Juggling 2 Roles Is Kaine's Third Job
Va. Governor's Divided Workload Raises Questions

By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 25, 2009

RICHMOND -- As chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean traveled an average of 185,000 miles each year, reaching all 50 states, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Puerto Rico.

When he wasn't on the road, Dean was never more than a phone call away from state party chairs, Democratic leaders and major donors who helped Dean bank hundreds of millions of dollars for the party.

Now that Timothy M. Kaine has taken over for Dean, the governor of the nation's 12th most populous state is having to learn to juggle two demanding jobs.

Kaine has vowed to limit his DNC activities until Virginia's legislature adjourns in early March. But with nine months remaining in his term as governor, Kaine will face the enormous task of maintaining Dean's 50-state strategy and the massive political organization that President Obama built during his campaign last year.

"I will travel but will just try to make sure my responsibilities as governor get my very focused attention, " Kaine said. At the same time, he pledged "to do a very focused job of keeping this party going."

The divided workload that awaits Kaine has sparked debate within the national party and in Virginia about his ability to successfully manage both jobs while avoiding political, ethical and legal pitfalls.

The last elected official to also serve as a party chairman was former Virginia governor James S. Gilmore III (R). His former aides warn that Kaine could struggle to manage both roles.

"If he is just the guy who talks on the morning shows and puts his name on press releases, he can do it," said M. Boyd Marcus, who served as Gilmore's chief of staff. "But if he is actually running it, he is going to have spend a lot of time there."

Democratic activists also question how Kaine can manage a state with a $75 billion budget and a national political party. Markos Moulitsas, founder of the Daily Kos, an influential liberal blog, said Kaine will undoubtedly have to "shortchange" one of his two jobs.

"Running a party should be a full-time job, and anything less than that is not giving the job what it deserves," Moulitsas said.

When Obama selected Kaine, he called him an ideal party chairman. Kaine, who is Catholic and speaks Spanish, is widely credited with helping Democrats, including Obama, win in Virginia. To ease concerns, Obama dispatched one of his top political advisers, Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, to oversee the party's day-to-day operations.

At the DNC annual winter meeting last week, many party leaders, including Dean, said they had full confidence in Kaine's ability to do both jobs.

"It's totally different with a Democratic president. He will have no trouble doing this," said Dean, who said he recommended to Obama that he select Kaine as chairman. "The burden is not as great, so this is a perfect fit."

Still, Kaine will likely become entangled in an ongoing debate among state Democratic chairs over strategy. As chairman, Dean dispatched full-time organizers in 50 states, a strategy many state Democratic chairs praised. But the program has been suspended so Obama can retool it.

Some Democratic leaders say the changes have resulted in considerable apprehension in the states, which Kaine will have to move quickly to quell. And despite having a Democrat in the White House, state leaders say it's still important for Kaine to leave the Washington region.

"Dean came to Oklahoma three times, and I could pick up that phone and get to Dean whenever I wanted," said Ivan Holmes, chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party.

Last week, the governor stressed that he understood the importance of being a visible chairman.

"I will be true to the strategy that every state, every community, every person matters," he said.

Beyond the demanding schedule, Kaine's dual roles create a thicket of legal and political issues. When he travels on party business, Kaine will be accompanied by his Virginia security detail at state expense. It's unclear whether the party will be asked to reimburse the state for travel expenses. Special phone lines might have to be installed at the governor's mansion so Kaine is not conducting party business on a state-funded phone, Marcus said.

Lynda Tran, Kaine's communications director, said, "I know there are probably a series of rules and regulations that have to be taken into account, and I am sure he will be following them."

Lawyers say Kaine will also have to quickly figure out whether he can continue to raise money for his state political action committee, Moving Virginia Forward, without violating federal campaign finance rules.

In Virginia, politicians can raise unlimited amounts from individuals, corporations and unions. But when he is raising money for the national party, Kaine cannot solicit corporate donors and can collect no more than $15,000 a year from a political action committee and $30,400 from an individual.

Because of the differing rules, federal election laws prohibit federal officeholders from operating state political committees. The ban does not extend to national party chairs, but legal experts said Kaine might want to voluntarily dismantle Moving Virginia Forward to avoid the appearance that the DNC chair is also raising so-called soft money.

"The key question is whether he could operate the PAC in a way that could be separate from his role as DNC chair," said Robert K. Kelner, an ethics specialist with the D.C. law firm Covington and Burling.

Scott Thomas, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, said Kaine should ask the FEC to clarify the regulations before he attempts to raise money for both the national party and his PAC.

"At the outset, someone should take a fresh look at it," Thomas said. "That would be the wise thing to do if someone is going to step into this arena."

At the same time, Kaine is facing increased scrutiny from Republicans in Richmond, who question whether the state's or Obama's interest will take precedence this year.

"The notion he can put the DNC chair hat on when he is in Washington, D.C., or Montana, and then suddenly take it back off when he gets to Richmond and become a bipartisan consensus builder defies logic," said Del. William R. Janis (R-Goochland).

Any move Kaine makes will be viewed through a different prism. When his administration directed almost $1 million to offer free bus service on Inauguration Day, Republicans accused him of using tax dollars to shuttle people to a partisan event.

State officials said the service was clearly needed to avoid gridlock in Northern Virginia.

Mark Minor, who worked for Gilmore both in the governor's mansion and at the RNC, said Kaine is quickly going to discover that he will be "pulled in many directions."

"It has to be a balancing act," Minor said. "The chairman of the party wears many hats, as does a governor."