cover story - Virginia Business

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Citizen
Kaine
Takes the
Wheel
A new governor says fixing transportation is
his top priority, but will the legislature
give him the keys?
Gov.-elect Timothy M. Kaine has held a series of
town hall meetings on transportation since his election.
by Garry Kranz
I
t is early morning when staffers
begin arriving at the transition headquarters of Gov.-elect Timothy M.
Kaine. Seeing visitors in the lobby,
they flash bright smiles before scurrying to a clutch of cubicles where arrangements are under way for Kaine’s Jan. 14
inauguration in Williamsburg. Kaine has
preceded their arrival by a couple of hours,
working out of a makeshift office whose
wide windows provide a panoramic view of
Richmond’s Broad Street. It is fitting that
Kaine’s corner office should look out on
one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. For
as soon as he is sworn in, people expect
Kaine to get Virginia’s gridlocked transportation system moving again.
Kaine made it look easy by comfortably defeating Republican Jerry Kilgore in
November. Fixing transportation won’t be
a snap, though. Even as he basks in the
afterglow of victory, Kaine, 47, suffers no
illusion about the job ahead. His first task:
ensure that the Republican-controlled
General Assembly doesn’t squander an
opportunity to finally make inroads, especially now that there is a budget surplus. “I
10
JANUARY 2006
want to make 2006 a year about transportation,” says Kaine.
How he fares may depend largely on
the mood of majority lawmakers, especially in the Virginia Senate. Kaine is a
Democrat, and Republicans control both
the House of Delegates and the Senate.
Kaine will have to persuade state senators
to cease their recent raids on a special trust
fund set up for transportation. In fact,
Kaine vows to veto any withdrawals from
the trust fund this time around, adding
that he won’t entertain requests for new
spending on transportation without an
“ironclad guarantee” that lawmakers will
quitclaim their right to plunder it at will.
The House of Delegates supports the
idea, but, as Kaine points out, “the Senate
is the challenge. . .I think very highly of the
Senate’s financial acumen and fiscal stewardship. But this is an area where we have
disagreed,” he says.
Technically, it would take a change in
the state’s constitution to lock up the fund,
and that would take several years — time
Kaine doesn’t want to waste. “I’ve never
made the completion of a constitutional
Photo of Kaine courtesy Richmond Times-Dispatch
Traffic photo by Mark Rhodes
Studies have found that traffic
congestion like this in Northern
Virginia is costing residents time
and money.
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amendment a precondition; I’ve never said
that. . . I’ve said I’ve got to have a commitment that I can count on.”
An impasse with the Senate is the last
thing Kaine wants, especially since he
needs to build momentum for new legislative approaches. One idea is to offer financial incentives to localities whose zoning
practices complement existing transportation networks. And as he proved in
November, Kaine is capable of persuading
people with opposing views to come
around to his way of thinking. He won by
capturing 52 percent of the popular vote,
compared to 46 percent for Kilgore. (H.
Russell Potts, a Republican state senator
from Winchester who waged an independent bid, garnered about 2 percent).
The key to Kaine’s victory lies in his force
of personality. He managed to keep his
Democratic base intact while luring a
goodly number of centrists and undecided
voters. And he surprised many political
pundits by carrying several suburban
counties that Republicans usually slamdunk.
His candidacy was undoubtedly
buoyed by the popularity of outgoing Gov.
Mark R. Warner, whose name keeps surfacing as a possible Democratic presidential nominee in 2008, and who recently
was named one of the top five governors in
the nation by Time magazine. Kaine, elected as Warner’s lieutenant governor in
2001, now must step out of Warner’s shadow. There is an old saw that warns about
being careful of what you wish for. Kaine
isn’t the first Virginia governor to face the
prospect of reconciling two incompatible
dynamics: modernizing Virginia’s transportation network, and doing so despite a
glaring shortage of available state money.
He is, however, the first governor whose
legacy could rest on finding a solution to
bridge the divide. Says Larry Sabato, a
noted political analyst who runs the
Center for Politics at the University of
Virginia: “Every governor is known primarily for one thing. For Kaine, that one
thing is going to be transportation. Fairly
or unfairly, he’ll be judged on how well he
handles that issue.”
No need is more urgent. More than
3,000 bridges in Virginia are worn out.
Billions of dollars in state funding are
needed simply to maintain Virginia’s roads
during the next couple of decades, not
including new construction. Northern
Virginia and Hampton Roads, two primary job centers, remain among the most
congested traffic corridors in the nation.
Then there is the booming Port of Virginia
based in Norfolk, which needs better rail
connections to ensure its future growth
and reduce truck traffic in the area.
Immediately after his victory, Kaine
began crisscrossing the state to conduct
town hall-style meetings aimed at galvaniz-
ing everyday Virginians about the transportation predicament. The informal gatherings serve as part photo op, part fact-finding mission. Kaine uses the forums to discuss his ideas, and then invites those in
attendance to voice their opinions. By the
time he takes up residence in the Executive
Mansion this month, Kaine will have
attended between 10 and 15 such meetings.
Still unfolding is what these meetings
will yield in terms of Kaine’s strategy for
addressing transportation. As a long-range
goal, Kaine says he wants to change the
state’s practice of planning roadways without getting input from local governments
about development projects. Part of this
means clarifying — possibly through legislation — “vague and ambiguous” zoning
statutes to help localities understand their
legal grounds for denying development
deals that don’t adequately address traffic
concerns. He also advocates placing conditions on the state subsidies localities receive.
For example, jurisdictions that give transportation a high priority in their land-use
planning could receive higher payments
than localities that don’t take those steps. “I
think we ought to structure the subsidies in
a way to encourage the most productive
behavior and growth strategy,” Kaine says
of his carrot-and-stick approach.
This isn’t a new idea, but Kaine is the
first Virginia politician to get so much
mileage from it. Several business organizations already endorse the concept as a way
to reduce urban sprawl. At present, transportation planning is spearheaded by 14
metropolitan planning organizations, or
MPOs, that represent distinct regions of
the state. Each MPO consists of local elected officials — often the same people who
vote to approve pet projects such as shopping malls or office parks “We need to
make sure that [new] roadways and landuse plans progress hand in hand,” says Jeff
Southard, executive vice president of the
Virginia Transportation Construction
Alliance (VCTA), a road-construction
trade group.
Steve Haner, a lobbyist for the
Virginia Chamber of Commerce, says
Kaine is better suited to deal with the different interest groups coalescing around
transportation, including environmentalists and big-business types. “He has credibility with the smart-growth crowd and
also with the ‘we-don’t-want-to-build-anything’ crowd. I think he may be able to
bring all sides to the table to hash out a
solution, in a way I’m not sure Kilgore
would have been able to do,” says Haner,
VIRGINIA BUSINESS
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also a spokesman for the advocacy group
Virginians for Better Transportation.
time projected to fall well
can’t be what it needs to withshort at about $95 billion.
out rail, in terms of projected
That is according to
passenger demand,” says
Spending the surplus
VTrans2025, a WarnerKaine.
When lawmakers convene this
appointed committee of
Envisioned for nearly
month, much of the debate will focus on
state transportation agency
50 years, the $1.8 billion
how to spend a state surplus. Budget planheads charged with develproject is finally on track. A
ners are forecasting about $1.1 billion in
oping a long-range bluefull funding agreement for
extra money for the next two-year spending
print for transportation.
the federal government’s
cycle (2006-08), or about $550 million a
No matter how small, State Sen. Charles
share of the costs (50 percent)
year. Kaine has to be somewhat careful how
however, the surplus at least R. Hawkins says
is expected in October 2006
he implements his land-use policy to avoid
provides a starting point for the state needs to
with construction of phase 1
dampening enthusiasm in the housing
making critical invest- consider building its
slated for December. Virginia
own rail system.
market, which continues to be a strong ecoments. Plus, it would prowould pay 25 percent of the
nomic driver. New-home sales and mortvide the state with leverage
costs (with money coming
gage refinancing accounted for the lion’s
to attract a greater share of federal matching
from increased tolls along the Dulles Toll
share of the surplus collected in 2004 and
dollars. Consensus appears to be building
Road), and the rest of the revenue will
2005, according to House budget planners.
for accelerating progress on a statewide
come from special tax districts. The 23A robust stock market and strong growth
high-speed rail network. A senate commitmile rail line extension would run from
in corporate income taxes also contributed
tee examining various options is mulling
East Falls Church though Tysons Corner to
to better-than-expected revenue collecpossible legislation to make it easier for
eastern Reston and eventually all the way to
tions.
Virginia to use rail lines near the rights-ofeastern Loudoun County. It’s being built by
Numerous budget items, however,
way of interstate highways. Details would
the Virginia Department of Rail and Public
already lay claim to the stash of new cash.
need to be worked out, but the idea would
Transportation along with several private
Warner’s proposed 2006-08 budget, for
be to use a state-owned rail network to
partners.
example, includes $400 million to replenmove commuter traffic, making sure not to
Rail projects also could alleviate
ish Virginia’s Revenue Stabilization Fund
compete with private rail freight haulers,
another chokepoint: access in South
(better known as the “rainy day fund’),
says state Sen. Charles R. Hawkins, a
Hampton Roads. Traffic snarls are leg$500 million to maintain current service
Pittsylvania Republican who chaired the
endary as tractor-trailers move in and out
levels in the state’s Medicaid program and
committee. “The state needs to look at
of the busy maritime port, another signifi$1.5 billion for public schools. Much of the
building its own rail system, especially
cant nexus that connects Virginia to the
money for this spending is expected to
between population centers, to enable
global economy. Optimism is building
that progress will be made on the
Heartland Corridor, a proposed rail system
that would allow double-stacked trains to
move goods from the port to distribution
markets in the Midwest, thereby cutting
down on truck traffic. The route would
originate in Hampton Roads and end in
Columbus, Ohio. President Bush signed a
transportation bill last year that earmarks
about $90 million for the corridor, whose
total price tag when finished is pegged
around $266 million. The federal money
would pay for linking existing rail systems,
laying new rail lines and raising tunnels
and bridges. Once started, it should take
about five years to complete.
The $1.4 billion tax increase passed by the General
Assembly in 2004 did not address funding for
transportation.
come from the surplus.
Still, Warner carved out $625 million
in general funds for transportation. The
money would advance or complete some
major projects over the next two years. Yet,
the amount is small when compared with
estimated needs. It will take $203 billion
for Virginia to maintain, operate and fund
critical transportation projects of all modes
through 2025, with revenue during that
12
JANUARY 2006
dependable transportation from one point
to another,” says Hawkins.
In fact, this could be the year when
long-neglected transit projects finally get
attention. Kaine supports the speedy construction of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail
project. “I think [Washington Dulles
International Airport] is one of the two
most critical connection points between
Virginia and the world economy. Dulles
The cost of congestion
Still, the surplus doesn’t begin to
address a larger problem. More pressing is
the need for finding new revenue to keep
traffic moving. A recent study by The Road
Information Program, a Washington,
D.C., nonprofit, estimates that traffic congestion costs Virginia motorists about $1.5
billion a year in delays and wasted fuel.
“Our needs can’t be met by one-time infusions of cash from a surplus,” says Southard
of the VCTA. “What’s needed is a longterm source of sustainable revenue.”
Photos courtesy Richmond Times-Dispatch
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To that end, it’s almost certain that
some old ideas will be reprised in the
upcoming session. They include discussions about imposing tolls on state roads,
increased use of public-private partnerships
to build roads, and boosting state fees for
registering motor vehicles. It also could
duced nothing for transportation.
Aside from those concerns, other
questions make higher gas taxes a murky
issue. Some lawmakers contend that the
advent of more fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles makes gas taxes an unreliable source of
long-term revenue. Not only that, but the
increase would need to be significant to
have an impact. “To generate a half a bilPOLL QUESTION
lion dollars, we’d need to increase the gas
tax by about 10 or 12 cents,” which is
Would you support raising the state’s
unrealistic, says Del. Vince Callahan (Rmotor fuels tax to fund transportation?
34th), chairman of the House
Vote at
Appropriations Committee.
www.VirginiaBusiness.com
Any discussion of tax increases may be
moot if Kaine follows through on his vow
to thwart legislators from raiding the transreignite debate about hiking Virginia’s
portation trust fund. Past budget amendmotor fuels tax, which stands at 17.5 cents
ments have been used to trump the
a gallon. The tax generates more than $700
Virginia code, a practice that Kaine calls
million per year and provides much of the
“an outrage” and one he is determined to
funding for the Virginia Department of
end. “I will not support new revenue
Transportation (VDOT). Virginia last
sources unless the legislature indicates once
adjusted the fuels tax in 1986.
and for all that they’re going to give up the
Since then, inflation has eaten away
practice of taking money out of the transabout 43 percent of its value, with most of
portation trust fund and use it for nonthe money going for required highway
transportation purposes. For as important
maintenance. Last year, engineering starts
as transportation investments are to our
on new projects (in the early planning
economic future, credibility and honesty
stages) were only $21 million. Under the
with people is more important,” says
department’s current six-year plan, they’re
Kaine.
up to $50 million, still far behind the $75
“I’m not going to be part of a bait and
million
VDOT
switch,” he adds.
likes to have for
“Unless it’s rock solid
projects in the WEB POINTERS
that these revenues are
pipeline. If current For additional information:
going to be used for
conditions persist, Gov.-elect Timothy M. Kaine
transportation, I’m not
the state will run www.govelect.virginia.gov
going to look people in
out of matching Virginians for Better Transportation
the eye and tell them
dollars needed to www.itstimevirginia.org/
we’ve gotta have more
attract federal high- VTrans2025
[money for transportaway funds by 2021. www.transportation.virginia.gov/VTrans/home tion.]”
Haner, the chamber Virginia Department of Transportation
Resistance to the
lobbyist, already is www.virginiadot.org/
lockbox idea already is
whispering in lawbeing marshaled by
makers’ ears that
some senators. Hawkins
2006 is the best time to tack on an addisays putting trust funds off limits, even for
tional penny to the price consumers pay at
emergency purposes, “limits the General
the gas pump, especially with prices inchAssembly’s ability to govern.” A showdown
ing back down to pre-hurricane levels.
might force Kaine to blink, or risk losing
That would bring in an estimated $50 milthe chance to make his mark in 2006. All
lion of new money.
lawmakers are up for re-election in 2007,
Yet, one has to wonder how keen the
followed by the 2008 presidential election,
appetite is among lawmakers for forcing
with Kaine’s old boss Warner possibly stealVirginians to pay more for fuel, especially
ing the spotlight. That would bring Kaine
in light of last summer’s hurricane-inflated
to his final year in office in 2009, at which
prices. Also still fresh in people’s minds is
point he may be considered a lame duck.
the $1.4 billion tax package, championed
As he did during his campaign, Kaine will
by Warner and Kaine and enacted by the
have to be persuasive. It shouldn’t take long
legislature in 2004. Although those taxes
to see if he can move the issue forward, or
generated new funds for education, public
if the new governor is going to get stuck,
health and law enforcement, they progrinding his gears.
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AN INTERVIEW WITH VIRGINIA BUSINESS
Transportation and education top Kaine’s agenda
by Paula C. Squires
W
hen a new governor
moves into Virginia’s
Executive Mansion,
there’s speculation
about what issues
will move front and center. Not this
year. For Gov.-elect Timothy M.
Kaine, the most urgent matter facing
his administration after he takes office
Jan. 14 is finding a fix for Virginia’s
transportation network that will position the state for continued economic
growth in the 21st century.
The issue has been building for
years as more Virginians sit in traffic
and businesses clamor for efficient ways
to move goods. In what will be an initial test of his leadership, Democrat
Kaine says he wants to move the debate
forward quickly. He’ll need bipartisan support in
the Republican-dominated House and Senate,
especially as he presses for a dramatic shift in policy: forging a link between transportation and
land-use planning.
Local governments should be empowered
legislatively to say no to rezonings for developments that would overpower existing transportation networks, Kaine told Virginia Business editors in late November. And if it takes financial
incentives to get localities to plan wisely, the new
governor is willing to entertain that approach.
“We’ve got to be about long-term growth, not just
short term,” says Kaine. “If we don’t grow the
You campaigned as Gov. Mark
Warner’s partner and on the
need to continue the Warner
legacy. How will you move out of
Warner’s shadow and establish
your own imprint and legacy?
Kaine: I feel like I already have.
Certainly I campaigned celebrating and taking partial credit for
things that we’ve done the last four
years. But I also ran a very different
race than Mark’s. … And I focused
on different issues than Mark. So,
I feel like I’ve already been able to
achieve a victory by a significant
margin. … I did extremely well in
the Republican suburbs. And so
we reached out very, very strongly
to Republicans. … As far as governance goes, I come in with the
experience of having been the president of the Republican-majority
Senate the last four years. I have
14
right way, then we’re going to see not just traffic
congestion, but a whole series of things that I
think will threaten our quality of life.”
While transportation alone could be all consuming, with billions needed to improve roads
and rail, Kaine plans to be more than a one-issue
governor. In a wide-ranging interview, he spoke
with passion about expanding Virginia’s prekindergarten program to give more youngsters a
strong start in life. “If I could do one thing, that
would be new or different … ” Kaine says, he
would enroll more of the state’s youngest in programs that help foster academic success. While
expensive — one estimate is $300 million a year
very, very strong relations with the
Republican leadership in the
Senate, and I’ve already spent time
[since the election shoring up
those relations].
You have talked about linking
land-use planning and transportation. Do you think that will
require any kind of legislation?
Kaine: I think legislation will be
part of it. The first thing I’m going
to do when I hire a secretary of
transportation, VDOT commissioner, secretary of natural
resources [Republican Del. L.
Preston Bryant, Jr. was appointed
in December], and other key
agency heads, I’m going to look for
people who have an understanding
of the connection between landuse planning and transportation
needs. Second thing is I want to
JANUARY 2006
to enroll 80 percent of the state’s 4year-olds — the payoff would come
later, asserts Kaine, with a more
educated work force and less money
spent on remedial education.
The new governor also plans to
follow through with a campaign
pledge to make a dent in the number
of Virginia’s uninsured by helping
small businesses find affordable
health care. In addition, Kaine —
who ran as the heir apparent to outgoing Gov. Mark R. Warner — feels
pressure to continue Virginia’s legacy
as a well-managed state. The goal:
Keep state finances solid while at the
same time finding millions in new
revenue.
That’s a big order, even for a
guy who’s not afraid to take a risk. Kaine outsmarted Republicans by taking a page from their
playbook and running a faith-based campaign
that stressed his Catholic values.
Fortunately for Kaine, he begins his tenure
with a budget surplus, which provides a little
breathing room. How that $550 million or so a
year for the next two years will be spent should
spark heated debate. Another hot-button issue:
the state’s position on helping Virginia Beach keep
Oceana Naval Air Station and its more than
$700 million payroll. Excerpts from the interview follow. To hear the full interview, go to
www.VirginiaBusiness.com.
make sure that localities have clear
authority when it comes to rezoning…clear authority to deny
rezoning if there’s no adequate
transportation infrastructure either
in place or planned and likely to be
in place in a reasonable future.
Have you talked with other
states that perhaps are a little
farther along on this issue?
Kaine: One of the things
Maryland has done is put in place
a practice of conditioning state
payments and subsidies to local
governments, having the subsidy
be a more significant payment for
jurisdictions that are adopting wise
zoning practices, and a reduced
subsidy for those that aren’t. I
think financial incentives are very
important in terms of producing
the right results. You know, one of
the things we did in Richmond …
we gave any property owner a tax
rebate if they renovated existing
properties. … That is a very smart
growth strategy, because every time
you use and reuse existing infrastructure, you’ve already got a road
and a utility line laid to that building. So if you continue to give people an incentive … you take
advantage of existing transportation corridors, and you slow down
the need for sprawl at the edges of
the community.
What are your funding plans for
the pre-kindergarten education
you are proposing?
Kaine: Most of what I’ll do in the
first year will be to put together
what I call the Start Strong
Council. … It will be composed of
the state-funded pre-K program,
Photos by Joe Mahoney
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COVER STORY
Headstart and a lot of private,
including faith-based, providers because there is no way
you can expand this program
right now and do it all in the
public school system without
spending a lot of your money
on classrooms. I don’t want to
spend money on buildings; I
want to spend money on
teaching. And so the only way
to get the biggest bang out of
our dollars for pre-K is to
include private providers as
well. … So, the first year will
probably see some incremental expansions building on
whatever Gov. Warner suggests in his outgoing budget,
with a strong planning effort
in place so that when I can
come back to it to really begin
to build it out, it will be
extremely well planned.
Bills are expected this session that call for new limits
on condemning property. Do
you support such limits?
And how do you think the
discussion will play out in
light of the recommended
closures and condemnations regarding Oceana Naval Air Station in
Virginia Beach?
Kaine: I’ve very committed to
Oceana staying. I’ve heard it
argued both ways. But I’m convinced that Oceana is a significant economic plus to
Virginia. … I am very willing to work as chief executive with local officials to
find dollars necessary to
provide appropriate buffer
zones around Oceana, in
exchange for long-term
commitments
that
Oceana will be where it’s
going to be. I won’t work
with Virginia Beach to
jump through a million hoops and then
have them pull the
plug in five years. …
That’s going to be a
big issue this legislative session because
the BRAC [Base
Realignment and Closure Commission] said
you have until March
to tell us what you’re
going to do.
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VIRGINIA BUSINESS
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