The Associated Press
©
RICHMOND
The "Will he? Won't he?" guessing game has ended, and the answer is he won't.
Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder on Thursday refused to endorse Democrat Creigh Deeds over Republican Bob McDonnell in the 2009 governor's race, ending weeks of speculation over whom he would back in the contest.
An endorsement from Virginia's first black governor could have boosted Deeds' standing with black voters, who largely favored other candidates in the Democratic primary this year.
Wilder made his decision known in an e-mail.
He said his determination isn't "intended to detract from Mr. Deeds in terms of character or commitment to the task of being governor. I find that he, as well as Mr. McDonnell are fine and honorable men and well suited to that task."
Among the factors Wilder said influenced his decision are Deeds' willingness to raise taxes to pay for road upgrades and to repeal a law passed during Wilder's tenure that limited individual handgun purchases to one per month.
Wilder said he hasn't heard from voters who want the one-gun-a-month law repealed.
Wilder also said the next governor should not focus on tax increases but instead work to control spending and improve savings.
Wilder, a Democrat who recently served as Richmond's mayor, refused to support Deeds despite pleas from party leaders such as President Barack Obama and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.
Wilder also refrained from backing Deeds in the 2005 attorney general's race narrowly won by McDonnell.
Obama and Kaine have campaigned for Deeds, who expects the president to return to Virginia on his behalf before the Nov. 3 election.
In a statement, the Deeds campaign said, "We respect Governor Wilder's decision.... As governor, Creigh intends to seek Governor Wilder's counsel often, and looks forward to working with him."
McDonnell campaign spokesman Tucker Martin said the non-endorsement was an affirmation of the Republican's opposition to new taxes.
"Bob McDonnell and Governor Wilder... share the same commitment to fiscal responsibility and keeping taxes low," Martin wrote in an e-mail.
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
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Pro gun!!!!
Well, we certainly need a governor who is pro-gun, pro self-defense (besides being locked in your house closet), and pro Second Amendment. I will give Creigh Deeds some credit that he is more pro gun than Tim Kandy Kaine. What is it now? 113 days and counting before he leaves office? I can't wait.
and our new governor
and our new governor will only be in office for 4 years, but regardless which candidate wins it will take us decades to recover. VA can do sooo much better!
Yeah, and we could have done
Yeah, and we could have done much better for president too. 2012 can't get here soon enough.
Not!
Not!
not one but two
Not one but two of the worst candidates we have ever seen. How did we get to this point?
Who cares about Wilder's non-endorsement
If I was running for governor, I would hope and pray I didn't receive an endorsement from the so-called worse and former governor, who ran for President and thumbed his nose at the citizens of Virginia. Tell you the truth, I can not name one thing Wilder did for Virginia, except take up space in the Governor's mansion.
Metro stats
Wikipedia is in no way a reliable site. With that said, the real question here is what is a metro area. The area that is counted is a smaller geographical area than what is used in HR. Of course P-Burg and Hopewell are not counted in my observation. However, next time you are out there, you may notice that greater Richmond which encompasses several counties has spread all the way to these areas. There is no longer a separation.
No comment on all the new roads having tolls? They do. I am there all of the time.
Suffolk is farther from Norfolk than P-Burg is from Richmond. You know the easy way to figure out who is the larger area? Apply for a job and look at your check.
EXCUSE ME ON GAS TAX...BUT
Fuel taxes are such that the roads across VA can be maintained without difficulty. However, gax tax funds are raided to support other government programs, which is wrong. Having said that, makes me wonder what are most of you people thinking about when you ask for more taxes on one of the few programs that is solvent...geeesshhh.
who cares
so the disgraced ex governor whose tenure was rife with scandal wont endorse anyone? ive got some news for you doug...no one cares. you are a non issue. why dont you go back and look at your scandalous tenure including appointing your family members to oversee the lottery and then get back with us. its like not getting an endorsement from bill clinton..."so what"
Disappointment
No, I am not for either one of them. But what really concerns me is the continual outpouring of unrealistic comments on this site from apparently illogical and uneducated voters who want something for nothing.