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

House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) said the extent of the struggle between House Republicans and the next governor will depend on "which Kaine shows up" when the legislature convenes in temporary chambers in January. The Capitol is closed for renovations and will reopen in 2007.

"I expect Chichester will try to float a big tax," Griffith said. "It will be interesting to see if Kaine endorses it or not."

Lawmakers in both chambers said they will welcome Kaine, who spent four years presiding over the Senate as lieutenant governor.

But several said there will be a period of adjustment as the Republican-controlled General Assembly gets used to a new chief executive. Gov. Mark R. Warner (D), barred from running for reelection, had a rocky relationship with the House Republicans but found common cause with some GOP moderates, who helped him pass a tax increase in 2004 to support additional spending on education and other services.

"A lot of the members don't know Tim Kaine," said G. Paul Nardo, Howell's chief of staff. "We start off as sort of, we saw the campaign, and that's what we know of him. From an institutional perspective, he's something of an unknown."

Warner said the message from the voters on Election Day was that people want to see Richmond's politicians cooperating. The governor, who held town meetings across Virginia to push for his tax proposals in 2004, said Kaine is smart to travel the state before the legislative session starts.

"It's a problem that's not going to disappear," Warner said of the transportation issue. "If there was anything learned out of 2004, it's that you have to take your case directly to the people."

But he added that Kaine must "continue to reach out to some of the Republican legislators to find that common ground."

Political observers, politicians, consultants and others began deconstructing the election, trying to figure out why voters did what they did. "My analysis is too negative for too long," Griffith said of Kilgore's campaign, which included numerous attacks on Kaine.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Brian J. Moran (D-Alexandria) said Democrats were helped by GOP campaigns that appealed "to people's fears and prejudices rather than hope and opportunity."

Kaine announced the formation of committees to oversee his transition and his inauguration, which will be held in Colonial Williamsburg because of the Capitol reconstruction in Richmond.

The transition team will be chaired by Larry Roberts, an Arlington lawyer, who was chairman of his gubernatorial campaign; Del. Viola O. Baskerville (D-Richmond); and Glenn R. Croshaw, a former Democratic delegate from Virginia Beach.

He also announced the committee's first four staff members: Brian Shepard, his chief of staff, as director; Judy Anderson as personnel director; Delacey Skinner, his campaign press secretary, as communication director; and Rick Siger as director of operations.

Matthew Felan, Kaine's campaign finance director, will be the senior staff member of the inaugural committee. That committee will be chaired by Stuart Siegel, a Richmond businessman and longtime supporter, and Sheila Johnson of Middleburg, owner of the Washington Mystics and co-founder of Black Entertainment Television.

Staff writer Robert Barnes contributed to this report.