It didn't seem right that we'd just post our list of The Top 25 Reasons Not to Vote for Jerry Kilgore on Raising Kaine. We owe it to our readers to say why we support Tim Kaine for Governor. The real problem with both these lists was paring them down to ONLY 25 items each. Well, we did our best. Here is our countdown of The Top 25 Reasons to Vote for Tim Kaine , counting down one-by-one, here's #5.5. Budget Reform. Warner-Kaine managed to combine effective, responsible, and innovative government in moving Virginia forward. The Warner-Kaine tax reform package, which passed with strong bi-partisan support, cut taxes for most Virginians while moving the state budget decisively from Gilmore deficits to Warner-Kaine surpluses. This tax reform package was combined with smart cuts in unnecessary government spending, including 30% of Kaine's own salary.
Before Tim Kaine and Mark Warner took office in January 2002, Virginia?s fiscal situation had deteriorated due to a failure by the previous administration to make tough choices about the state?s priorities. Virginia also suffered from an overload of ideological posturing that got in the way of pragmatic and responsible action.[...]
Facing down political risks and ?naysayers,? Governor Warner and Lt. Governor Kaine worked together to build a bipartisan coalition of legislators and citizens to forge a budget reform that restored Virginia?s reputation for fiscal responsibility and laid the groundwork for future economic growth.
Immediately upon entering office, the Warner-Kaine administration got off to what Governing Magazine called a ?running start? by instituting performance contracts for top state government officials so that each agency could be held accountable for its specific goals.
By 2003, the administration had closed a $6 billion budget shortfall by reducing the size of government. It eliminated almost 5,000 positions, reduced non-education state agency budgets by an average of 20 percent, abolished 50 unnecessary boards and commissions, and established business management principles throughout state government. [read more]
Vote for Tim Kaine for Governor on November 8. Keep Virginia Moving Forward.