Va. Assembly Wraps; Kaine Cuts Losses

Governor's Agenda Largely Unrealized Despite Budget, Smoking Ban Successes

By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 1, 2009; C01



RICHMOND -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine oversaw the conclusion of his final General Assembly session last night, virtually assuring he will leave office without fulfilling his most conspicuous campaign promise: to resolve Virginia's transportation mess.

Facing the worst economic crisis in generations and stiff resistance from Republican lawmakers who felt burned by past efforts at compromise, the commonwealth's 70th governor discovered that the ambitious agenda he laid out to voters in 2005 would remain largely beyond his reach.

As the gavel fell Saturday night on the 2009 legislative session, he acknowledged leaving his efforts to address vexing traffic issues unfinished and his pledge to fund pre-kindergarten programs statewide unresolved. But Kaine, ever upbeat, said he found other ways to deliver for voters, including Saturday's accord on revisions to the state's $77 billion budget and last month's decision to impose a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants and bars.

"There are things I wanted to do that I will not get done, and then there are things I have gotten done that I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams," Kaine said in an interview. "It's been a weird three years."

The House and Senate adjourned about 8:45 p.m., signaling to Kaine that they had completed their work. The close of this year's session marks the start of a 10-month transition for Kaine from elected chief executive to full-time chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

During a rare moment of self-reflection, Kaine said Wednesday night that he thinks he's done a "pretty good job" as governor of the nation's 12th-largest state.

"You know, I would have gotten more done had I had more money to deal with it," Kaine said. "But, you know, in some ways . . . it might be better to have a friend when times are tough than when times are good."

Some of Kaine's greatest accomplishments were the product of his ferocious appetite for elective politics, which has resulted in dramatic Democratic gains in traditionally conservative Virginia.

Senate Minority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. (R-James City) said Kaine "will be remembered as the Democratic governor who married into a Republican family and converted them to Democrats."

During his tenure, Kaine has built a reputation for being an unflappable administrator, a quiet promoter of Northern Virginia's increasingly liberal take on social issues and a calming presence after of the Virginia Tech massacre.

But Kaine's governorship has been badly marred by the slumping economy and housing market, forcing him to cut several billion dollars out of his final budget. Kaine has also been at the center of unprecedented partisan division in Richmond, in part a byproduct of Virginia's new status as a swing state in presidential politics.

His plan to offer universal taxpayer-funded pre-kindergarten fell victim to a drop in state revenue, although he noted that he pushed last year to pump an additional $25 million into the program. "We have set it up so the battle over pre-K is not over," Kaine said.

When it came to his biggest legislative priority -- a tax increase to build more roads -- legislators said Kaine showed a surprising inability to broker a deal.

After failing to get a transportation agreement in 2006, GOP leaders fashioned their own proposal in 2007 that relied on regional taxing authorities instead of Kaine's plan for a statewide solution. Kaine reluctantly signed on to the legislative plan, but the Supreme Court ruled that regional authorities did not have the power to raise taxes.

Kaine came back with a proposal to use higher taxes on vehicle purchases, but not even Democrats endorsed it.

William D. Lecos, president of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, said Kaine deserves credit for trying to overcome Republican resistance. But Kaine shares the blame, he said, for continued gridlock on highways in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

"I think the governor could have used his bully pulpit as the leader of the Democratic Party to come up with a plan to at least carry in the General Assembly from his side of the aisle," Lecos said.

Republicans say Kaine's failure largely came down to a blunt partisan approach that was a departure from that of his predecessor, Mark R. Warner (D).

"With Kaine, I never felt a warm, fuzzy feeling where he wanted everyone to take off their political hats," said House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem).

The partisanship in Richmond emerged as an obstacle during Kaine's first weeks in office. Republicans refused to confirm Daniel LeBlanc, the former head of the Virginia AFL-CIO, to be Kaine's secretary of the commonwealth. Griffith said GOP legislators, who were worried LeBlanc would work to overturn the state's right to work laws, saw the appointment as a sign that Kaine "was going to run roughshod" over them.

What followed was an unusually large number of legislative setbacks. Instead of pursuing issues he knew would pass, Kaine pushed measures that appeared designed to test Republicans in the General Assembly.

Last year, Kaine took on gun rights advocates by proposing background checks on weapons purchased at gun shows. He failed. This year, he wanted to double the cigarette tax. The bill didn't get out of a Senate committee. Kaine also pushed for the early release of certain nonviolent inmates, a cost-saving measure that GOP lawmakers saw as an affront to the state's tough-on-crime reputation.

But the governor said that when the final chapter is written he will be known for making sure Virginians -- and the core services they rely on -- escaped the worse of the economic downturn. Any account of his legacy would include the $800 million in funds he set aside to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay and the effort to start forming a comprehensive policy on renewable energy.

Kaine noted that he also has preserved more than 300,000 acres of open space and expects to hit his goal of protecting 400,000 acres by January -- an area the size of Virginia's Eastern Shore. On transportation, Kaine pointed to movement on construction of HOT lanes, and he helped break a bureaucratic logjam so Metro can be extended to Dulles International Airport.

Now, he is preparing to sign into law the new smoking ban, a milestone for a state that built its economy on the tobacco leaf and remains home to the world's largest cigarette manufacturer. During his 2005 campaign, Kaine never discussed wanting to ban smoking in restaurants. But, he said Wednesday, the political dynamics in the state changed, enabling him to launch what he called a "little quixotic campaign against smoking."

Somewhat to Kaine's surprise, Republican House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) agreed to a compromise on the issue.

"I don't mind going out there and just running the draw play up the middle on every play and hoping I break through for a touchdown sometimes," Kaine said.