McDonnell taps Lt. Gov. Bolling, two others

Fulfilling a pledge he made on the campaign trail, Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell Thursday announced that Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling will serve in his cabinet as Virginia's job czar -- Bolling's official title will be Chief Job Creation Officer.

Those new responsiblities, McDonnell said, will make Bolling "the busiest lieutenant governor in America." One of his new duties will be to chair the Job Creation and Economic Opportunity Task Force the Gov.-elect intends to establish upon taking office.

McDonnell sidestepped social issues and stressed kitchen table concerns during his successful fall campaign, promising to be a "jobs governor" who would oversee the restoration of economic prosperity in Virginia, with Bolling as his aide de camp in that effort.

The job of lieutenant governor is a part-time position in Virginia whose primary function has been to serve as the presiding officer in the state Senate. Bolling was re-elected to that post Nov. 3.

In addition to Bolling, the Gov.-elect Thursday announced that businessman Robert Sledd will be his Commerce and Trade Secretary and longtime aide Janet Polarek (she's worked on several McDonnell election campaigns and under him in the Attorney General's Office) will be Secretary of the Commonwealth.

-- Julian Walker

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.