- Bill Bolling
William T. "Bill" Bolling (born
June 15 ,1957 ) is the RepublicanLieutenant Governor of Virginia .Personal life
Bolling was born in
Sistersville, West Virginia and raised in the coal fields of Southwest Virginia and southernWest Virginia . Fact|date=June 2008 He graduated from theUniversity of Charleston (West Virginia) in 1978 with a B.S. degree in Political Science.Bolling is married to the former Jean Ann Kincaid, whom he met in college. The Bollings have two children, Matthew, who graduated from
Virginia Tech , and Kevin, who attendsJames Madison University . The Bolling family lives in Mechanicsville, a suburb of Richmond.Political career
Bolling first held political office as a member and Chairman of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors.
Prior to his election as Lieutenant Governor, Bolling served as a member of the
Virginia Senate from 1996-2005. Bolling opposed Governor Warner's controversial 2004 tax reform, which lowered food and income taxes and increased sales and cigarette taxes.He was inaugurated as Lieutenant Governor on January 14, 2006 in
Williamsburg, Virginia , along with the other Executive Branch officers, including Democratic GovernorTim Kaine and Republican Attorney GeneralBob McDonnell .Professionally, Bolling is currently employed as a
Vice President with Riggs, Councilman, Michaels and Downes, one of the nation’s largest independent insurance agencies, based in Baltimore, Maryland.peculation about political future
Virginia Republicans had anticipated Bolling on being a candidate forUnited States Senator in 2008, but most have already backed former GovernorJim Gilmore . However, Bolling could be a possibly strong candidate for the Governorship in 2009. He has strong support among conservative Republicans, as well as Virginia business leaders, many of whom perceive him as a supporter of business interests.Fact|date=February 2007He has been mentioned as a candidate for Governor in 2009. On March 24, 2008 Bill Bolling announced he will not run for Governor opting to run for re-election. He cited his need to focus on his insurance agency and family concerns. Attorney General Bob McDonnell will run for Governor, Lieutenant Governor Bolling will run for Lieutenant Governor again, and State Senator Ken Cuccinelli will run for Attorney General, forming the 2009 Virginia Republican Ticket. Fact|date=June 2008
If
Tim Kaine , the current Governor of Virginia, had been named as the Vice Presidential running mate ofBarack Obama , and were elected asVice President of the United States in November 2008, Bolling would have become governor of Viginia. This would have meant a change of party in the office of Governor from Democrat to Republican. That is possible in Virginia, because the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor are not elected on a joint ticket and the office holders may be from separate parties.References
* [http://sov.state.va.us/SenatorDB.nsf/0/8cee5bbc71fe59d885256aa000719957?OpenDocument Senate of Virginia: Bill Bolling]
External links
*http://www.billbolling.com
*http://www.ltgov.virginia.gov
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