Senate Hopeful Tim Kaine Highlights Virginia’s Talent Base at Business Leaders’ Roundtable

Former Governor Tim Kaine hosted a roundtable discussion Saturday morning at local Innsbrook area technology consulting agency UpTime Solutions with local business owners. During the two hour event, discussion of the current economic climate came to the forefront, and Kaine rattled off a variety of ideas for bringing his strategies as Richmond Mayor and Virginia Governor to Washington if elected to the Senate this November.

January 16, 2012; 11:16 AM • by Trevor Dickerson

Former Governor Tim Kaine hosted a roundtable discussion Saturday morning at local Innsbrook area technology consulting agency UpTime Solutions with local business owners. During the two hour event, discussion of the current economic climate came to the forefront, and Kaine rattled off a variety of ideas for bringing his strategies as Richmond Mayor and Virginia Governor to Washington if elected to the Senate this November.

The interactive discussion between Kaine and a packed board room of about 25 business men and women took shape as Kaine laid out his views on the economy and what he thinks will get America on the fast track to economic recovery. “I don’t think oil is our most precious resource as is often said, I think it’s brain power and people,” he began.

“During the lifetimes of most people in this room, Virginia has had a remarkable transformation economically,” Kaine remarked, emphasizing that the Commonwealth has grown from the 40th in per capita income to the 7th in the nation in the lifetime of the 53-year-old politician.

“Why not (have Washington leaders) learn from the state that’s moved from the back of the pack to the front of the pack? What has Virginia done that has moved us from a poorer state to a more dynamic state?”

Kaine noted that it wasn’t taxes and regulation that raised the state up over the last half century, but rather talent and education.

Virginia was 49th out of 50th in the 1950s of school age children who attended schools in the nation. The number of citizens with college degrees was just half the national average.

Virginia now ranks 6th of the percentage of people pursuing higher education. Kaine cites the Virginia community college program as major player in the major advancement, which has put a higher learning facility within 35 miles of almost anyone living in the Commonwealth.

Kaine told of conversations with decision makers at major companies who ended up moving their respective headquarters to Virginia, some even at the height of the recession, including Hilton Hotels, MeadWestvaco, Volkswagen America, and Northrup Grumman. When asked by CEOs why their companies should relocate to Virginia when other states had more to offer in terms of tax breaks and cash incentives, Kaine always underscored the state’s talent base.

“If you’re looking in the near-term, other states like South Carolina have better deals on the table, I’m not going to deny that” he recalled telling one executive. “But if you’re looking to make a long-term investment, just look at our test scores and number of highly-educated people.”

Kaine emphasized his intentions to bring these principles, specifically a focus on education, to the forefront in the Senate as a part of his plan to help restore the economy.

The former Governor later expressed a need for bi-partisan work in Washington, telling stories of the former “Gang of 14,” a group of 7 Democrats and 7 Republicans charged with preventing any possible log jams in Congress over wide range of issues. That “gang” is now down to 6 members.

“I learned not to let a disagreement on an issue ruin a relationship. Everyone goes into their corners and lodges bombs at each other.” He stressed that the lack of compromise in Congress, which holds a mere 9% approval rating, has been to the detriment of the nation as a whole.

“We’re proud of our positions and parties, but we’ve got to work together and know that, after election day, it’s all about getting the peoples’ business done.”

Kaine, who described small businesses as the lifeblood of our economy, fielded a wide range of questions from the business owners in attendance, from  his position on immigration reform to what he’d do to give small businesses access to more capital to expand and put Virginians back to work.

January 16, 2012 11:16 AM 0