Tim Kaine

Infobox Officeholder
name = Timothy Michael Kaine


imagesize = 150px
small

caption =
order = 70^th Governor of Virginia
term_start = January 14, 2006
lieutenant = William T. Bolling
predecessor = Mark Warner
successor = Incumbent (2010)
order2 = 38^th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
term_start2 = January 14, 2002
term_end2 = January 14, 2006
governor2 = Mark Warner
predecessor2 = John H. Hager
successor2 = Bill Bolling
order3 = 76^th Mayor of Richmond, Virginia
term_start3 = 1998
term_end3 = 2000
predecessor3 = Larry E. Chavis
successor3 = Rudolph McCollum Jr.
order4 = Member of the Richmond City Council
term_start4 =1994
term_end4 =1998
birth_date= birth date and age|1958|02|26
birth_place= St. Paul, Minnesota
residence= Richmond, Virginia
death_place=
spouse= Anne Holton
profession=Lawyer
party= Democratic
alma_mater=University of Missouri
Harvard Law School
religion=Roman Catholic

Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine (born February 26, 1958) is an American politician and the current governor of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic party. He was elected governor in 2005, after serving as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and Mayor of Richmond, Virginia. As governor, he is a member of the National Governors Association, the Southern Governors' Association, and the Democratic Governors Association. Before entering into Virginia politics, Kaine was a lawyer in Richmond, Virginia, and worked with the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) as a Roman Catholic missionary in Honduras. Kaine endorsed the eventual Democratic nominee Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election and was considered a likely choice to be Obama's running mate, but was not ultimately chosen. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26336195/]

Early life and education

Kaine was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Mary Kathleen Burns and Albert A. Kaine, a welder and the owner of a small iron-working shop.cite news |first=Christina |last=Nuckols |title=Profile: Who is Timothy M. Kaine? |url=http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:31Tqo5zVE7AJ:home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm%3Fstory%3D93715%26ran%3D153441+%22tim+kaine%22+father&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us |work=The Virginian-Pilot |publisher=Landmark Communications |date=2005-10-16 |accessdate=2008-07-29 ] cite web |url=http://www.kidscommonwealth.virginia.gov/CapitolLife/KaineBio.asp |title=Governor Tim Kaine |accessdate=2008-07-29 |work=Kids Commonwealth |publisher=Commonwealth of Virginia] 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 bachelor of arts degree in economics in 1979. [ [http://elections.nj.com/dynamic/external/pre-election/bios/51423.html?SITE=NJNEWELN&SECTION=POLITICS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT New Jersey, Senate & Presidential Elections 2008 Results & Polls – NJ.com] ] He attended Harvard Law School, taking a year-long break during law school to work with the Jesuit order as a Roman Catholic missionary in Honduras. [ [http://www.timesdispatch.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-09-22-0096.html Kaine ponders move out of politics - News - inRich.com ] ] Kaine is fluent in Spanish from his time in Honduras. [cite news |url=http://www.myfoxhamptonroads.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7092208&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 |title=Va. Gov. Tim Kaine possible presidential running mate |date=July 29, 2008 |accessdate=2008-07-31 |work=My Fox Hampton Roads |first=Andy |last=Fox] He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1983, 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. [ [http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/biography.cfm Official Site of the Governor of Virginia ] ] 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.

Mayor of Richmond

He was elected mayor of Richmond by the city council (which until 2004 chose the mayor from among its membership) in 1998. He spent a total of seven years on the city council, including his time as mayor. As mayor, Kaine was credited with helping to create and implement a controversial gun law known as Project Exile. [cite news |first=Melissa |last= Sinclair |title=Is Kaine Able? |url= http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=11159 |work=Style Weekly |publisher=Landmark Communications Inc. |date=2005-10-12 |accessdate=2008-10-11 ]

Somewhat more controversial was the use by Kaine of taxpayer funds to influence congress via the Million Mom March in 2000. Kaine used nearly $7,000 to pay for buses and to throw a party at the city's Arthur Ashe Center for about 400 Richmonders recruited for the march [ [http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/politics.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-08-03-0214.html “On Kaine the uniter, views split” Richmond Times-Dispatch, August 03, 2008] . Retrieved on September 25, 2008.] [ [“Richmond Subsidizes Buses for Million Mom Marchers”, Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 17, 2000] . Retrieved on September 25, 2008.] .

Lieutenant Governor

In the Virginia general elections of November, 2001, Kaine ran for lieutenant governor and won with 925,974 votes (50.35%). [ [http://www2.sbe.virginia.gov/web_docs/election/results/2001/nov2001/html/index.htm "Official Election Results"] - Virginia State Board of Elections] His opponents were Republican 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.

Gubernatorial election

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 52-46 percent.fact Kaine has said he will look to retain the tax and education policies of his predecessor, Mark Warner, and keep the budget balanced.fact 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. [ [http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2005/Virginia%20Governor_November%204.htm "VA: Kaine 49% Kilgore 46%"] - Rasmussen Reports, November 4, 2005] 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. [Shear, Michael D. (October 18, 2005). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/17/AR2005101701638.html?sub=AR "Kaine Sounds Slow-Growth Note in Exurbs"] . "Washington Post".]

Kaine closely associated himself with popular outgoing Democratic Governor Mark Warner during his campaign; he won his race by a slightly larger margin than Warner. He promised homeowner tax relief, centrist fiscal leadership and universal pre-kindergarten. Fact|date=July 2008. 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. [ [http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/wb/xp-36011 "Death penalty demagoguery"] . (October 13 2005). "The Roanoke Times".] [ [http://realclearpolitics.com/Congressional/VA_Gov_05.html "RealClear Politics - 2005 Virginia Gubernatorial Election"] . Retrieved November 4, 2005.] 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.

Governor of Virginia

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".fact

In March 2006, after the Virginia General Assembly failed to create a budget, Governor 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.fact

In May 2006, Governor Kaine announced his plan to conserve convert|400000|acre|km2 of Virginia real property from development before the end of his administration as Governor of Virginia. [ [http://regionalparks.blogspot.com/2006/05/governor-kaine-sets-aggressive-land.html Regional Parks: Governor Kaine sets aggressive land conservation goal ] ] The Commonwealth of Virginia's landowners favor land conservation although Virginia lags behind other states' per capita expenditures on land conservation. [ http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-102466] ] As of 2007, according to government statistics, Maryland spends as much as $21 per capita on land conservation, while Virginia spends $1.45. [ [http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/127892 Roanoke Times] . Retrieved March 4, 2008.] 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. [ [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/clinfo.shtml Virginia Land Conservation Statistics] , by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved March 4, 2008.]

In June 2006, Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in all government buildings and state-owned cars. [ [http://www.governor.virginia.gov/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/viewRelease.cfm?id=276 Tim Kaine Homepage] ] 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. [ [http://www.governor.virginia.gov/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/viewRelease.cfm?id=275 Tim Kaine Homepage] ]

Tim Kaine has signaled his support for vaccinating sixth-grade girls in Virginia with the HPV vaccine. In 2007, Virginia, along with twenty 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. [cite news |first=Tim |last=Craig |coauthors= |title=Kaine Says He'll Sign Bill Making Shots Mandatory |date=March 3 2007 |publisher= |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/02/AR2007030200117.html |work=Washington Post |pages= |]

When news of the Virginia Tech massacre broke, Kaine canceled a trade mission to Japan and India to attend to the situation.fact Kaine spoke at a ceremony held in Blacksburg a few days after the shooting in which he invoked the Biblical story of Job to bring solace to the tearful crowd.Fact|date=August 2008 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 a former state police chief and former governor and 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. [cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/30/AR2007043000556.html?hpid=moreheadlines|title=Ban on Sale Of Guns to Mentally Ill Is Expanded|date=2007-05-01|accessdate=2007-06-25|author=Tim Craig|publisher=Washington Post] 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.

In July 2007, Kaine stepped in to support an above-ground solution to the debate on building Silver Line of the Washington, D.C. Metrorail through Tyson's Corner. Some people disagreed and preferred a tunnel. [citeweb|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/06/AR2006090601340.html|title=No Tunnel For Tysons, Kaine Says|date=2006-09-07|accessdate=2008-08-03|author=Alec MacGillis|publisher=Washington Post] 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. [citeweb|url=http://www.governor.virginia.gov/|title=Southside Child Development Tour|date=2008-08-06|accessdate=2008-08-06|author=Tim Kaine Official Website|publisher=Commonwealth of Virginia]

Cabinet

* Chief of Staff - William Leighty (2006-2007), Wayne Turnage (2007-Present)
* Secretary of Administration - Viola Baskerville (2006-Present)
* Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry - Robert Bloxom (2006-Present)
* Secretary of Commerce and Trade - Patrick Gottschalk (2006-Present)
* Secretary of the Commonwealth - Katherine Hanley (2006-Present)
* Secretary of Education - Thomas Morris (2006-Present)
* Secretary of Finance - Jody Wagner (2006-2008), Richard D. Brown (2008-Present)
* Secretary of Health and Human Resources - Marilyn Tavenner (2006-Present)
* Secretary of Natural Resources - Preston Bryant (2006-Present)
* Secretary of Public Safety - John W. Marshall (2006-Present)
* Secretary of Technology - Aneesh Chopra (2006-Present)
* Secretary of Transportation - Pierce Homer (2006-Present)
* Assistant for Commonwealth Preparedness - Robert P. Crouch (2006-Present)
* Senior Advisor for Workforce - Daniel G. LeBlanc (2006-Present)

Political positions

Despite his personal opposition to capital punishment, often cited during the 2005 campaign by both sides, he has so far overseen eight executions as governor as of July 2008. He has vetoed five death penalty expansion bills although some of the vetoes were overturned, [ [http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=236&scid=40 Recent Legislative Activity ] ] and opposed the electric chair as an option. [ [http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&sid=860168 Kaine: Electrocution Should Not be Execution Option ] ] On June 9, 2008, Kaine commuted the death sentence of Percy Levar Walton to life in prison without parole. [ [http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/southside/article/gov_kaine_commutes_percy_waltons_death_sentence/12269/ Gov. Kaine commutes Percy Walton’s death sentence, WSLS News, June 9, 2008] . Accessed on 2008-07-28.]

Tim Kaine has stated he has a "faith-based opposition to abortion," [http://www.ontheissues.org/Governor/Tim_Kaine_Abortion.htm Tim Kaine on Abortion] , www.OnTheIssues.org] but he opposes overturning Roe v. Wade. He supports restrictions on abortion, such as requiring parental consent and banning so-called partial-birth abortions in cases where the woman's health is not at risk.cite news |url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/kaine-keep-roe.html |title=Kaine: Keep Roe, Hussein Needed to Go |publisher=ABC News |date=July 31, 2008 |accessdate=2008-07-31 |work=Political Radar]

In the 2006 Senate election, Kaine supported Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb. [ [http://www.webbforsenate.com/press/endorse.php Jim Webb for Senate Endorsement Page] ] Kaine also opposed an amendment to the Virginia Constitution that would define marriage as that between one man and one woman, though he has publicly stated that he personally opposes same-sex marriage. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/14/AR2006091401556.html Washington Post September 15 2006] ]

Kaine supports some smart growth-style policies to manage sprawl and transportation issues; he refers to these plans as "balanced growth." [http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253735&kaid=106&subid=122]

2008 Vice Presidential speculation

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. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkQ04Tk7dTk YouTube - Gov. Tim Kaine Supports Barack Obama ] ] As a popular and successful governor of a southern state, there was media speculation that Kaine was a potential nominee for vice president. [ [http://www.mlive.com/elections/index.ssf/2008/02/vice_president_pool_swimming_w.html Vice President pool swimming with governors - National, Michigan State & Local Elections 2008 News & Polls - MLive.com ] ] 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." [ [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/03/vetting-obamas-man/ Vetting Obama's 'man'] Washington Times August 3, 2008] On July 28, 2008, Politico.com reported that Kaine was "very, very high" on Obama's shortlist for vice president, [ [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/12115.html Kaine very high on Obama's short VP list- Politico] . Accessed on 2008-07-28.] a list which also included Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana and Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware. [http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/candidates/vice-presidents.html] On August 21, 2008, Obama revealed that he had finished his selection for a vice presidential candidate, but was not yet ready to announce his pick. [http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/21/obama.vice.president/index.html [] On August 22, NBC News reported that Kaine had been personally informed by Obama that he was not the final pick [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26336195/] , as the presumptive nominee ultimately tapped Biden to become the vice-presidential nominee. [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/23/biden.democrat.vp.candidate/index.html] He has recently been speculated as a possible Attorney General in an Obama administration.Fact|date=September 2008

Electoral history

Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (United States)
candidate = Tim Kaine
votes = 1,025,942
percentage = 51.7
change =Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = Jerry Kilgore
votes = 912,327
percentage = 46.0
change =

Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (United States)
candidate = Tim Kaine
votes = 925,974
percentage = 50.4
change =Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = Jay K. Katzen
votes = 883,886
percentage = 48.0
change =Election box candidate with party link
party = Libertarian Party (United States)
candidate = Gary Reams
votes = 28,783
percentage = 1.6
change =

References

External links

* [http://www.governor.virginia.gov/ Virginia Governor Tim Kaine] Official state website
* [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=c0bb1b0977fb8010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD National Governors Association - Virginia Governor Tim Kaine] biography
* [http://www.vpap.org/cands/cand_index.cfm?ToKey=COM00818&CycleID=2005 Virginia Public Access Project - Tim Kaine] 2005 campaign contributions
* [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?si=200545&c=413828 Follow the Money - Timothy M Kaine] 2005 campaign contributions
* [http://www.ontheissues.org/Tim_Kaine.htm On the Issues - Tim Kaine] issue positions and quotes
* [http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=MVA11035 Project Vote Smart - Tim Kaine (VA)] profile
* [http://www.movingvirginiaforward.com/ Moving Virginia Forward] Tim Kaine's PAC
* [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11119802/ Democratic response to State of the Union] "MSNBC", January 31 2006, transcript of Governor Kaine's State of the Union Rebuttal

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
before= Larry E. Chavis
title=Mayor of Richmond
years=1998–2002
after=Rudolph McCollum Jr.succession box
before= John H. Hager
title=Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
Under Governor Mark Warner
years=January 14, 2002–January 14, 2006
after=William T. Bollingsuccession box
before= Mark Warner
title=Governor of Virginia
years=January 14, 2006–
after=Incumbentsuccession box
before= Lewis F. Payne, Jr.
title=Democratic Party nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
years=2001
after=Leslie Larkin Byrnesuccession box
before= Mark Warner
title=Democratic Party nominee for Governor of Virginia
years=2005
after=2009 nominee