Va. Governor Hopefuls Address Foundation for Research and Economic Education

Virginia's gubernatorial candidates began a final two-week sprint to the state's Democratic primary yesterday by addressing a constituency key to the Democratic Party's gains in recent years: the business community.

All three Democrats, along with the Republican nominee, appeared yesterday before about 500 elected officials and leading corporate executives at the annual luncheon of the Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education, an organization dedicated to fostering the state's healthy business climate.

State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran each pledged to improve the state's traffic-clogged roads, pursue sources of alternative energy to help grow the economy and maintain the state's right-to-work union rules.

They repeatedly invoked the name of Sen. Mark Warner (D), the former executive and Virginia governor who first convinced many in the state's moderate business community that Democrats offered more pragmatic solutions to quality-of-life problems.

But former attorney general Robert F. McDonnell (R) said he thinks this is the year the GOP can lure business back, aiming to appeal with a pledge to pursue oil drilling off the coast of Virginia and coal-fired plants along with renewable energy sources.

He also signaled yesterday that he hopes to make his opposition to federal "card-check" legislation a central issue against his eventual Democratic opponent. A top priority for unions, legislation pending before Congress would end secret balloting for workers deciding whether to join a union.

"They're coming back," McDonnell said. "There are just a lot of things going on that I think have the business community very much concerned that this U.S. Congress and this group of Democrat candidates are really not a pro-employer, pro-enterprise group."

All three Democrats yesterday attempted to walk a narrow line between union supporters and corporate interests on the card-check issue, noting that the federal legislation will be significantly amended. They said they would reserve final judgment on the bill until it is in its final form. But they said they do not think the divisive federal issue should play a major role in the race for governor.

With the June 9 primary election approaching, the three Democratic candidates used the luncheon to present their closing arguments to voters. Deeds told the group that after years of representing a rural part of the state in the General Assembly, he is best positioned to bring disparate regions together behind a new plan for improving state roads. He pledged to hold a special session on transportation if necessary during his first year in office.

Moran reminded the business group of his long years of support for the group, after years serving as the leading Democrat in the House of Delegates. He said his plans for improving the economy included supporting small businesses and preventing foreclosures through a new homeowner's bill of rights.

McAuliffe, meanwhile, likened himself to Warner, a businessman who had never served in Richmond before his election. McAuliffe said he would bring an outsider's eye to a stalemated capital and create new jobs.

Also becoming clear yesterday: Deeds has apparently recalibrated his strategy, launching a late push in Northern Virginia. He had been scheduled to skip yesterday's event, but he added it to his schedule Sunday. Deeds has also agreed in recent days to appear before the Fairfax Democratic Committee and before the Fairfax Education Association, a shift in emphasis for a campaign that until now had been focused more heavily downstate.