McAuliffe Consoles, Campaigns at GM Plant

The Washington Post
June 3rd, 2009
Rosalind Helderman

From the annals of smart campaigning... Terry McAuliffe made a stop this afternoon at the GM plant in Fredericksburg that the company announced Monday it is shuttering as part of its bankruptcy filing.

Not a bad move for the candidate who has made job creation the centerpiece of his run for the governor's mansion. McAuliffe took a tour of the plant, which is scheduled to close in 2010, as a guest of local UAW leaders and Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors Chairman Henry "Hap" Connors Jr, whose endorsed his campaign.

Melvin Carter, the local union political coordinator, said he'd welcome any of the candidates--he said he's invited everyone "all the way up to the White House" to visit the plant--but only McAuliffe had so far reached out to make it happen. The plant once employed 300--now only 68 people work at the mostly quiet factory that manufacturers torque converter clutch plants.
"It's good to know he's interested," Carter said. "You know what they always say, contact your congressman or senator. Well..."

Click here to read more.

Profile of Terry on WAMU

WAMU ran this story on Terry's grassroots campaign and bold ideas to get Virginia's economy moving again.

Click here to read more.

Governor hopeful: Jobs best fix for Va.

June 1st, 2009
Northern Virginia Daily
Garren Shipley

Opponents may call Terry McAuliffe many things, but "inconsistent" and "lethargic" aren't among them.

The former Democratic National Committee chairman turned gubernatorial candidate made the rounds of Virginia this past week, hammering on the same theme he's been on since December.

Jobs, jobs, jobs.

McAuliffe, a latecomer to the race, has focused on economic issues since he began his "listening tour" last year.

McAuliffe faces former Del. Brian Moran, D-Alexandria, and state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, in an open June 9 Democratic primary.

Click here to read more.

Rivals Take Aim at McAuliffe in Final Primary Debate

May 19th, 2009
The Washington Post
Anita Kumar

Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls R. Creigh Deeds and Brian Moran sought to isolate Terry McAuliffe in the final debate among the three primary candidates today by repeatedly and vigorously attacking him on his credibility.

Deeds and Moran accused McAuliffe of promising too much to too many, charged that he exaggerated claims about his business record and suggested he had hidden the truth about his campaign donations.

"These are the divisive politics of destruction that people are sick and tired of," McAuliffe said. "We need a healthy discussion on the issues," he added, defending his record and calling the charges untrue.

Click here to read more.

McAuliffe Receives Celebrity Endorsement

May 13th, 2009
Connection Newspapers
Julia O'Donoghue

While political opponents criticize Terry McAuliffe for accepting political donations from wealthy Californians, the Virginia gubernatorial candidate appears to be running toward, not away from, his West Coast connections.

Hip-hop artist will.i.am took an overnight plane from Los Angeles to Dulles International Airport to spend the day campaigning with McAuliffe in Virginia May 11.

The celebrity tour included an evening event at the Clarendon Ballroom in Arlington County, where those willing to donate $20 to the McAuliffe campaign could see will.i.am perform in front of a small crowd. People willing to give $500 got the opportunity to meet the music producer at a VIP reception before the short concert.

Click here to read more.

McAuliffe travels this part of campaign trail in algae-fueled car

May 7th, 2009
The Progress-Index
Markus Schmidt

PRINCE GEORGE — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe believes that a interstate high-speed rail would create 176,000 new jobs in Virginia. “We ought to have high speed rail from Washington to Richmond to the Hampton Roads area,” McAuliffe said in an interview with The Progress-Index in Prince George County, where he was campaigning yesterday.

McAuliffe added that the rail could have a stop in Petersburg.

He also pointed out the environmental benefits of such a project. “You’d get rid of tens of thousands of tons of CO2 emissions and we’d get a million cars off the road,” he said.

Click here to read more.

Green group endorses McAuliffe in Va. race

May 6th, 2009
Associated Press
Bob Lewis

RICHMOND, Va. - Terry McAuliffe got the endorsement of a national environmental advocacy group in Virginia's three-man Democratic gubernatorial primary.

The League of Conservation Voters endorsed the former Democratic National Committee chairman Wednesday even though his rival, Brian Moran, is more outspoken against new coal-fired power plants.

Click here to read more.

The record to create jobs

Terry has a long, successful career as an entrepreneur with 13 years experience running large organizations. This morning the Washington Post examined some of the work Terry's done -- creating thousands of jobs and turning around struggling institutions. I want to make sure you've had a chance to read it.

When Terry sees opportunities, he finds ways to make them happen. He started his first business when he was just 14 years old, paving driveways so he could pay for college. At age 30, he was elected one of the youngest people to ever serve as Chairman of a federally chartered bank, which had fallen on some hard times. Terry came in, replaced the leadership team, brought in new capital, and turned things around. At a time when the federal government has had to rescue so many banks that couldn't sustain themselves, we've got a candidate who saved one from failure.

Click here to read more.

Too Far

Today, one of our Democratic opponents took their attacks against Terry too far. Virginia Democrats have worked too long and too hard to stand by and watch the divisiveness that's plagued the Republicans start poisoning our Party just when we've had great success.

Everyone knows that Terry McAuliffe supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries. But the day after she got out of the race, he hit the road fighting for Barack Obama. Terry spent the last 30 years of his life volunteering to advance Democratic causes; he even built from scratch the voter file that that helped Barack Obama win in Virginia. And to insinuate that he is a traitor to our Party is beyond nonsense -- it is a Karl Rove-style attack.

I've always said that this primary was going to get rough, but in all the years I've worked in Virginia politics, I've never seen another Democrat use the kind of smear tactics that are being used against Terry for taking a bipartisan approach to politics - just like Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Jim Webb and Barack Obama.

Click here to read more.

Great Expectations

March 25th, 2009
Editorial
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe is not only raising the volume of the gubernatorial contest. He is also raising the bar.

McAuliffe is rolling out a series of position papers on energy and business that go well beyond the typical two-page brochure full of bromides. This is not to say they eschew bromides; they include plenty. But they include more than mere bromides. In this day and age, that's commendable.

Click here to read more.

McAuliffe reveals plan to revive jobs

March 24th, 2009
Garren Shipley
The Northern Virginia Daily

With Virginia's economy shedding jobs and unemployment rising, the campaigns of the three Democratic gubernatorial candidates are finding a common, familiar refrain.

As Bill Clinton's lead political strategist, James Carville, famously said during the 1992 presidential race, "It's the economy, stupid."

Unemployment in the Old Dominion rose to 6.4 percent in January after seeing rates as low as 3 percent in 2006, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. Manufacturing wages and hours worked also fell.

Click here to read more.

McAuliffe emphasizes revitalization

March 24th, 2009
John Crane
The Danville Register & Bee

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe unveiled the second chapter of his statewide business plan Monday at the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research.

He emphasized the need for tax incentives for industries to deliver high-paying jobs to economically depressed Southside Virginia, as well as strengthening existing small businesses.

“I will not be satisfied until every part of Virginia sees economic growth,” McAuliffe said.

The first chapter of his plan was revealed about two weeks ago and focused on renewable energy. The second part stresses revitalizing the economy and creating good jobs in Virginia.

Click here to read more.

McAuliffe would use tax incentives to attract new jobs

March 24th, 2009
Michael Sluss
The Roanoke Times

New tax breaks and more generous incentives can help Virginia create and keep jobs and boost economies in struggling areas of the state, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe said Monday.

McAuliffe said that Virginia should offer new and more generous incentives to compete with other states for major employers, particularly in emerging industries such as renewable energy. He announced his proposals during a visit to Danville, part of a region struggling with high unemployment rates.

Click here to read more.

McAuliffe would use tax incentives to attract new jobs

March 24th, 2009
Michael Sluss
The Roanoke Times

New tax breaks and more generous incentives can help Virginia create and keep jobs and boost economies in struggling areas of the state, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe said Monday.

McAuliffe said that Virginia should offer new and more generous incentives to compete with other states for major employers, particularly in emerging industries such as renewable energy. He announced his proposals during a visit to Danville, part of a region struggling with high unemployment rates.

Click here to read more.

McAuliffe talks jobs in Southside Va. swing

March 24th, 2009
Jeff Schapiro
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Terry McAuliffe, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, is in Southside Virginia today, talking about bringing jobs to the economically hard-hit region.

McAuliffe traveled to Danville this morning to roll out the latest component of what he calls a "Business Plan for Virginia." It includes tax incentives to lure big industry as well as assistance for small business.

Click here to read more.

McAuliffe unveils new business plan

March 23rd, 2009
WAVY.com

Joined by community members in Danville, gubernatorial Terry McAuliffe today unveiled the second chapter of his Business Plan for Virginia, which is focused on growing Virginia's economy. Discussing his decades of experience building and turning around businesses, McAuliffe pledged that creating jobs would be his top priority in the Governor's office.

Click here to read more.

Chapter Two of My Business Plan for Virginia: Jobs

I've spent a lot of time traveling the Commonwealth, listening to Virginians tell me what's on their minds. And one thing I’ve noticed is that the people who are dealing with challenges day to day often have the best ideas about how to overcome them. Too often we see the same old policies come from the top-down. But not all good ideas come out of Richmond. They come from all corners of the Commonwealth.

That’s why I’ve spent the past several weeks asking you – online, and at economic roundtables all over Virginia – what would you do if you were governor?

Today. I’m unveiling the first chapter of my Business Plan to get Virginia’s economy moving, and I’ve incorporated a lot of great ideas that I heard from you.

Read more.

McAuliffe's Campaign Junk-et

March 20, 2009
Washington Post
Dana Milbank

There is really no cleaning up the fact that Terry McAuliffe practices trash politics.

Campaign with him for a few hours and you feel as if you need to take a shower. In fact, the dirty little secret can now be told: McAuliffe, venture capitalist and Clinton moneyman, is the junkyard dog of the Virginia gubernatorial race.

"I love trash," he said yesterday. "I love chicken litter, cow manure, garbage. . . . This is the kind of thing that gets me excited."

And if his opponents were to accuse him of dirty tricks?

"They would probably be right," he admitted with a grin.

McAuliffe said these words -- shouted them, actually -- while standing on a steel grate overlooking a huge trash pit yesterday in Lorton. Claws dangling from cranes grabbed mounds of refuse. Dust flew everywhere. The pit was dark. The smell was bad.

Read more.

Terry McAuliffe's Boundless BTUs

March 19th, 2009

Hotline Jennifer Skalka

There's something strangely familiar about watching former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe look longingly into the bowels of a massive waste treatment facility packed with thousands of tons of trash.

The admiration in his eyes for the large steel jaws that tossed around the items like winnable amusement park stuffed animals residing in the bottom of a small glass box. The sheer excitement as he gazed into the incinerator, which flamed a bright orange, burning the goods until they're ready to be shot out over the grid. As if every element of the processing facility at Covanta Energy's resource recovery complex in Lorton, Va., required his cheer.

Read more.

Nonsense

The executives at AIG just don't get it.

I supported this administration's plan to inject capital into the marketplace, but like the President, I believe that there needs to be accountability. We need to stabilize the economy and help struggling homeowners, not reward failed corporate management.

The executives who brought insurance giant AIG to the brink of failure are set to receive about $165 million in bonuses - and they don't mind if taxpayers are footing the bill.

As someone who helped save a bank from failure, I can't describe how disgusting this is. It's rewarding failure. And I need your help to stop this nonsense.

Read more.