An 'I-told-you-so' moment

STAUNTON

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican from Fairfax County who’s running for Virginia attorney general, has championed an open state budget process. He says – if elected – he’ll get the state budget online in a way that can actually be deciphered by "the citizens of the Commonwealth who own this government.”

And today, speaking at the annual Virginia Coalition for Open Government conference in Staunton, he offered Exhibit A for a transparent budget process: Del. Phil Hamilton.

“This is an I-told-you-so,” Cuccinelli told the group of journalists, attorneys and open-government activists.

Hamilton is a Newport News Republican involved in an ethics scandal over his teaching job at an Old Dominion University center – a job Hamilton negotiated for himself at the same time he was working to obtain funding for the center.

The open state budgeting process that Cuccinelli has been pushing could have made Hamilton “think harder” about his actions, the senator said.

“It’s a deterrent,” Cuccinelli said. “It deters that sort of decision….If made in the full light of day, that decision may not have been made in the first place.”

While other candidates for statewide office have said Hamilton should step down, Cuccinelli maintains it’s inappropriate for him to weigh in on that issue because, if he’s elected, he may be involved in the prosecution of the case. 

-- Jane Elizabeth

COMMENTS ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here; comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its websites. Users must follow agreed-upon rules: Be civil, be clean, be on topic; don't attack private individuals, other users or classes of people. Read the full rules here.
- Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the report violation link below it.