Thursday, November 10, 2005

Kaine moves forward

Now that he has won the governorship, Tim Kaine will tour the state. I'm still curious as to why people are hailing this as Mark Warner's second term. Tim Kaine has started the transition by naming his team.
Kaine also announced the senior members of his transition team.

Lawrence Roberts, Co-Chair of the Transition Committee
Roberts, former Chairman of the Kaine campaign, is a partner with the law firm of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLC. His prior executive experience includes serving as President of the Federal Communications Bar Association and President of Roberts & Eckard, P.C. Roberts was a 2001 Fellow with the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. He also serves as an officer of the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council, the nation's leading advocate for minority employment and ownership in the communications industry, and has held many civic leadership positions.

Del. Viola Baskerville, Co-Chair of the Transition Committee
Del. Baskerville was elected to the House of Delegates in 1997. She serves the 71st district, which includes the downtown and north side of the City of Richmond as well as a portion of Henrico County. Baskerville currently is a member of the Health, Welfare and Institutions and Science and Technology Committees. She is a trained mediator and conflict resolution specialist providing conflict management and alternative dispute resolution services to businesses, government and not for profit organizations.

Glen Croshaw, Co-Chair of the Transition Committee
Croshaw is an attorney at Willcox and Savage and has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in state government. He represented the City of Virginia Beach in the Virginia House of Delegates for fourteen years. During his tenure in the General Assembly, he served on the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, the General Laws Committee, the Committee on Labor and Commerce, the Nominations and Confirmations Committee and the Privileges and Elections Committee. Furthermore, Mr. Croshaw was appointed by the Speaker of the House to serve on the General Assembly's powerful Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. He also chaired numerous subcommittees and study commissions involving complicated legislative initiatives.

Brian Shepard, Transition Director
Kaine's former Chief of Staff in the Office of the Lt. Governor and longtime legislative aide to Delegate Vic Thomas, Shepard was the lead policy staffer for the Lt. Governor's Commission on Small Business Health Care Costs. Shepard has also served on Virginia's Early Learning Council, the Strategic Plan to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect Steering Committee, and the Help America Vote Implementation Team.

Judith Anderson, Director of Personnel for the Transition
The former Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth under Governor Mark Warner, Anderson has served as Director for the Inauguration of Governor L. Douglas Wilder and Deputy Director of Governor-Elect Charles S. Robb's Transition office.

Delacey Skinner, Transition Communications Director
Skinner previously served as the Kaine campaign Press Secretary.

Rick Siger, Director of Operations for the Transition
Former Director of Advance for the Kaine campaign, Siger previously served on the National Advance Staff for Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign.

Kaine also announced members of the leadership team for his inauguration.

Sheila Johnson, Inaugural Co-Chair
Johnson, CEO of Salamander Hospitality, LLC, and a partner in Lincoln Holdings, LLC, is the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television. Johnson sits on the Boards of Parson's School of Design, the Christopher Reeve Foundation, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation, and the United States Equestrian Federation. She is also President of the Washington International Horse Show.

Stuart Siegel, Inaugural Co-Chair
Siegel is the Chairman of the Board of S & K Famous Brands, Inc. and holds numerous board appointments, including Virginia Commonwealth University (Current Member – Former Rector – Board of Visitors), Virginia State Lottery Board (Former Member - Former Chairman), Virginia Commonwealth University Foundation (Former Vice Chairman), Medical College of Virginia Hospital Authority (Former Board Member), TransCommunity Bankshares (Board Member), and SunTrust Bank Central Board (Board Member).

Matthew Felan, Inaugural Director
Former Kaine for Governor Deputy Campaign Manager and Finance Director, Felan has held numerous finance director positions for national political campaigns, including Joe Lieberman's campaign in 2004.
Looks like an interesting group.

Congress is expected to vote today to raid student aid. Please tell them not to do this.

Yes, Evan Bayh was in New Hampshire to campaign with Bob Baines. However, Bayh also wanted to get to know the citizens there.
Bayh spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said Bayh viewed New Hampshire's local elections as an opportunity to meet and talk with folks in the state before making any decisions about a possible presidential run.

"He's very well aware of the important role New Hampshire plays in the process," Pfeiffer said. Bayh campaigned with Baines at the Puritan Backroom Restaurant, one of several appearances Bayh made in the state Oct. 29 and 30.
The tidal waves are coming and it's not from an earthquake but from the President's disasterous poll numbers.
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), said the elections, including contests for the school board in Dover, Pa., and a state legislative race in the St. Louis suburbs, show that Americans have "picked a message of the future versus the past."

And Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), even dared to wish — in front of a roomful of reporters and television cameras at the Democratic National Committee headquarters — that his party would take back the Senate next year “if the stars all align correctly.”

Democrats everywhere declared the elections a referendum on President Bush and the GOP-controlled Congress, saying that mismanagement of the Hurricane Katrina response, mounting opposition to the Iraq war and the indictment of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and the investigation of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s stock sale had taken their toll.
Not that he has any chance but Dennis Hackbarth looks like he is running for president.

Right on, Joe! Senator Lieberman will introduce legislation on fuel standards.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said he will introduce legislation to set new standards for fuel efficiency and emphasize alternative fuels.
Chris Carpenter is expected to win the National League Cy Young Award.

Yes, our trade laws must be enforced. I agree with Senator Evan Bayh on this one.
"The global trading system just isn't going to work very well if, when other countries have a competitive advantage, we buy from them. But when we have a competitive advantage, they steal from us," Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., told reporters Wednesday.[...]

The Bush administration this summer created a position in the Commerce Department to coordinate government efforts to enforce intellectual property rights internationally.

Bayh and Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said that position needed to be mandated by Congress to make sure future administrations keep it.

Legislation they introduced Wednesday would do that and take other steps, including create an international task force to track theft and require the administration to regularly report to Congress on what it's doing to fight the theft of intellectual property.

Neither Voinovich nor Bayh sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the panel most likely to decide whether to move the bill forward.

Voinovich, who chairs a subcommittee on a different panel, has been holding hearings on the issue.

"I just told (U.S. Trade Representative Rob) Portman it's time to kick butt," Voinovich said. "We've been too patient."

Bayh has been complaining about enforcement of trade rules, especially in speeches he has made around the country as he explores a potential 2008 run for the presidency. Bills that Bayh helped to introduce since 2004 aimed at toughening enforcement of trade laws have not moved forward.
Take care for the time being.

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