Vodpod videos no longer available.
Check out her website.
The press release is below the fold.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: press@jodyforva.com
August 15, 2008Virginia Beach – Citing her record of helping to put Virginia’s fiscal house in order, and the need to keep Virginia on the right track, former Virginia Treasurer and Secretary of Finance Jody Wagner today announced her candidacy for Lieutenant Governor in 2009.
Wagner announced her bid in a web video that was emailed to supporters and featured on her campaign website – http://www.jodyforva.com .
“I’m running for Lieutenant Governor because as a mom and a small business owner, I know that we need steady, proven leadership in Richmond,” Wagner says in the announcement. “Leaders who keep Virginia’s fiscal house in order. Leaders who understand how to help Virginia’s small businesses thrive. Leaders who know that investing in education is the way to make sure our children succeed.”
Wagner also drew a contrast with current Lt. Governor Bill Bolling.
“Unfortunately, there are too many politicians in Richmond – including our current Lieutenant Governor – who disagree with this commonsense approach. At a time when Virginia continues to face tough challenges, they want to turn back the clock to a time when politics and ideology stood in the way of progress.”
A twenty-five year resident of Virginia Beach, Wagner served as Virginia Treasurer from 2002-2006, and Secretary of Finance from 2006-2008. She and her husband, Dr. Alan Wagner, are small-business owners and have raised four
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Yay Jody!!!! Finally a candidate with experience!
Is the Commonwealth of Virginia allowed to run a deficit?
Go Jody!
When her figures in this Budget are exposed as frauds by January, her LG chances will be gone with them.
“Growth in revenue from state income tax withholdings on paychecks have grown just 1.6 percent since last year, while sales tax collections are only up 0.8 percent, said Brown.
“Those numbers are well below the 5.2 percent income tax, and 1.6 percent sales tax, growth estimates on which the two-year state budget is built.”
Great job, Jody!
I see I am just in time for the anti-Jody chorus.
Maybe you folks would like to tell us why Bill Bolling is so much better, instead of trashing Jody right out of the gate.
Ah, the smell of fear 😉
Fear? you must be kidding.
Why is Bill Bolling better? He can add.
Got proof that he can add?
I’m sure we can get his high school calculus teacher to chime in, if that would help, vjp.
In the meantime – here’s a refresher. This is when I first took note of Bolling. I think he hit the nail on the head. (edited for length).
Kaine’s Budget: A Forumula for Disaster
Richmond Times-Dispatch Op-Ed Page
by Bill Bolling, Guest Columnist
January 06, 2008 – News Article
“Gov. Tim Kaine recently introduced his proposed amendments to the state budget for the current fiscal year, along with budget recommendations for the 2008-10 biennium.
So, the question is, how does the governor propose to pay for these new programs? Based on his budget, the answer is twofold: by overly optimistic revenue projections and by significant amounts of new state debt.
In the first year of the 2008-10 biennium Gov. Kaine has projected economic growth of 3.3 percent. That is realistic based on current economic conditions. However, in the second year of the budget he has projected economic growth of 6.6 percent.
While I hope that economic conditions improve and our economy will grow at a rate of 6.6 percent in the 2010 fiscal year, we cannot be certain of that, and we should not base our budget on such an overly optimistic revenue forecast.
IF THE GOVERNOR’S revenue projections do not materialize we will be unable to afford the new programs he has proposed, and we will face massive budget shortfalls in the second year of the biennium. A wiser course is to wait and see how economic growth improves before embarking on so many costly new spending initiatives.
Budgets are about priorities, and in challenging economic times we must determine what our most pressing needs are and focus our resources toward those needs. We must make certain that our budget actions are cautious, prudent, and reflective of the economic uncertainties we currently face.
However, we cannot build our budget on a foundation that includes excessive spending, and seeks to pay for it by raiding the state’s savings account and transportation funds, overly optimistic revenue projections, and the excessive use of debt. That is a formula for disaster.”
There’s a very simple fix to that problem — require that spending for the next biennium be no more than the state’s take for the last two years for which we have data, not estimates for the current year or projections for future years. That should result in a nice surplus most years, which can be used to cover any shortfall in bad years.
Think we can put together a bipartisan, grass-roots effort to get that into the Constitution?
I would be concerned except y’all keep telling me there wasn’t actually a revenue shortfall when Gilmore left office and Mark Warner took over, and you’ve yet to be able to produce even a shred of proof about that.
silence dogood,
If you do not realize that Mark Warner faced a revenue shortfall after he took office due to the economic downturn I am not going to be the one to educate you. There is no hope for you.
Gilmore cut taxes during the good years and Mark Warner was left to pick up the pieces when the economy soured.
LD – I think you are mis-reading silence’s comment.
Robyn – that ain’t proof.
If this is going to be the Republican meme on Jody Wagner, Democrats just need to find a quote from Bolling praising Gilmore. I’m sure it’s out there. Republicans pushing these two have a lot of nerve to talk about unbalanced anything.