Gloucester VA Links and News: Tim Kaine

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Monday, January 27, 2014

Governor McAuliffe Announces Administration Appointments

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RICHMOND – Governor Terry McAuliffe announced additional appointments to his administration today. The appointees will join McAuliffe’s administration focused on finding common ground with members of both parties on issues that will grow Virginia’s economy and create more jobs across the Commonwealth.

Alcoholic Beverage Control Board

Judy Napier, Commissioner

Judy Napier served most recently as Director of Business Development for the information technology firm CGI Group’s Virginia sector. Before that she served as Assistant Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Technology in the administrations of Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. Judy is a Portsmouth native and graduated from Old Dominion University.

Commonwealth Transportation Board

John Malbon, Board Member

John Malbon is the President and CEO of PAPCO Inc., a Virginia Beach Oil Distribution Company that opened the region's first public biodiesel pump in 2006. John is the co-chair of the Envision Virginia Beach 2040 Committee, which focuses on the 30-year future of the city, and serves as the vice chair of the board of directors for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. John is a graduate of James Madison University.

Office of the Governor

Jamie Radice, Communications Director

Jamie Radice served previously as Senior Communications Adviser at the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Communications Director to Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter and Press Secretary to U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Darryl Holt, Special Assistant for Constituent Services

Darryl Holt served previously as an Office Assistant in the Richmond City Department of Social Services. She also served as a Field Representative in the Office of U.S. Senator Jim Webb, and a Special Assistant to the Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade under Governor Bob McDonnell.

Virginia Legislative Office

Maribel Ramos, Director

Maribel Ramos served previously as Legislative Assistant to Senator Tim Kaine, where she advised the Senator on policy areas including education, economic development, housing, federal employees and appropriations. Before that she served as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Jim Webb, and as a Special Assistant for Policy to then-Governor Tim Kaine. Maribel holds a Bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Secretariat of the Commonwealth

Denise Burch, Director of Gubernatorial Appointments

Denise Burch previously served as Director of Constituent Services and Scheduling to former two term Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling. Prior to this service, she served as Sen. Bolling’s Legislative Aide in the Virginia Senate. In 1998, she was appointed as Confidential Assistant to Governor Jim Gilmore.

Lana Westfall, Executive Assistant to the Secretary of the Commonwealth

Lana Orme Westfall held the position of Director of Constituent and Legislative Services in both the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates for a total of 16 years. In 2008, she established a government relations and issue advocacy firm, bringing a wide array of experience on issues related to the environment, education and veterans’ affairs.

Secretariat of Education

Jennie Moline O'Holleran, Deputy Secretary

Jennie Moline O’Holleran most recently served as Director of Virginia Relations at the George Washington University, where she worked with government and community leaders to promote GW’s Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn. She previously served in Governor Tim Kaine’s policy office. Jennie grew up in Alexandria. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and her Master’s degree in Public Administration from the George Washington University.

Dietra Trent, Deputy Secretary

Dietra Trent served most recently as Deputy State Director in the Office of Senator Mark Warner. She previously served as Deputy Secretary of Education in Governor Tim Kaine’s administration, and as Director of Constituent Services and Director of the Council on Human Rights under Governor Mark Warner. Dr. Trent earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice from Hampton University, and completed her master’s and doctoral degrees in Public Administration and Policy from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Secretariat of Technology

Anthony W. Fung, Deputy Secretary of Technology

Anthony Fung served previously as CEO of technology consulting firm GovInsight, LLC and as majority owner of Catapult Consultants, LLC, a firm that specializes in financial, acquisition, healthcare and information technology management. Anthony holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Information Science from the University of Pittsburg.

Secretariat of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security

John Newby, Deputy Secretary

John Newby previously served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force, where he served as an aviator aboard the Boeing B-1B Lancer strategic bomber and as a special operations forward air controller in support of U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Following his military service, Newby served as an attorney at private sector law firms and an international defense contractor. He also served as a member of former Senator Jim Webb’s Service Academy Selection Board. Newby graduated and received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Adam Thiel, Deputy Secretary

Adam Thiel has served as Fire Chief in the City of Alexandria since 2007. Previous to that, Adam served in a range of key positions at fire departments in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Arizona. In 2002 Governor Mark Warner appointed Adam as the Executive Director of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs within the Secretariat of Public Safety. Adam holds undergraduate degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Maryland University College. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from George Mason University.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Statement of Governor Bob McDonnell on Tax Credit for the Rehabilitation of Historic Schools

English: The state seal of Virginia. Српски / Srpski: Застава америчке савезне државе Вирџиније. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell today issued the following statement regarding the need to update the IRS code to allow the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, passed on a bipartisan basis in 1986, to apply to local school modernization projects. The governor’s statement follows a meeting this afternoon with Paul Goldman, former chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, and long-time proponent of “fixing the glitch”, as he calls it, due to the unintended negative consequences which have long been documented.

“I enjoyed meeting with Mr. Goldman and his team this afternoon to discuss a potential school construction initiative that can have the practical impact of being a major “instruction initiative” at the same time. It is harder to ensure that a child gets the very best possible 21^st century education when he or she attends a school originally built 50 years ago. Unfortunately, when President Reagan and lawmakers passed legislation to encourage renovation of the nation's declining infrastructure, they didn't fully appreciate all the implications in the new language in the federal tax code. The problem we face is called the “prior use rule” and it applies in a limited number of circumstances, such as when a tax-exempt local school board wants to modernize an aged K-12 facility for continued use. Since the post-modernization use remains the same as the pre-modernization use - a local K-12 facility - it falls under the “prior use rule.” This rule says private investors, willing to take on all the risks of modernizing the school to the requirements of the school board, cannot earn the so-called “historic” tax credits. But if the same investors use the same amount of money to modernize the same building into a new use, then they earn the “historic” credits.

“This distinction makes no economic sense, and it serves no useful public policy given the nation's pressing need for modern schools. I have previously joined Senator Mark Warner, Senator Tim Kaine, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and many others in publicly supporting eliminating the “prior use rule” block to historic credit financing for qualifying school facilities. We all agree: we are handcuffing the private sector while our school buildings continue to age. As Senator Kaine wrote while serving as Governor, this issue has ultimately raised the costs of many vital education projects to the point that they are unaffordable. Indeed, the practical effect is to force localities to pay 30-40% more than would be the case if this policy were eliminated. If localities could utilize these tax credits, they would save dramatically on local construction costs. Those savings would then be available to go into the classroom for instruction, without raising local taxes.

“In 2009, I first voiced my support of former-Governor George Allen and Paul Goldman’s efforts to make this change to the federal tax code. Senator Kaine demonstrated how the use of the tax credit for the improvement of a school, Maggie Walker High School in Richmond, could produce tremendous savings for taxpayers, while providing students with a world-class learning facility. Eliminating the “prior use rule” would unleash the private sector to not only help modernize schools across the Commonwealth, but such projects would create tens of thousands of jobs, and enable hundreds of thousands of students to get a better education, besides all the financial benefits previously discussed.

“While it will take the Congress and the President to enact this fix, states and localities are the ones ultimately responsible for educating our children. Washington policy makers need to address this as part of their tax reform and job creation agendas. In that regard, I am pleased to see this often overlooked issue gaining prominence in the campaign for Governor this year with Mr. Cuccinelli and Mr. McAuliffe in support. I hope they both will continue to propose ways by which we can improve education infrastructure in the Commonwealth. Those states that out compete us on education today will have the skilled population necessary to attract the job-creating private sector businesses of tomorrow. We can’t fall behind in the ongoing effort to ensure that our economy continues to grow. That starts with ensuring every student gets a world-class education.

“I look forward to working with leaders on both sides of the aisle in Virginia and in Washington to get this long overdue fix passed into law, and to continue to improve our significant reforms to public education in our Commonwealth.”