Kaine: DNC job won't interfere with Virginia work

RICHMOND

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine vowed Monday his new role as chairman of the Democratic National Committee will not interfere with his duties running Virginia.

“I have told the president-elect that this is the priority,” Kaine said of his governorship. “I believe this is the highest office I will ever be elected to and I’m going to have a good last year.”

Word leaked Sunday night that Kaine accepted an appointment from President-elect Barack Obama to head the DNC.

Kaine denied interest in the DNC job shortly after November’s election, saying it was not “consistent with being governor.” He said Monday he changed his mind after being persistently recruited by Obama’s advisers. The capper came the week before Christmas when he met with Obama in Chicago.

“As Americans found out on Nov. 4, he’s a pretty persuasive guy and I’m humbled that he would reach out to me,” Kaine said.

The governor offered few specifics about how he will manage his two jobs or his goals for the Democratic Party, saying “details about this will come out later.”

Obama has yet to formally introduce Kaine as his DNC chief. The term of the current chairman, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, ends Jan. 21, the day after Obama’s inauguration.

As chairman, Kaine will be a leading national spokesman for Obama’s policies, appear frequently on Sunday morning news shows, and be a key Democratic fundraiser for congressional and state elections across the country.

Kaine, 50, said he will be a part-time party chairman and accept no salary for his efforts until his term as governor ends in January, 2010. Virginia is the only state that bars its governor from serving successive terms.

He said he made it clear to Obama that he must work full time as governor this winter while the General Assembly meets and determines how to a solve a growing $2.9 billion shortfall in revenues needed to balance the state budget. Kaine is urging legislators to cut education, restrict access to Medicaid and double the cigarette tax.

The governor voiced confidence that strong staffs in state government and the DNC will allow him to “multi-task” smoothly after the General Assembly session ends. He said he spends a third of his time in Northern Virginia as governor and could easily spend time on those trips at the DNC’s headquarters in Washington.

Most of his DNC responsibilities, he added, could be handled from Virginia via computers.

“The chairman’s role is oversight” of the DNC staff, he said.

Kaine’s appointment is expected to have huge political repercussions in Virginia. The post will allow him to direct large sums of national political money into Virginia this year as the top three jobs in state government – governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general – are up for election as well as all 100 seats in the House of Delegates.

The House races have special importance. Democrats are hoping to win a handful of new seats, giving the party a majority in the chamber and control the constitutionally-required redrawing of House districts in 2011. The party in charge typically draws districts that allow it to expand its majority.

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, said Kaine’s partisan role could undercut the governor’s pledge to work across party lines in seeking a solution to the state’s budget woes.

“The governor must make certain that his decision to accept such a partisan political position does not compromise his ability to work with Republicans in the General Assembly,” Bolling said in a written statement.

Kaine was mindful of the challenge.

“I don’t talk trash about anybody,” he said. “I’m not negative about anybody. In this role, I’m not going to be primarily defending the president, but promoting the president. Every American will want Barack Obama’s presidency to be positive because the stakes for the country are high.”

Obama and Kaine, both graduates of Harvard Law School, have been close allies for several years. Obama campaigned in Virginia for Kaine in 2005. Kaine, in return, became one of the first office holders to back Obama for president.

Kaine was a national co-chairman for Obama’s campaign and was closely considered for the vice presidency, The governor helped Obama will Virginia’s 13 electoral votes in November, marking the first time in 44 years the state backed at Democrat for president.