Tim Kaine
Encyclopedia
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine (born February 26, 1958) 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 was elected governor in 2005, after serving as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
and Mayor of Richmond, Virginia.
Kaine was considered a possible choice to be Barack Obama
's running mate in 2008
, but was not ultimately chosen.
On April 5, 2011, Kaine announced his candidacy for the United States Senate
seat in Virginia being left open by the retiring Jim Webb
in 2012 election
after weeks of speculation.
in Saint Paul, Minnesota
, to Mary Kathleen (née Burns) and Albert A. Kaine, a welder
and the owner of a small iron-working shop. Kaine grew up in the Kansas City area
and graduated from Rockhurst High School
in Kansas City, Missouri
.
Kaine graduated from the University of Missouri
with a B.A.
in economics
in 1979. Kaine was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978. He attended Harvard Law School
, taking a year-long break during law school to work with the Jesuit order
as a Catholic missionary
in Honduras
. Kaine is fluent in Spanish from his time in Honduras. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1983 with a Juris Doctor
, and was admitted to the Virginia Bar
. In 1984, Kaine married former Richmond Juvenile Court Judge Anne Holton
. Holton is the daughter of former Virginia governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr. Kaine and Holton have three children, Nat, Woody, and Annella.
Kaine practiced law in Richmond for 17 years, specializing in representing people who had been denied housing opportunities because of their race or disability. He was recognized by local, state, and national organizations for his fair housing
advocacy. He also taught legal ethics for six years at the University of Richmond
Law School. More than ten years into his legal career in 1994, he was elected to the city council
of the independent city
of Richmond
from the portion of the city in which he resided under Richmond's system of nine wards.
of Richmond by the city council (which until 2004 chose the mayor from among its membership, rather than the current system of popular vote) in 1998. He spent seven years on the city council, including two terms as mayor.
Under Kaine's leadership, Richmond saw the construction of the first new schools in a generation, tax cuts and a reduction in the city’s crime rate. Richmond’s success in reducing violent crime, including a 55 percent drop in the city's homicide rate during his tenure, earned national recognition from Presidents Clinton and Bush and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Richmond's economic success during Kaine’s tenure earned the city its first-ever listing in Forbes Magazine’s annual ranking of the top 10 cities in America for doing business.
As mayor, Kaine was gained national attention following the implementation of a gun law
known as Project Exile
, an initiative that moved trials for armed defendants in federal court, which has stiffer sentencing guidelines.
During his tenure as Mayor, Kaine drew criticism for designating public funds for an anti-gun-violence rally. After a constituent raised concerns about the funding at a Richmond City Council meeting Kaine raised the money privately, and reimbursed the city.
and won with 925,974 votes (50.35%). His opponents were Republican
state Delegate Jay Katzen with 883,886 votes, (48.06%), and Libertarian
Gary Reams
with 28,783 votes (1.57%). Kaine was inaugurated on January 12, 2002. As lieutenant governor, he served as president of the Virginia Senate.
In 2005, Kaine ran for and won the office of governor of Virginia
in the November general election, defeating Republican former Attorney General
Jerry W. Kilgore
by a margin of 52%-to-46% percent. Kaine said he would look to retain the tax and education policies of his predecessor, Mark Warner, and keep the budget balanced. He held a series of statewide "town hall" meetings focused on transportation.
An underdog for most of the race, Kaine led in some polls for the first time in October 2005, and held his lead into the final week before the election. While the previous Democratic Governor, Mark Warner
, was credited with doing especially well for a Democrat in rural areas of the commonwealth, Kaine's win featured surprising triumphs in traditionally Republican areas such as Virginia Beach
, Chesapeake
, and the Northern Virginia exurbs of Prince William County
and Loudoun County
, as well as impressive showings in Democratic strongholds such as Richmond
and Norfolk
.
Kaine closely associated himself with popular outgoing Democratic Governor Mark Warner
during his campaign; he won his race with a slightly smaller portion of the vote than Warner did, but achieved a slightly wider margin on account of the third-party candidate's comparatively greater success in 2005. He promised homeowner tax relief, centrist fiscal leadership and universal pre-kindergarten. . A number of factors, from the poll numbers of President George W. Bush
to public reaction to the death penalty ads run by Kilgore, have also been cited as key to his decisive win.
Kaine was inaugurated in Williamsburg
on January 14, 2006. This makes Kaine the first governor since Thomas Jefferson
(in 1779) to be inaugurated in Virginia's colonial capital. Virginia's capitol building in Richmond
was under renovation at the time, with the process completed in mid-2007.
Democratic response to State of the Union address
On January 31, 2006, he gave the Democratic response to President Bush's 2006 State of the Union address
. In his response
, he argued that the Republicans failed to support bipartisanship in Washington and condemned Bush's spending increases and tax cuts as "reckless".
Budget special session
In March 2006, after the Virginia General Assembly
failed to create a budget, Kaine called for a special session that continued until June. The debate was over transportation issues and how to fund current and new projects. Most of the debate came from a battle within the Republican controlled Senate and House of Delegates. In 2007, however, a transportation bill was passed and signed into law by Kaine.
Conservation
In May 2006, Governor Kaine announced his plan to conserve 400000 acres (1,618.7 km²) of Virginia real property from development before the end of his administration as Governor of Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia's landowners favor land conservation although Virginia lags behind other states' per capita expenditures on land conservation. As of 2007, according to government statistics, Maryland
spends as much as $21 per capita on land conservation, while Virginia spends $1.45. On the other hand, Virginia also has a higher proportion of its total land area under permanent protection than many other states, with about 13.69% of it currently protected.
Smoking
In June 2006, Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in all government buildings and state-owned cars. He also announced that Virginia will be the first state in the Union to digitize records from the Civil War Era Freedman's Bureau. This will open up research in African-American history after the Civil War.
HPV vaccinations
Kaine has signaled his support for vaccinating sixth-grade girls in Virginia with the HPV vaccine
. In 2007, Virginia, along with 20 other states, was considering a law to expand such vaccinations. As such, in 2007, the Republican-controlled state legislature passed a law that mandated such vaccinations, while allowing parents to opt out of the requirement without citing a reason. After expressing "some qualms", Kaine signed the bill into law.
Virginia Tech massacre
When news of the Virginia Tech massacre
broke, Kaine canceled a trade mission to Japan and India to attend to the situation. Kaine spoke at the convocation held in Blacksburg the day after the shooting in which he invoked the Biblical story of Job. Kaine said he would appoint a panel of independent law enforcement officials to examine what the university knew about the student responsible for the massacre, which killed 32 people. The commission, led by former Virginia State Police
Superintendent Gerald Massengill and former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge
, began work on April 28, 2007, and issued their findings and recommendations on August 30, 2007. On April 30, 2007 Governor Kaine signed an executive order instructing state agencies to step up efforts to block gun sales to people involuntarily committed to inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment centers. Appearing alongside Attorney General Bob McDonnell
(R), Kaine said the order would help prevent people like the shooter from illegally obtaining firearms in the future.
Metro
In July 2007, Kaine supported an above-ground solution to the debate on building the Silver Line
of the Washington Metro
through Tysons Corner
. Some people disagreed and preferred a tunnel.
Education
During the 2008 General Assembly session, Governor Kaine backed $22 million expansion to increase the accessibility of Pre-K education for at-risk four-year-olds.
Omeish resignation
Kaine appointed Dr. Esam Omeish
to the Virginia Commission on Immigration, which was examining whether Virginia should do more to restrict illegal immigration. In September 2007, Omeish resigned as a commission member—as requested by Kaine—three hours after remarks Omeish made were brought to Kaine's attention on a radio call-in show on WRVA radio in Richmond
, specifically his criticisms of the Israel lobby and call for Bush's impeachment due to the Iraq War."I have been made aware of certain statements he has made which concern me," Kaine said while accepting Omeish's resignation. Kaine added that background check
s would be more thorough in the future.
Coal power plant
Kaine earned opposition from environmentalists for supporting a coal-fired power plant in Wise County that will emit an estimated 5.4 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. In a radio interview, Kaine said "We are not going to eliminate coal, a native source that we have, as one of the sources that will power our country."
, often cited during the 2005 campaign
by both sides, he oversaw eleven executions as Governor, including the execution of John Allen Muhammad
, the Beltway Sniper, on November 10, 2009. He has vetoed eight death penalty expansion bills although some of the vetoes were overturned, and opposed the electric chair
as an option. On June 9, 2008, Kaine commuted the death sentence of Percy Levar Walton
to life in prison without parole.
Tim Kaine maintains a faith-based opposition to abortion but he opposes overturning Roe v. Wade
, instead encouraging policymakers to focus on reducing the number of abortions by fighting teen pregnancy through abstinence-focused education, ensuring women's access to health care and contraception, and promoting adoption. He supports some legal restrictions on abortion, such as requiring parental consent and banning partial-birth abortions
in cases where the woman's life is not at risk.
Kaine supports some smart growth
-style policies to manage sprawl and transportation issues; he refers to these plans as "balanced growth."
Kaine endorsed Senator Barack Obama
early in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries
. Kaine's support of Senator Obama's presidential bid
began in February 2007. Kaine's endorsement was claimed to be the first from a state-wide elected official outside of Illinois. As a relatively popular governor of a southern state, there was media speculation that Kaine was a potential nominee for Vice President
. Obama had supported Kaine in his campaign for governor and said about him: "Tim Kaine has a message of fiscal responsibility and generosity of spirit. That kind of message can sell anywhere." On July 28, 2008, Politico.com reported that Kaine was "very, very high" on Obama's shortlist for vice president, a list which also included then Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, Governor Kathleen Sebelius
of Kansas, Senator Evan Bayh
of Indiana and Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware. Obama ultimately tapped Biden to become the vice-presidential nominee.
.
Archived records
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...
politician. Kaine served as the 70th 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....
from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman 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...
from 2009 to 2011. He was elected governor in 2005, after serving as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
The Lieutenant Governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Lieutenant Governor is elected every four years along with the Governor and Attorney General. The office is currently held by Republican William T. Bolling. The governor and lieutenant governor are elected...
and Mayor of Richmond, Virginia.
Kaine was considered a possible choice to be 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 running mate in 2008
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, but was not ultimately chosen.
On April 5, 2011, Kaine announced his candidacy for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat in Virginia being left open by the retiring Jim Webb
Jim Webb
James Henry "Jim" Webb, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Virginia. He is also an author and a former Secretary of the Navy. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
in 2012 election
United States Senate election in Virginia, 2012
The 2012 United States Senate election in Virginia will take place on November 6, 2012 concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S...
after weeks of speculation.
Early life and education
Kaine was born at Saint Joseph's HospitalSt. Joseph's Hospital (St. Paul, Minnesota)
St. Joseph's Hospital is a 253-bed hospital located at 45 W. 10th St. in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. It is one of three tertiary hospitals located in St. Paul and the first hospital in Minnesota and currently a member of the HealthEast Care System....
in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, to Mary Kathleen (née Burns) and Albert A. Kaine, a welder
Welder
A welder is a tradesman who specializes in welding materials together. The materials to be joined can be metals or varieties of plastic or polymer...
and the owner of a small iron-working shop. Kaine grew up in the Kansas City area
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
and graduated from Rockhurst High School
Rockhurst High School
Rockhurst High School is a private, Roman Catholic, Jesuit, preparatory school for boys located in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, on the Missouri-Kansas border along State Line Road....
in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
Kaine graduated from the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
with a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
in 1979. Kaine was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978. He attended Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, taking a year-long break during law school to work with the Jesuit order
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
as a Catholic missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. Kaine is fluent in Spanish from his time in Honduras. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1983 with a Juris Doctor
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...
, and was admitted to the Virginia Bar
Virginia Bar Association
The Virginia Bar Association is a voluntary organization of lawyers in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia.- VBA Mission : is the independent voice of the Virginia lawyer, advancing the highest ideals of the profession through advocacy and volunteer service.- History :The VBA, , was...
. In 1984, Kaine married former Richmond Juvenile Court Judge Anne Holton
Anne Holton
Anne Bright Holton is the wife of former Governor Tim Kaine, serving as First Lady of Virginia from 2006 to 2010.-Early life:Anne Holton was born in Roanoke, Virginia, and is the daughter of A. Linwood Holton, Jr., and Jinks Holton. In 1969, her father was elected as Governor of Virginia, serving...
. Holton is the daughter of former Virginia governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr. Kaine and Holton have three children, Nat, Woody, and Annella.
Kaine practiced law in Richmond for 17 years, specializing in representing people who had been denied housing opportunities because of their race or disability. He was recognized by local, state, and national organizations for his fair housing
Fair housing
In the United States, the fair housing policies date largely from the 1960s. Originally, the terms fair housing and open housing came from a political movement of the time to outlaw discrimination in the rental or purchase of homes and a broad range of other housing-related transactions, such as...
advocacy. He also taught legal ethics for six years at the University of Richmond
University of Richmond
The University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate...
Law School. More than ten years into his legal career in 1994, he was elected to the city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
of the independent city
Independent city
An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
from the portion of the city in which he resided under Richmond's system of nine wards.
Mayor of Richmond
He was elected mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Richmond by the city council (which until 2004 chose the mayor from among its membership, rather than the current system of popular vote) in 1998. He spent seven years on the city council, including two terms as mayor.
Under Kaine's leadership, Richmond saw the construction of the first new schools in a generation, tax cuts and a reduction in the city’s crime rate. Richmond’s success in reducing violent crime, including a 55 percent drop in the city's homicide rate during his tenure, earned national recognition from Presidents Clinton and Bush and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Richmond's economic success during Kaine’s tenure earned the city its first-ever listing in Forbes Magazine’s annual ranking of the top 10 cities in America for doing business.
As mayor, Kaine was gained national attention following the implementation of a gun law
Gun law
A gun law is a law that pertains to firearms. Restrictions on gun ownership and use vary greatly both by country and the type of firearm used....
known as Project Exile
Project Exile
Project Exile was a federal program started in Richmond, Virginia in 1997. Project Exile shifted the prosecution of illegal technical gun possession offenses to federal court, where they carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison under the federal Gun Control Act of 1968,...
, an initiative that moved trials for armed defendants in federal court, which has stiffer sentencing guidelines.
During his tenure as Mayor, Kaine drew criticism for designating public funds for an anti-gun-violence rally. After a constituent raised concerns about the funding at a Richmond City Council meeting Kaine raised the money privately, and reimbursed the city.
Lieutenant governor
In the Virginia general elections of November, 2001, Kaine ran for lieutenant governorLieutenant Governor of Virginia
The Lieutenant Governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Lieutenant Governor is elected every four years along with the Governor and Attorney General. The office is currently held by Republican William T. Bolling. The governor and lieutenant governor are elected...
and won with 925,974 votes (50.35%). His opponents were Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
state Delegate Jay Katzen with 883,886 votes, (48.06%), and Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
Gary Reams
Gary Reams
Gary Reams is a telecommunications industry manager and was the 2001 Libertarian candidate for Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia....
with 28,783 votes (1.57%). Kaine was inaugurated on January 12, 2002. As lieutenant governor, he served as president of the Virginia Senate.
Gubernatorial election
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 November general election, defeating Republican former Attorney General
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...
Jerry W. Kilgore
Jerry W. Kilgore
Jerry Walter Kilgore, , a Republican, is a former Attorney General of Virginia. In the 2005 race for Governor of Virginia, Jerry Kilgore was defeated by then Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine, a Democrat...
by a margin of 52%-to-46% percent. Kaine said he would look to retain the tax and education policies of his predecessor, Mark Warner, and keep the budget balanced. He held a series of statewide "town hall" meetings focused on transportation.
An underdog for most of the race, Kaine led in some polls for the first time in October 2005, and held his lead into the final week before the election. While the previous Democratic Governor, Mark Warner
Mark 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...
, was credited with doing especially well for a Democrat in rural areas of the commonwealth, Kaine's win featured surprising triumphs in traditionally Republican areas such as Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
, Chesapeake
Chesapeake, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...
, and the Northern Virginia exurbs of Prince William County
Prince William County, Virginia
-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...
and Loudoun County
Loudoun County, Virginia
Loudoun County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county is estimated to be home to 312,311 people, an 84 percent increase over the 2000 figure of 169,599. That increase makes the county the fourth...
, as well as impressive showings in Democratic strongholds such as Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
and Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
.
Kaine closely associated himself with popular outgoing Democratic Governor Mark Warner
Mark 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...
during his campaign; he won his race with a slightly smaller portion of the vote than Warner did, but achieved a slightly wider margin on account of the third-party candidate's comparatively greater success in 2005. He promised homeowner tax relief, centrist fiscal leadership and universal pre-kindergarten. . A number of factors, from the poll numbers of President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to public reaction to the death penalty ads run by Kilgore, have also been cited as key to his decisive win.
Kaine was inaugurated 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...
on January 14, 2006. This makes Kaine the first governor since Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
(in 1779) to be inaugurated in Virginia's colonial capital. Virginia's capitol building in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
was under renovation at the time, with the process completed in mid-2007.
Governor of Virginia
On January 31, 2006, he gave the Democratic response to President Bush's 2006 State of the Union address
2006 State of the Union address
The 2006 State of the Union Address was delivered by United States President George W. Bush at 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 to a joint session of the U.S. Congress...
. In his response
Democratic response to 2006 State of the Union address
The response to the 2006 State of the Union Address was delivered by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine on January 31, 2006, after United States President George W. Bush delivered his 2006 State of the Union address. The theme of Kaine's speech, "A Better Way," advocates the Democratic Party's policies...
, he argued that the Republicans failed to support bipartisanship in Washington and condemned Bush's spending increases and tax cuts as "reckless".
Budget special session
In March 2006, after the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
failed to create a budget, Kaine called for a special session that continued until June. The debate was over transportation issues and how to fund current and new projects. Most of the debate came from a battle within the Republican controlled Senate and House of Delegates. In 2007, however, a transportation bill was passed and signed into law by Kaine.
Conservation
In May 2006, Governor Kaine announced his plan to conserve 400000 acres (1,618.7 km²) of Virginia real property from development before the end of his administration as Governor of Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia's landowners favor land conservation although Virginia lags behind other states' per capita expenditures on land conservation. As of 2007, according to government statistics, 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...
spends as much as $21 per capita on land conservation, while Virginia spends $1.45. On the other hand, Virginia also has a higher proportion of its total land area under permanent protection than many other states, with about 13.69% of it currently protected.
Smoking
In June 2006, Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in all government buildings and state-owned cars. He also announced that Virginia will be the first state in the Union to digitize records from the Civil War Era Freedman's Bureau. This will open up research in African-American history after the Civil War.
HPV vaccinations
Kaine has signaled his support for vaccinating sixth-grade girls in Virginia with the HPV vaccine
HPV vaccine
The human papilloma virus vaccine prevents infection with certain species of human papillomavirus associated with the development of cervical cancer, genital warts, and some less common cancers...
. In 2007, Virginia, along with 20 other states, was considering a law to expand such vaccinations. As such, in 2007, the Republican-controlled state legislature passed a law that mandated such vaccinations, while allowing parents to opt out of the requirement without citing a reason. After expressing "some qualms", Kaine signed the bill into law.
When news of the Virginia Tech massacre
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
broke, Kaine canceled a trade mission to Japan and India to attend to the situation. Kaine spoke at the convocation held in Blacksburg the day after the shooting in which he invoked the Biblical story of Job. Kaine said he would appoint a panel of independent law enforcement officials to examine what the university knew about the student responsible for the massacre, which killed 32 people. The commission, led by former Virginia State Police
Virginia State Police
Virginia State Police is a state agency, conceived in 1919 and established in 1932, that acts as the state police force for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The agency originated out of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles as an inspector and enforcer of highway laws...
Superintendent Gerald Massengill and former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge
Tom Ridge
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Ridge is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives , the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania , Assistant to the President for Homeland Security , and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security...
, began work on April 28, 2007, and issued their findings and recommendations on August 30, 2007. On April 30, 2007 Governor Kaine signed an executive order instructing state agencies to step up efforts to block gun sales to people involuntarily committed to inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment centers. Appearing alongside Attorney General Bob McDonnell
Bob McDonnell
Robert Francis "Bob" McDonnell 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...
(R), Kaine said the order would help prevent people like the shooter from illegally obtaining firearms in the future.
Metro
In July 2007, Kaine supported an above-ground solution to the debate on building the Silver Line
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...
of the Washington Metro
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...
through Tysons Corner
Tysons Corner, Virginia
Tysons Corner is an unincorporated census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Part of the Washington Metropolitan Area located in Northern Virginia, Tysons Corner lies between the community of McLean and the town of Vienna along the Capital Beltway . The population was...
. Some people disagreed and preferred a tunnel.
Education
During the 2008 General Assembly session, Governor Kaine backed $22 million expansion to increase the accessibility of Pre-K education for at-risk four-year-olds.
Omeish resignation
Kaine appointed Dr. Esam Omeish
Esam Omeish
Esam S. Omeish is a Libyan-born American physician and chief of the Division of General Surgery at Inova Alexandria Hospital since 2006...
to the Virginia Commission on Immigration, which was examining whether Virginia should do more to restrict illegal immigration. In September 2007, Omeish resigned as a commission member—as requested by Kaine—three hours after remarks Omeish made were brought to Kaine's attention on a radio call-in show on WRVA radio in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, specifically his criticisms of the Israel lobby and call for Bush's impeachment due to the Iraq War."I have been made aware of certain statements he has made which concern me," Kaine said while accepting Omeish's resignation. Kaine added that background check
Background check
A background check or background investigation is the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records and financial records of an individual....
s would be more thorough in the future.
Coal power plant
Kaine earned opposition from environmentalists for supporting a coal-fired power plant in Wise County that will emit an estimated 5.4 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. In a radio interview, Kaine said "We are not going to eliminate coal, a native source that we have, as one of the sources that will power our country."
Cabinet
- Chief of Staff — William Leighty (2006–07), Wayne Turnage (2007–10)
- Secretary of Administration – Viola BaskervilleViola BaskervilleViola Baskerville served as Secretary of Administration in the Cabinet of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine from 2006 to 2010....
(2006–10) - Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry – Robert Bloxom (2006–10)
- Secretary of Commerce and Trade – Patrick Gottschalk (2006–10)
- Secretary of the Commonwealth – Katherine HanleyKatherine HanleyKatherine Keith Hanley is a Democratic politician in Virginia. She served as Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, having been appointed to that post by Governor Tim Kaine following the rejection of his first nominee, state AFL-CIO President Daniel G...
(2006–10) - Secretary of Education – Thomas Morris (2006–10)
- Secretary of Finance – Jody WagnerJody WagnerJody Moses Wagner is an American politician from Virginia Beach, Virginia. A Democrat, she served as State Treasurer of Virginia from January 2002 to January 2006, and as Virginia Secretary of Finance from January 2006 to August 2008...
(2006–2008), Richard D. Brown (2008–10) - Secretary of Health and Human Resources – Marilyn Tavenner (2006–10)
- Secretary of Natural Resources – Preston Bryant (2006–10)
- Secretary of Public Safety – John W. MarshallJohn W. MarshallJohn W. Marshall served as Secretary of Public Safety in the Cabinet of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine from 2006 to 2010, and Governor Mark Warner from 2002 to 2006....
(2006–10) - Secretary of Technology – Aneesh ChopraAneesh ChopraAneesh Paul Chopra is the first Federal Chief Technology Officer of the United States .Chopra previously served as Virginia’s fourth Secretary of Technology. Prior to his government service, Chopra was Managing Director for the Advisory Board Company, a health care think tank for hospitals and...
(2006–09), Leonard M. Pomata (2009–10) - Secretary of Transportation – Pierce Homer (2006–10)
- Assistant for Commonwealth Preparedness – Robert P. Crouch (2006–10)
- Senior Advisor for Workforce – Daniel G. LeBlanc (2006–10)
Political positions
Despite his personal opposition to capital punishmentCapital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, often cited during the 2005 campaign
Virginia gubernatorial election, 2005
The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2005 was a race for the Governor of Virginia, United States, held on November 8, 2005, and won by Democrat Tim Kaine. Virginia is the only state in the United States to prohibit governors from serving successive terms, so the popular incumbent, Mark R...
by both sides, he oversaw eleven executions as Governor, including the execution of John Allen Muhammad
John Allen Muhammad
John Allen Muhammad was a spree killer from the United States. He, along with his younger partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, carried out the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, killing at least 10 people. Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002, following tips from alert...
, the Beltway Sniper, on November 10, 2009. He has vetoed eight death penalty expansion bills although some of the vetoes were overturned, and opposed the electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
as an option. On June 9, 2008, Kaine commuted the death sentence of Percy Levar Walton
Percy Levar Walton
Percy Levar Walton was convicted and sentenced to death in 1997 for the November 1996 murders of Elizabeth and Jessee Hendrick, aged 81 and 80, and Archie Moore, aged 33, in Danville, Virginia....
to life in prison without parole.
Tim Kaine maintains a faith-based opposition to abortion but he opposes overturning Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
, instead encouraging policymakers to focus on reducing the number of abortions by fighting teen pregnancy through abstinence-focused education, ensuring women's access to health care and contraception, and promoting adoption. He supports some legal restrictions on abortion, such as requiring parental consent and banning partial-birth abortions
Intact dilation and extraction
Intact dilation and extraction is a procedure done in late term abortion. It is also known as intact dilation and evacuation, dilation and extraction , intrauterine cranial decompression and, vernacularly in the United States, as partial birth abortion...
in cases where the woman's life is not at risk.
Kaine supports some smart growth
Smart growth
Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a...
-style policies to manage sprawl and transportation issues; he refers to these plans as "balanced growth."
2008 vice presidential speculation
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...
early in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008
The 2008 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. presidential election...
. Kaine's support of Senator Obama's presidential bid
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
began in February 2007. Kaine's endorsement was claimed to be the first from a state-wide elected official outside of Illinois. As a relatively popular governor of a southern state, there was media speculation that Kaine was a potential nominee for Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
. Obama had supported Kaine in his campaign for governor and said about him: "Tim Kaine has a message of fiscal responsibility and generosity of spirit. That kind of message can sell anywhere." On July 28, 2008, Politico.com reported that Kaine was "very, very high" on Obama's shortlist for vice president, a list which also included then Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, Governor Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius is an American politician currently serving as the 21st Secretary of Health and Human Services. She was the second female Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009, the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address, and chair-emerita of the Democratic Governors...
of Kansas, Senator Evan Bayh
Evan Bayh
Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III is a lawyer, advisor and former Democratic politician who served as the junior U.S. Senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011. He earlier served as the 46th Governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997. Bayh is a current Fox News contributor as of March 14, 2011.Bayh first held...
of Indiana and Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware. Obama ultimately tapped Biden to become the vice-presidential nominee.
Democratic Party chairman
In January 2009, Kaine became the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He took the position at the request of President Obama, and during his tenure has overseen a significant expansion of the party's grassroots focus through Organizing for AmericaOrganizing for America
Organizing for America is a community organizing project of the Democratic National Committee. Founded after the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, the group seeks to mobilize supporters in favor of Obama's legislative priorities.-History:...
.
2012 U.S. Senate candidacy
Kaine announced on April 5, 2011 that he is running for United States Senate in 2012. He filmed two announcement videos, one in English and the other in Spanish.Electoral history
External links
- Tim Kaine for U.S. Senate official campaign site
- Biography at the Democratic National CommitteeDemocratic National CommitteeThe 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...
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- 2005 campaign contributions at the Virginia Public Access Project
- Democratic response to State of the Union MSNBC, January 31, 2006, transcript of Governor Kaine's State of the Union Rebuttal
Archived records
- Moving Virginia Forward Tim Kaine's PAC
- Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site, 2007 part of Virginia's Political Landscape, 2007 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory
- Moving Virginia Forward Archived Web Site, 2009 part of Virginia's Political Landscape, 2009 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory
- Tim Kaine for Governor Archived Web Site, 2005-2006 part of Virginia's Political Landscape, Fall 2005 Web Archive Collection at Virginia Memory
- Governor Tim Kaine Administration Web Site Archive, 2006-2010 at Virginia Memory
- A Guide to the Records of Lieutenant Governor Timothy M. Kaine, 1995-2005 (bulk 2002-2005) at The Library of Virginia
- A Guide to the Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Executive Office-Governor, Records, 2005-2009 at The Library of Virginia
- A Guide to the Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Executive Office-Chief of Staff, Records, 2006-2009 at The Library of Virginia
- A Guide to the Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Executive Office-Counselor's Office, Records, 2001-2009 (bulk 2006-2009) at The Library of Virginia
- A Guide to the Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Policy Office Records, 2002-2010 (bulk 2006-2009) at The Library of Virginia
- A Guide to the Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Press Office Records, 2004-2010 (bulk 2006-2009) at The Library of Virginia
- A Guide to the Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Senior Advisor to the Governor for Workforce Records, 2006-2009 at The Library of Virginia
- A Guide to the Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Latino Liaison Records, 2004-2009 at The Library of Virginia