Va. Candidate McAuliffe Has History of Mixing Business, Politics

By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 3, 2009

Terry McAuliffe has a simple message for Virginia: Elect him governor this year and he will bring jobs, because he has more business experience than anyone else in the race.

Yet McAuliffe's business pedigree is not so simple. He is a dealmaker who made millions from investments. And many of his biggest deals came in partnership with prominent donors and politicians, creating a portrait over the years of a Washington insider who got rich as he rose to power within the Democratic Party.

McAuliffe is, at his core, a salesman -- and even called himself a "huckster" in his autobiography. In his bid for governor this year, McAuliffe is selling the idea that his uncanny knack for making money can bring prosperity to all Virginia. But at a time when public mistrust of millionaires and politicians is high, that strategy could backfire.

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Weekly Blog Roundup 5/1/09

Welcome to this week's installment of the Weekly Blog Roundup. Bloggers wrote about the wide variety of gubernatorial events this week, including multiple debates, Terry's support from Bill Clinton, and reflecting on Terry's Business Plan for Virginia.

At his blog The Daily Dogwood, Josh Chernila provided some afterthoughts on Thursday’s debate in Lyric, the first statewide debate sponsored by and for the netroots community.

Finally, McAuliffe is definitely the one to beat in this race. He is in the best position to take on McDonnell, has very strong and well-considered positions, and is really running by far the best campaign in Virginia politics this year. His common sense solutions will draw a stark contrast against McDonnell's radical ideology in the fall.

In a post at Virginia Tomorrow, Bob Holsworth commented on the two rallies held in Richmond and Roanoke on Monday at which President Bill Clinton came out to support Terry.

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Martinsville Vice Mayor Kimble Reynolds Jr. Endorses McAuliffe for Governor

Martinsville Vice Mayor Kimble Reynolds Jr. today endorsed Terry McAuliffe for Governor, citing his decades of experience creating jobs and turning businesses around. As Vice Mayor, Reynolds has helped to lead a city with one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, today a daunting 20.2 percent, and has served in the city government since 2004.

"As Vice Mayor, I've seen first-hand what happens when jobs disappear and the unemployment rate climbs," said Reynolds. "I've called Martinsville home for a long time, and Virginians here are looking for a leader who will bring economic opportunities back to our city and open up new avenues of growth throughout the Commonwealth. I firmly believe that Terry McAuliffe will be that leader."

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Clinton touts McAuliffe at downtown Roanoke rally

May 1st, 2009
The Roanoke Times
Mason Adams and Michael Sluss

Bill Clinton came to Roanoke twice last year, campaigning first for his wife and then for Barack Obama.

On Monday, he was back in Roanoke again -- this time at downtown's Fire Station No. 1 in an appearance for his longtime friend and fundraiser Terry McAuliffe, who's running for governor.

While Hillary Clinton and Obama needed no introduction, McAuliffe is running as a candidate for the first time after years of high-power fundraising and strategizing for Democrats such as the Clintons.

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McAuliffe on race: 'It's all about jobs'

April 29th, 2009
The Martinsville Bulletin
Debbie Hall

Jobs — and the candidate best qualified to create them — will drive both the Democratic primary in June and the election in November, according to Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Terry McAuliffe.

“It’s all about jobs,” McAuliffe said during a campaign stop at the Binding Time in Martinsville on Tuesday. Consistently in his campaign, “I’m focused on one thing: jobs.”

And that focus would not change if he is elected governor, he said.

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McAuliffe Campaign Releases New Ad Highlighting Big Ideas

Today, gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe released a new television advertisement highlighting his ideas for investing in green energy, education, and quality health care.

"People across Virginia are asking – how do we create good paying jobs? What's the next big idea that helps middle class families?" says McAuliffe in the ad. "Here's three: Take wind energy off our cost to power homes. Invest more in Pre-K, so our children start school ready to learn. Create an emergency health insurance plan so people who've lost their jobs are covered."

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Clinton lends political clout to McAuliffe's bid for governor

The Virginian-Pilot
April 28, 2009
By Warren Fiske

RICHMOND -- Yes, he does owe Terry McAuliffe a huge political debt, former President Bill Clinton said Monday.

But that's not the sole reason he came to Richmond to endorse McAuliffe's bid for governor, Clinton added.

"Look, everyone knows he's one of my closest friends," the 42nd president said at a rally at a downtown farmer's market. "So look, I'd be here regardless. Everyone knows that.

"The press says, 'Oh well, Terry McAuliffe has raised millions of dollars for Bill Clinton. He has to show up.' And that's absolutely true," Clinton told the crowd.

"... But here's what I really want to tell you," he said. "I am here today for reasons that go way, way beyond that."

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Ex-President Clinton campaigning in Virginia for his longtime friend

April 28th, 2009
The Free-Lance Star
Chelyen Davis

Former president Bill Clinton hit the campaign trail for old friend Terry McAuliffe yesterday, telling a crowd of several hundred in Richmond that McAuliffe's business experience makes him "made for this moment."

Clinton, who made stops with McAuliffe at Richmond's Farmers Market and in Roanoke, said McAuliffe has experience creating and saving jobs, and that's what is needed in the next governor.

"It matters who the governor is," Clinton said. "He was made for this moment to be the governor in Virginia It matters if you're creative, it matters if you know how to work with people."

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Gov. candidate, Bill Clinton hit energy, jobs theme

Associated Press
April 27, 2009
Bob Lewis

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton told Democrats that if they liked the way America grew jobs under his watch, they'll love what Terry McAuliffe does as Virginia governor.
In the first of two stops Monday, longtime friends and political comrades Clinton and McAuliffe defined energy and jobs as the dominant issues in the campaign.
Clinton told about 350 people at a Richmond rally that McAuliffe was right to push offshore wind energy and technologies to turn poultry waste into power.
Later in Roanoke, he told about 250 people that the only way to put Virginians to work with a good wage over the next 10 years is to change the way the nation produces and consumes power.

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Bill Clinton, Terry McAuliffe make Roanoke campaign stop in race for governor

The Roanoke Times
April 27, 2009
By Michael Sluss and Mason Adams

Former president Bill Clinton and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe spoke to a crowd of about 250 in downtown Roanoke this afternoon, asking for support and touting McAuliffe's job and energy plans.

The pair spoke for a little less than 30 minutes in front of Fire Station 1 on Church Avenue Southwest. The stop was their second after a morning rally in Richmond. Clinton, who was clearly the draw for most of the Roanoke crowd, said McAuliffe would move aggressively on job creation and new energy development to put the state on the front edge of the nation's economic recovery. Clinton also said McAuliffe could keep the governor's mansion in Democratic hands in an election that will have national political implications.

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