Kaine Blogger conference call

I had the pleasure of participating in a blogger conference call with Governor Tim Kaine yesterday. Others who participated included (click on link to read their take) Josh Chernilla and Lowell Feld of Raising Kaine, Ben Tribett of Not Larry Sabato, Kenton Ngo of 750 Volts, Bryan Scrafford, Jim Bacon of Bacon’s Rebellion (1, 2, 3) and Eileen Levandoski of VB Dems.

Much of the conversation centered around transportation, which has gobbled up the governor’s time since he took office in January 2006. Because I knew that I would have the opportunity to speak to the governor a bit later, I only asked him to expand on his reasons for vetoing the bills that would have expanded the definition of those eligible for the death penalty. Governor Kaine really didn’t have much to add to the press release on this, which I mentioned in an earlier post.

Just before he got cut off (umm – didn’t anybody tell the governor that cell phones don’t work in the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel?) he began answering a question of Josh’s. He said that his role as governor is 60% as chief executive, 30% dealing with the legislature and 10% political. I have to admit that I was a little surprised at this answer. So much so that when I had the opportunity to talk to him later in the evening, I asked him to explain.

What he told me was that when he looks at how he spends his time, that is how it is spent. As chief executive, he is managing his staff, making sure that the processes are being implemented the way he wants them to be. (I’m paraphrasing here and writing from memory as I didn’t take notes.) He spoke of the number of staff meetings he is in every day.

The time spent with the legislature is obvious. Kaine has spent a tremendous amount of time not only on transportation, but also on getting his budget amendments through. He mentioned in the conference call that all but one of the projects he included in his budget amendments were approved by the legislature. I’d say that is a pretty significant accomplishment.

The fact that Kaine is the de facto leader of the Democratic Party of Virginia is not lost on me and was the basis of Josh’s question. His report that only 10% of his time is spent on politics seem a bit like, well, spin. The governor told me that after he got out of the tunnel, he called Josh back to talk about this. I guess that is why Josh wrote this post, as this is about what he told me he said to Josh. Kaine’s answer – that he doesn’t have to wave the blue flag all the time because at the end of the day, it is results that matter – makes perfect sense.

I have to admit that I worried a bit about what Kaine would do as governor. I wondered whether he would get caught up in the power trip that comes with having it. It was a needless worry on my part. Tim Kaine is the same genuine guy I met back around 1997 or so when he was governor of Richmond and selected by his peers to the post. Somehow, he has managed to stay grounded in who he is, what he believes in, and what he wants to accomplish. It is why he vetoed the death penalty bill, why he wants to ban smoking, why he is against government-sponsored embryonic stem cell research. It’s not politics – it’s doing what he believes is right.

Good job, Governor Kaine.