Governor in Battle Amid Budget Stalemate; GOP Readies Response
By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 19, 2006
RICHMOND -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine plans to barnstorm this week on behalf of higher taxes for roads and transit, holding town hall meetings in southwest Virginia even as lawmakers remain deadlocked on the state's budget.
Back from a week-long trip to visit National Guard troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Kaine (D) will stump for his $1 billion-a-year transportation plan in Bristol and Hillsville at the beginning of the week.
"I'm told I have a pretty aggressive schedule," Kaine said Friday as he got off his plane. "I'll be spending my time just going around and talking to Virginians and doing what I've done since Election Day, which is explaining why it is important to do this and do it now."
Republican lawmakers in the House of Delegates also will be seeking to sway public opinion in the week before the General Assembly returns March 27 for a special session. GOP delegates are in their districts armed with sample letters to the editor and other material to help explain their opposition to higher taxes.
"When I go back home, I am not having people come up to me saying, 'Bill, you have to raise taxes.' And I live in one of the most affected areas in the state," House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) said. "I'm not hearing from them saying, 'Golly day, you have to raise money and give it to VDOT.' "
But neither side has launched a full-scale public relations campaign similar to the one that former Democratic governor Mark R. Warner engineered in 2004 during a legislative stalemate over raising taxes for state services.
Kaine has prepared an election-style campaign that includes radio ads, direct mail and automated telephone calls aimed at increasing the pressure on 26 Republican delegates to reach a compromise. But aides said the governor is waiting to see how budget negotiations go before deciding whether to launch the public relations assault.
"You'll know when you see," Kaine said.
Howell said such an effort "just digs our people in more firmly." And he said last week that his GOP caucus does not have the resources to match Kaine's effort if he decides to launch it.
"See, we don't have the luxury," he told reporters. "I'd love to go out and raise a quarter of a million and use it on media in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. But I can't do that. I just don't have the ability. A quarter of a million is a lot to raise in a few days."
Kaine and the Republican-controlled state Senate are pushing similar transportation plans that would add about $1 billion a year for road and transit improvements by raising some taxes and fees. The Republican leadership in the House wants to allocate about $350 million in continuing revenue for roads, bridges and transit without raising taxes.
Lawmakers in both parties are using the time off to connect directly with their constituents.
Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), for example, said he suggested to a civic association in a politically conservative part of his Springfield district that taxes could go up just in Northern Virginia to pay for new roads and transit. The new taxes would not be used in other parts of the state.
He said he was surprised by the reaction. "I told them my solution is a regional approach under one nonnegotiable rule: that Richmond never touches our money," Albo said. "I literally got a standing ovation."
The assembly's budget negotiators have been talking about the idea of concentrating transportation spending in the most congested regions.
"We're discussing a regional approach, which is something we favor," said House Appropriations Chairman Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-Fairfax) before leaving Thursday for a week-long trip to England, where he is scheduled to present a resolution honoring Winston Churchill. "We're just in the discussion stage."
Howell and other House leaders have said they want to direct the most money toward Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. But senators have said they do not want to help those regions without also helping other areas.
"We've always agreed there is some self-help need in those two areas," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman John H. Chichester (R-Northumberland). "That we would do that to the exclusion of the rest of the state is problematic. There is a rest of the state."
Despite pledges to work round-the-clock, budget negotiators spent less than seven hours in discussions last week. Lawmakers adjourned the regular General Assembly session without a budget and without a deal on transportation funding.
The House and Senate negotiators met behind closed doors Wednesday for almost five hours but emerged saying that little progress had been made.
"One would have to deduce from today's conference that the House is not interested in a long-term transportation solution for the state," Chichester said after the meeting.
"Nothing really accomplished," Callahan said later. The Senate "wants to use taxes and we want to use some debt," he said.
The group met again Thursday morning for about two hours. Afterward, they decided to abandon their efforts until Tuesday. They said Del. Phillip A. Hamilton (R-Newport News) had agreed to discuss the idea of taxes in Hampton Roads with other members who represent those communities.
Howell said he was hopeful that the negotiators would make steady progress. But he declined to predict how long it could take to reach a deal on the budget and transportation issues.
"I think at some point, the pressure will become such that both sides will realize they need to compromise and come up with something," Howell said. "We're certainly not at that point. We think our package is good. We think our package addresses the needs of Virginians without raising taxes."
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