
announced the closing of the 6,000-job Joint Military Command in August, 2010, McDonnell sought private meetings
to seek to preserve the jobs.
However, McDonnell was disappointed that Secretary Gates would not meet with him to discuss the issue. McDonnell was later included in a meeting between Gates and Virginia's congressional delegation on November 23, 2010.
Reapportionment
McDonnell has played a significant role in the reapportionment conducted in response to the 2010 census. McDonnell appointed his own bipartisan advisory commission on redistricting. In a special session of the General Assembly, the redistricting of both the House of Delegates and the State Senate were passed in single bill that was approved by the House with a 86 to 8 vote and the Senate with a 22 to 18 vote. The bill was developed without regard to the advisory commission's recommendations. On April 15, 2011, McDonnell vetoed the reapportionment bill on the grounds that "the Senate plan is the kind of political gerrymandering that Virginians have ask that we leave in the past." Although McDonnell had the power to amend the bill with his veto, he simply sent it back for the General Assembly to either over-ride the veto or adopt a different bill. Because the Democrats lack the 2/3 majority necessary to over-ride the veto, the State Senate must adopt a new plan. At first, Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw promised to merely readopt the vetoed redistricting map, but has now begun negotiations with the Governor's office regarding a new plan. Republican members of the House and Senate have criticized the Governor for overturning the timetable for approval of new districts prior to the 2011 elections. After lengthy negotiations, on April 28, both houses passed a revised set of district maps and Governor McDonnell announced that he would sign the revised bill.Electoral history
External links
- Governor Bob McDonnell official state site
- Bob McDonnell for Governor official campaign site
- Interview with Governor-Elect Bob McDonnell, Cal Thomas, Townhall.com, December 4, 2009
- New Face for the GOP, Cal Thomas, Townhall.com, December 4, 2009
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