Va. Tries Again To Fund Roads

Difficulty Reflects Regional Split

RICHMOND, July 8 -- Virginia legislators will return to the state Capitol on Wednesday for a last-ditch effort at finding a solution to fund transportation projects, but few officials expect an agreement, heightening a political rift between traffic-choked Northern Virginia and the rest of the state.

Politics and transportation have long been a volatile mix in elections across the Washington region, and this year's stalemate over taxes is at the forefront of Democrats' efforts to make inroads in the traditionally conservative state.

Since 2000, political analysts and Democratic strategists say, there has been a direct correlation between the worsening traffic in Northern Virginia, the debate over what to do about it in Richmond and the decline of the GOP in that part of the state.

"If you look at the gains Democrats have made in Northern Virginia . . . there is a lot of stuff in that powder keg, but transportation is what lit the fuse," said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald. E. Connolly, the Democratic nominee for Congress in the 11th District. "It is the premier symbol of everything that is wrong with the Republican power structure."

In recent years, many Virginia Democrats have been pushing to raise taxes to pay for more roads and maintain the old ones. Some moderate Republicans have joined in the effort. But conservatives from other parts of the state, who control the House of Delegates, have hesitated, citing their party's core principle of looking for savings before asking taxpayers to dig deeper into their pockets.

"I think there is a disconnect between Gerry Connolly and [Democrats] and their citizens," said Del. M. Kirkland Cox (R-Colonial Heights), the House majority whip. "They have become a little bit arrogant and think they are bulletproof. . . . They have a one-note solution -- taxes -- and I don't think the man on the street wants them."

The debate will occur again Wednesday in Richmond when the House considers a Senate plan to raise taxes statewide and additionally in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia to pay for transportation upgrades. House Republicans want only regional plans.

Some political analysts believe the outcome of the debate could hold far-reaching consequences for the Virginia GOP, including helping Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Obama will campaign in Fairfax County Thursday.

"There is a ripple effect," said Quentin Kidd, a political science professor at Christopher Newport University. "If you are looking at a still pond and transportation is a pebble, . . . it ripples across all these races."

Since 2002, when legislators in Richmond began the most recent talks about raising money for transportation, Republicans have lost six House seats in Fairfax County. Today, there are only three GOP delegates from Fairfax, all of whom are expected to be fighting for their political survival in the 2009 elections. The GOP had four senators from Fairfax in 2004, but today Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II is the only Republican senator from the county.

Republicans have also lost statewide elections in Northern Virginia over the same time period.

In 2001, Mark R. Warner, now a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, won the three congressional districts in Northern Virginia by about 43,000 votes. Four years later, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) won those same districts by 105,000 votes. In 2006, Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) won them by about 113,000 votes.