Kaine Puts Roads at Top of Agenda, Says Virginia GOP's Ads 'Backfired'

Gov.-elect Timothy M. Kaine (D) said yesterday that he will immediately begin a series of town hall meetings across Virginia to rally public support for a legislative battle next year over fixing the state's transportation problems.

A day after his victory over Republican Jerry W. Kilgore, Kaine savored the latest Democratic win in a state known for its fidelity to the GOP in recent years. At a morning news conference in Richmond, he declared that voters had rejected the Kilgore campaign's attacks on his record.

"The negative ads backfired," he said. "If there's anything about this win that makes me feel the best, it's that Virginians rejected the harsh negatives that were often factual mistakes. They're smarter than high-paid consultants, and they know the difference between truth and fiction."

After breakfast with his family and a stop at his newly minted transition office, Kaine attended a noon Mass. He then stopped by his campaign office to offer thanks to staff and volunteers. In the afternoon, he appeared on MSNBC's "Hardball" with Chris Matthews.

Kaine fielded calls throughout the day from well-wishers, including bluegrass star Ralph Stanley, a supporter. Kaine placed a call to House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford), who is likely to emerge as one of Kaine's chief political rivals.

As he began the process of assembling a cabinet, Kaine said he plans to tour the state, stopping first in Manassas next week. As a candidate, he called traffic congestion on the state's roads a "crisis" and vowed to convene meetings with average people and transportation experts to discuss solutions.

"We must ensure that taxpayer dollars marked for transportation are only used for transportation, and we must better connect land use and transportation planning," Kaine said at a news conference at the Marriott Hotel in Richmond, where he had addressed jubilant supporters 11 hours earlier at a victory celebration.

"Without taking these first crucial steps, we cannot move Virginia forward on transportation," Kaine told reporters.

Shortly after his inauguration Jan. 14, Kaine could find himself in the middle of a legislative struggle over proposals to raise taxes to support transportation projects.

In the race for attorney general, one of the closest statewide contests in Virginia history, Republican Robert F. McDonnell led Democrat R. Creigh Deeds by 1,480 votes out of 1.9 million cast. Some localities were still counting absentee ballots, and others were tweaking results as they discovered errors, state election officials said.

Although McDonnell claimed victory yesterday, Deeds said he will ask for a recount and named a team of lawyers to lead that effort.

In Tuesday's other statewide race, state Sen. William T. "Bill" Bolling (R-Hanover) won his race to replace Kaine as lieutenant governor.