Kaine Fills Va. Public Safety Positions

Governor-Elect's Cabinet Choices Stress Experience

Gov.-elect Timothy M. Kaine, right, appointed Robert B. Newman Jr., left, as adjutant general of the National Guard; Robert P. Crouch Jr. as homeland security adviser; and John W. Marshall as secretary of public safety. (By Steve Helber -- Associated Press)

RICHMOND, Dec. 9 -- Virginia Gov.-elect Timothy M. Kaine (D) named his public safety team Friday, announcing that Secretary of Public Safety John W. Marshall will stay on for another term and that Marshall's former deputy, Robert P. Crouch Jr., will become the state's homeland security adviser.

Both men will be part of the Cabinet when Kaine takes over from Mark R. Warner (D) next month.

The governor-elect also announced that Robert B. Newman Jr., who has served as Warner's deputy for commonwealth preparedness, will become the adjutant general of the Virginia National Guard. Newman, a brigadier general in the Virginia Air National Guard, will be Kaine's chief adviser on military matters.

"I'm going to elevate the role of the guard," Kaine said at a news conference in the governor's Cabinet room. "Their state role is a critical element in homeland security."

Kaine won a hard-fought election victory over Republican Jerry W. Kilgore on Nov. 8 by arguing that Virginians wanted someone to continue the work of the Warner-Kaine administration. Friday's announcements that some members of the Warner team will stay on highlight Kaine's efforts to seek continuity.

Last month, Kaine announced that Warner's chief of staff, William H. Leighty, would stay on in that role.

But Kaine said he will soon offer some fresh faces for his Cabinet and dismissed questions about whether he was relying too heavily on people from his predecessor's administration.

"You are going to see a lot of new folks who are bringing new energy," Kaine said.

University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato, who directs the Center for Politics, said Kaine is smart to tap the expertise of Warner's staff, even if it means delaying the development of his own style.

"Every governor has to establish his own independent identity, but that almost inevitably comes eventually," Sabato said. In the area of public safety, he said, "this is not an area for inexperienced officials."

Lawmakers and law enforcement officials from both political parties praised Kaine for his choices Friday.

Wayne Huggins, executive director of the Virginia State Police Association, said keeping Marshall, 47, a former state trooper, is a deft move.