Virginia Gubernatorial candidates Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli answered questions posed by Northern Virginia business representatives Friday at a forum organized by four local chambers of commerce at Hylton Arts Center.
Members of the Prince William, Loundoun, Fredericksburg and Reston chambers asked the two candidates questions, allowing them each opening and closing statements.
Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate for Virginia Governor, presented himself as a pro-business Democrat who works well with both parties.
More Than Just Federal Jobs
McAuliffe said he would provide incentives for new businesses to move into the state.
He said his opponent, Ken Cuccinelli, could not be a pro-business governor after describing federal jobs as “not good jobs.”
He said technology produced at Virginia’s universities could help generate innovation in the state.
“(We need to do a) better job at getting our best research and commercializing it, taking it out to market, working along with the private sector,” McAuliffe said.
McAuliffe said Cuccinelli’s Tea Party values are not conducive to an “open and welcoming” business environment in the state.
Transportation Keeps Virginia Competitive
McAuliffe said transportation affects Virginia’s business climate.
“Making sure that we have a modern, efficient transportation system” is essential to keeping Virginia competitive, he said.
McAuliffe also touted the success of the Virginia Assembly’s new transportation bill, mentioning that his opponent was against it. Furthermore, he also said he worked to bring the Silver Line to Loundoun County.
“My opponent was the only state-wide official to be against it. Even after it was halfway constructed,” McAuliffe said.
However, McAuliffe said he was not yet decided on the issue of the Bi-County Parkway, justifying there was not enough information at the time for him to make a “reasonable” decision on the issue.
Change Focus of SOLs
McAuliffe said education is not “an expense” but an “investment” in Virginia.
He questioned how Cuccinelli could promote science and technology when he launched an attack on a Virginia University scientist for publishing a report that he disagreed with, costing the university $600,000.
Remarking on K-12 education, McAuliffe said he would change the focus from the Virginia Standards of Learning and SOL tests to practical job skills, especially in tech jobs.
“(The SOL’s) don’t work for our parents, our students or our teachers,” McAuliffe said.
Wind Turbines
McAuliffe suggested a combined approach to new energy solutions, rather than focusing on coal and oil. He said he would bring in new, greener technology such as wind turbines along the coast.
Women Should Get to Make Their Own Decisions
McAuliffe said that since “the Affordable Care Act has become the law of the land,” he would work to make it work for Virginians.
He said he would accept federal dollars to fund the expansion of Medicaid, adding that even conservative governors are accepting that federal aid.
On women’s health care, he said he trusts Virginian women enough to make decisions about their own bodies.
In Closing...
In McAuliffe’s closing remarks, he told audience members to remember that Cuccinelli has said he was interested in advancing business, but has used the office of Attorney General to try to close 30 women’s health care clinics, to discriminate against homosexuals and make some contraception methods illegal.
Additionally, he said Cuccinelli should return the personal gifts he had been given by campaign donors.
Virginia’s Republican candidate for Governor, current Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli began his opening speech at Hylton PAC criticizing his opponent Terry McAuliffe.
Lower Taxes Will Attract Business
“Terry is the only candidate in this race that has chased businesses out of Virginia,” Cuccinelli said.
He said McAuliffe’s company Greentech Automotive is currently under investigation for fraud and that even reserved delegates, like Republican Frank Wolf, had “expressed very deep concerns about Terry’s association with China.”
On businesses in Virginia, he said, Virginia needs to continue to diversify the businesses they introduce, and that low taxes would make it “foolish” for companies to leave Virginia.
Transportation Should Be More Local
Cuccinelli said that while he originally supported an alternative to the current transportation bill, he is fully on-board with it now.
He said that now the state should make transportation even more local, so local government has even more input on how the regional dollars are spent.
“I want the governor to be less influential in transportation,” he said.
He said he did not support the Silver Line because union involvement had substantially driven up costs.
On the Bi-County Parkway, Cuccinelli said he is for the parkway, but not for the closing of existing roads, saying we “shouldn’t be closing any major Northern Virginia arteries.”
Cuccinelli told reporters that the Commonwealth should “not be held hostage to one bureaucrat,” and he would fight the Parks Department to keep the roads open.
Charter Schools to Compete with Failing Schools
Cuccinelli said he was a patent lawyer. As such, he said he is very interested in innovation. He said he is already working with George Mason University to help them to patent the technologies they develop.
On K-8 education, he agreed with McAuliffe that the SOLs need to be fixed or eliminated, but he would also allow charter schools to compete with failing schools.
To promote science, Cuccinelli said Virginia needs to start early, “especially with girls and young women.”
Reform before Medicaid
Cuccinelli said he would not accept federal money for Medicaid, saying, “I believe reform must come first, absolutely must come first.”
He said that once a state opts into Medicaid, that state cannot opt out of the program, and he said he does not trust the federal government to fund the expansion as they have promised.
Additionally, he said that the expansion is not completely subsidized.
“We still pay one-half of the administrative costs,” Cuccinelli said.
He went so far as to describe it as “this rolling guilappi of a federal heath care bill.”
Coal Is King
On energy sources, Cuccinelli said he supported coal.
“A war on coal is a war on the poor in Virginia, and we need to fight for them,” Cuccinelli said.
Less Discussion, More Debate
Cuccinelli touted some of his more progressive initiatives such as helping the homeless, the mentally ill and abused women.
Cuccinelli said he rather the panel discussion be a debate, but his opponent refused. Therefore, they are holding many town halls across the Commonwealth.
On growing jobs, he said that economists believe that as governor, he can grow over 50,000 jobs in Virginia, but his opponent has not presented a job plan to economists.
He also asked Terry McAuliffle to release his tax returns.
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