In a campaign that has lately shifted the debate to taxes, state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic Party candidate for governor, says Republican candidate Robert F. McDonnell is exaggerating the potential cost that Deeds' proposals would cost Virginia's families.

Leaving aside the GOP's questionable claim that Deeds' total tax tab would amount to about $7,800 per family -- which would require yet another foray into the thicket of computations and counter-computations of the impact of cap-and-trade regulation on American consumers -- let's focus for the moment on the bill for transportation.

Deeds says Virginia needs at least $1 billion in new revenues every year to fix its transportation woes.

He does not specify where the new money will come from, other than to say that he will not use any money that now supports the state's public schools. He tells a scrum of reporters that he will not raise any taxes that go to the state's general fund, such as sales and income taxes. But he promises in writing that, as governor, he would enact a bipartisan, comprehensive transportation plan, "even if" it includes new taxes, to fix "a multibillion-dollar backlog."

For taking this stand, Deeds has won plaudits from some, including the editorial page of The Washington Post. The Post praised Deeds for "political guts" in acknowledging that taxpayers must foot the bill for "tens of billions of dollars in new revenue." The same page dismissed McDonnell's plan, which spurns any new taxes for roads, "as phony-baloney."

Yet when McDonnell accused Deeds during a recent debate -- and now in ads that began airing Oct. 10 -- of supporting "another billion dollars in taxes" or a "billion dollar tax increase," Deeds said McDonnell was lying.

Fairfax County has scrapped together enough signatures of landowners to create a special tax district, the "missing piece" in the public-funding plan for 23 miles of Metro stations from Reston to Dulles International Airport and beyond, officials said Thursday.

An announcement is scheduled for Friday.

"I'm delighted. This brings us another step closer to having stations in the Herndon-Reston area as part of rail to Dulles," said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova (D).

The Western Alliance for Rail to Dulles, a nonprofit group made up of Fairfax landowners, has worked to collect a 51 percent majority of affected landowners to create the tax district, which would pay for about $330 million in capital funding for the project.

To implement the district, the group needs support from either a majority of the affected landowners or from owners controlling a majority of the land in the area. The petition now needs approval from the Herndon Town Council and Fairfax's Board of Supervisors.

U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a former chairman of the Fairfax board, called the announcement critical to ensuring that Metro would extend its service through Fairfax and into Loudoun County.

Today the Post brings you two opportunities to discuss the Virginia governor's race with our reporters and editors and your fellow readers.

At noon today, Post reporters Anita Kumar and Rosalind Helderman, who are assigned to the two campaigns, will take your questions and comments on the race. They'll be joined by former VCU professor Bob Holsworth, who now runs his Virginia Tomorrow blog. Submit your questions, then watch the discussion from noon to 1 p.m.

Those interested in digging deeper into Creigh Deeds's and Bob McDonnell's competing transportation plans can use our annotation tool to comment on and debate specific points in the candidates' proposals. Click here to see McDonnell's plan or click here for Deeds's.

Northern Virginia U.S. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly took readers' questions earlier today, discussion transportation, health care plans, the environment, Creigh Deeds vs. Bob McDonnell and more. Excerpts follow.

Washington, DC: What are your views on DC voting rights? Will you help move the bill through this session?

Rep. Gerry Connolly: I support D.C. voting rights. It is unconscionable that 600,000 Americans living in the District of Columbia do not having voting representation in Congress.

I am a cosponsor of legislation to give D.C. a vote in Congress and will do everything in my power to make it happen as soon as possible.

For some time now, state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D) has been bashing Robert F. McDonnell, his Republican opponent in the governor's race, for his stance on school funding.

Deeds and fellow Democrats accuse McDonnell of wanting to raid K-12 education funding to fix the transportation mess in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.
In a press release earlier this month, the Deeds campaign said McDonnell "has pledged to take $5.4 billion from our schools to pay for roads."

Deeds made similar claims in an Aug. 21 speech at George Mason University and again at Wednesday's debate sponsored by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce in McLean.

Happy Friday, Virginia, here's what's happening in state politics today.

The news offers political junkies two interesting indicators about the gubernatorial contest between R. Creigh Deeds (D) and Robert F. McDonnell (R). The two men sparred over a wide range of issues, from the economy to energy to gay adoptions, at a debate in Tysons Corner yesterday, which was tense from the very start.

Afterward, Deeds was asked by a scrum of reporters about an apparent contradiction in his position on raising taxes for transportation. The line of questioning provoked a snippy response to a female reporter, which was caught on tape. Bob McCartney was not impressed with Deeds' performance.

Fairfax County leaders are urging state officials to restart their plan to build express lanes on two traffic-clogged highways in Northern Virginia, saying the delay or termination of the I-395/95 HOT lane project would exacerbate a "commuting nightmare" for Beltway residents.

In a letter dated Tuesday to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova (D) wrote that county officials had "very grave reservations" about the HOT lanes project delay, asking that the state re-evaluate its decision.

The I-395/95 HOT lanes would extend south from the Pentagon to Massaponax in Spotsylvania County, intersecting the Beltway at the Springfield interchange. Construction was to have begun by next summer. (Check out What's Next for Virginia's HOT Lanes by Dr. Gridlock)

Good morning Virginia, here's what's happening in politics around the state today.

While state lawmakers meet in Richmond today to address a recent Supreme Court ruling that could throw a wrench into many prosecutions, one big piece of news out of the special session will be the additional cuts Gov. Kaine is expected to propose to the budget.

Among the attendees will be state senator and gubernatorial hopeful Creigh Deeds (D) . He and GOP opponent Bob McDonnell each picked up a key endorsement yesterday, and today McDonnell spends the day in private meetings and visiting with businesses and law enforcement officials in Hampton Roads, a spokeswoman said this morning.

Good morning, here's what's happening in politics around the state.

Virginia lawmakers struggle with the reality that the piggy bank is empty for transportation. Gov. Kaine has decided to delay part of the HOT Lanes project, a decision that drew an instant rebuke from GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell.

The Post uses Virginia as a test case for the health care debate and finds broad skepticism.

State lawmakers have begun working on legislation to address a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that could make prosecuting criminals more difficult. The General Assembly meets tomorrow to consider the changes and will likely get some bad news about the state budget too, says the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star.

Aug. 3, 2009
Good morning, Virginia. Here's what's doing in politics across the Commonwealth today.

It's a big week for the Creigh Deeds campaign. Thursday will find Deeds trying to jazz supporters at the side of the popular President of the United States in McLean. He's hoping that will put to an end discussions like this one suggesting he wants Obama's donors and excitement, but not his policies.But what will they talk about? We're betting not health care, if Deeds had his druthers. Maybe George Bush instead?

Before and after the NoVa Obama rally, Deeds travels through newly dubbed Deeds Country, southwest and western Virginia, kicked off yesterday in Charlottesville. Mark Warner won the state in part by making a credible play in such communities, long lost to Democrats, edging up in his numbers there and weakening the Republican base.

Of course, the last two Democrats to win state office have done so by concentrating on swing suburbs, areas that have only become more Democratic and populous since 2001. Does Deeds risk alienating the NoVa voters he desperately needs by a kick-off that suggests it is rural Shenandoah Valley that is Deeds country? Dem bloggers are concerned maybe yes. Campaign Manager Joe Abbey answers, via twitter, nope.

Bob McDonnell did some classic retail politics over the weekend. He'll have a hard time getting ink or links this week with Obama coming to town but is planning to start traveling the state soon in a Winnebago. People love a Winnebago.

Both camps keep getting bad press from state opinion writers about their transportation plans, but Deeds somewhat more so.

A new Public Policy Poll is out this week. The group's teasing tweets suggest it'll have the GOP up in Virginia.

Gov. Kaine was in Martha's Vineyard over the weekend for DNC business, but this morning sees Virginia National Guard troops off to Iraq in Virginia Beach, then meets with state budget officers in Norfolk and talks campus security in Richmond.

Sen. Webb and Warner join President Obama at George Mason this morning to sign Webb's new G.I. Bill for vets in a post Sept. 11 world.

Unemployment insurance is running out across the country. Can Dems use these numbers to restart the debate over benefits in Virginia?

Gov. Tim Kaine picks up the pen today as Virginia's columnist-in-chief, addressing transportation in this morning's Washington Post. Check it out.

The General Assembly's debate over transportation this week set up a rare, clear division between the two Democratic candidates for governor next year.

Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath) voted in favor of a plan by Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) to raise the state's gas tax by six cents over six years, which would cost the average family about $45 a year. Deed's likely opponent in next year's Democratic primary, Del. Brian J. Moran (D-Alexandria), voted to strip the gas tax from Saslaw's bill when it got to the House floor.

The two campaigns are now throwing verbal jabs at the other over the issue.

If you are eagerly awaiting a breakthrough in the standoff over transportation between Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and House Republican leaders, you should probably go onto the next posting.

They haven't even been talking.

When state legislators left Richmond June 26 after failing to reach a consensus on transportation funding, Gov. Kaine called Howell (R-Stafford) and Majority Whip M. Kirkland Cox (R-Colonial Heights) into his office to talk. But the meeting lasted only a few minutes, according to Cox and Howell, both of whom described it as a waste of time.

LIUNA, the Laborers' International Union of North America, began radio ads today in several area across the state "urging progress on the state's transportation crisis that negatively affects working people every day."

The ads will run in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond and Fredericksburg through Wednesday when the General Assembly returns to the state Capitol to try once again to find money for road and transit projects.

"Investing in Virginia's transportation system will dramatically improve safety and quality of life, while creating 50,000 good jobs in local economies," said Terence M. O'Sullivan, LIUNA General President. "Delegates in the Virginia House must take care of Virginia's basic priorities - the roads, highways, bridges and transit systems that the working men and women of the state rely on every day. It's time to build Virginia so Virginia works."

Shortly after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) called a special session to try to tackle transportation funding issues, the governor gave a blunt assessment of what he hoped to accomplish by advocating a tax increase even though he didn't have the support of the Republican-controlled House of Delegates.

"It will be very productive to either try to find a solution or make it plain to people who are standing in the way," Kaine said in an interview with The Washington Post in May. "We are going to make something happen or let the public see who is obstructing, and frankly, that is one of the reasons why Democrats have won elections in Virginia."

But 10 days into the special session on transportation -- legislators have been on vacation for six of those days -- it remains uncertain whether any solution will be found or whether the governor will score any of those political points.

After three days of bickering during the special session on transportation, legislators are starting to dispense with the niceties.

In debating a bill at the Rules Committee this morning, Del. R. Steven Landes (R-Augusta) started to use the term "Democrat friends" when he was quickly interrupted.

"Excuse me, did he say Democrat?'' House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry) asked. "I believe it's Democratic."

Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) defended Landes. "Friends was the important word,'' he said.

"Actually grammar matters. Sorry, Mr. Speaker," Del. Kristen J. Amundson (D-Fairfax) said.

When Landes resumed talking, he stayed away from the word and used the safer term "friends from the other side" instead.

Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick of Prince William, who vowed not to run for re-election next year if he was elected chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said he may reconsider that pledge.

"A lot of guys around here are trying to convince me,'' Frederick said during a House recess. "I really don't want to (run)...But if there's this huge call and everyone in the world wants me to run for re-election, I guess there is some chance. If the whole world says we're going to relieve you of your pledge."

Frederick said he is 99.9 percent sure he will not run but that he is continuing to raise money to help his wife, Amy, if she decides to run for his seat and to continue to pay for costs to serve his district over the next 18 months.

"I'm not relieving myself of my responsibilities in representing the people of the 52nd district,'' he said. Frederick said in May that he made his decision not to run for re-election because of concerns from party leaders that it would be too hard for him to be both a delegate and the leader of the state party. His most recent fundraising letter can be read below.

Just last week, Del. William R. Janis (R-Goochland) criticized Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) for spending too much time on Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) presidential campaign, which included traveling to Texas to speak on his behalf at a Democratic party convention.

Today, Janis was one of the legislators picked by House Speaker William J. Howell to escort Kaine into the House chamber for his speech to the General Assembly on transportation.

"Are you sure he's not in Texas?'' Janis said as he left the House floor to meet Kaine.

Updated 5:38 p.m.

Del. Phil Hamilton (R-Newport News) and Sen. Jill Vogel (R-Winchester) responded to Kaine's remarks this afternoon.

Meanwhile, the list of bills introduced, continued to grow - considerably.

Updated 2:30 p.m.

Gov. Kaine addressed lawmakers, following a morning appearance with the Virginia Business Council.

"In Virginia, we don't make our reputations or improve our communities by delay or inaction," Kaine said in prepared remarks. "We rise and fall by our results. In the words of Cervantes, 'good actions ennoble us and we are the children of our deeds.'"

New bills introduced today...

Days before the General Assembly returns to Richmond for a special session on transportation Monday, many legislators still say they have little or no hope of reaching an agreement on how to fund road and transit projects.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) will address the Democratic caucuses of the House and Senate Sunday night and Monday morning and then the entire 140-member General Assembly at 1 p.m. to encourage them to pass a bill.

Republicans, and even many Democrats, are skeptical.

So what's going to happen next week during the special session on transportation? Probably not much, but who knows? So we are not even going to try to make a prediction. We'll leave that to others. Here is a sampling of predictions -- as a well as a few partisan shots -- from current and former state legislators and lobbyists.

As lawmakers prepare to head back to town next month to try to resolve how to finance transportation projects, it is looking increasingly like the special session might repeat of the pattern of the past two years.

That pattern goes something like this: Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), backed by some Democratic lawmakers, pushes a big tax increase. House Republicans, most of whom have little connection to heavily congested Northern Virginia, kill the proposal. Lawmakers leave town knowing full well it's only a matter of time before they return to repeat the entire exercise.

During the lengthy House session Thursday afternoon, Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) challenged House Speaker William J. Howell about whether an amendment on a transportation bill was relevant.

As Howell considered the answer, he invited Marshall and the sponsor of the amendment, House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem), to the front of the chamber to discuss the question. House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry) also joined them.

To say Del. R. Steven Landes (R-Augusta) was peeved with Armstrong's presence is an understatement.

Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who opposed the landmark transportation bill that the Virginia Supreme Court declared unconstitutional Friday, can't help but feel a little vindicated.

"Fours words: I told you so,'' said Marshall, one of the plaintiffs in the suit against the transportation plan. "I'm not going to say that. Look, last year when this thing was going on, I said I wanted an opinion that said this was constitutional. We never got it."

Marshall, who is running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate this year, said there were 17 votes in the House against the bill last year but he was the only one who filed a lawsuit.

Is he the only political winner today?

"The people are the winners,'' he said. "I just stood up for them."

RICHMOND - Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) tonight delivered the State of the Commonwealth address to the Joint Assembly in Richmond. The text of his speech follows:
"Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the General Assembly, my fellow Virginians:

It is with great pride in our shared history that we return tonight to our historic Capitol. This Capitol is entering its 220th year of service, as home to the oldest continuous legislature in the New World.

Winners

Legislative Black Caucus - Senate leaders announced this week that four out of five African-American senators will chair a committee when the General Assembly convenes in January, a stunning ascendancy in power in a state that has historically be run by white men.

Doug Denneny - A Democratic House candidate in the 11th congressional district, Denneny was endorsed this week by U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa), a rising star within the Democratic party. Denneny and Murphy are both veterans of the war an Iraq, which they oppose.

As first reported (I think) by Republican blogger Shaun Kenney, Sen. Linda T. "Toddy" Puller (D-Fairfax) has introduced legislation to increase the state's gasoline tax by 5 percent.

Puller's proposal to raise the 17.5 cent a gallon gas tax, which hasn't been raised since 1986, comes amid growing calls to eliminate the controversial fees on bad drivers.

Yesterday, incoming Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) refused to rule out a gas tax increase as a substitute for the abuser fees, which were designed to raise $65 million annually for transportation.

Earlier today, Del. Brian J. Moran (D-Alexandria) announced he will introduce legislation to repeal the abuser fees. Yesterday, the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission released a report that questions whether the fees were good public policy.

Earlier today, I conducted a 20-minute interview with New York Public Radio about Virginia politics.

Amy Eddings, a guest host for the "The Leonard Lopate Show" on WYNC, wanted to know if Virginia really is turning blue? We discussed last week's state legislative elections and next year's presidential and U.S. Senate contests. I also took questions about the state's shifting demographics, illegal immigration and the role of military voters in state politics.

You can find an audio clip of the interview here.

Joseph Blackburn, a conservative who narrowly lost his challenge to Sen. Walter A. Stosch (R-Henrico) in this year's Republican primary, has stepped into the debate over whether House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) should replaced.

On Sunday, the House Republican caucus will meet to decide Howell's fate. Several conservative Republicans, including Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), are trying to unseat Howell because they blame him for straying from his party's core conservative principles, which they say cost the GOP support in recent elections.

Blackburn, whose been mentioned a possible candidate for House in 2009, has sent a letter to Del. John M. O'Bannon III (R-Henrico) calling on him to join the effort to unseat Howell.

You can read Blackburn's letter below.

Doug Denneny, a retired Naval commander, has kicked off his campaign for the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 11th District.

In a series of events this week, Denneny stressed his background and stance on the issues makes him best candidate to replace Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va), who has yet to announce whether he plans to seek reelection.

Denneny is calling for an immediate end to the war in Iraq, universal access to health care and additional federal help for Northern Virginia's traffic problems.

House Republicans could be in for a contentious meeting Sunday when they decide if Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) should stay in his job.

Most observers expect Howell, who became speaker in 2002, will win reelection as speaker, even though Republicans have lost a net of 11 House seats since he took over, including four in last week's elections.

But at least one delegate, Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), said today he plans to force a debate Sunday on whether Howell should be replaced. Marshall blames Howell for costing the GOP House seats because House leaders pushed for last year's transportation package, which included controversial fees on bad drivers and new taxes in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.

There is another poll out that shows the public doesn't think the recently approved transportation package will do enough to solve the state's traffic woes.

On Sunday, the Washington Post published a poll that showed voters by a 2 to 1 margin don't think the transportation funding package supported by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D)_ and GOP leaders, designed to raise $1 billion annually, does enough.

The findings in The Post poll are confirmed in a survey released today by Christopher Newport University. That poll found just 18 percent of voters think the transportation deal, which relies on regional taxing districts in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, goes far enough in solving the problem.