Tim Kaineês VA business legacy, and looking ahead
Voters around the nation are trying to answer a question area dealers are familiar with: Who is Tim Kaine? The Washington Business Journal has written a piece exploring Kaineês business legacy from 2006 to 2010, when he was governor of Virginia.
During his term, Forbes ranked Virginia as the best state for business every year but one, when it was ranked second. Taxes remain low compared with Maryland and DC. The Old Dominionês reliance on federal contracts helped keep its unemployment rate lower than the rest of the country during the Great Recession, but also made it more vulnerable to the federal sequestration cuts after Kaineês tenure ended.
One big business coup for Kaine: persuading the Hilton to move its headquarters to Fairfax County. A few months after Kaine left office, Northrup Grumman relocated to Falls Church.
Kaine also presided over a transportation change that affected many dealers: bringing the Silver Line to Tysons, with above-ground stations instead of the tunnel many lobbied for. With land costs soaring after the Silver Line was confirmed, many dealers on the former Dealership Row on Route 7 moved farther out.
WANADA members in Virginia have no doubt noticed the speculation about who Governor Terry McAuliffe might appoint to replace Kaine as U.S. Senator if he becomes Vice President, now that he has been nominated by the Democrats for the office. One possibility is Don Beyer currently a U.S. Congressman, formerly Ambassador to Switzerland, but always an auto dealer and highly esteemed WANADA member!
Download Bulletin PDF