■ 05 January 2010 | 5:43 PM
Kaine's lasting picture
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine gets the green treatment in his official portrait that will hang inside the State Capitol.
The painting by artist Stephen Craighhead shows Kaine outside on a clear day, leaning against a leafy tree on the banks of the James River.
It is the first portrait of a Virginia governor without a suit jacket, and the first whose background isn't an indoor setting, Kaine said Tuesday afternoon.
"I think it might be the only portrait with a governor smiling," Kaine joked, noting that Craighead "was kind to me" on the depiction of his age.
The unique environs, the 51-year old Kaine added, reflect his "passion for the outdoors."
Twice in June, Kaine said he posed for the northern Virginia artist who produced a smaller version of the portrait before rendering the final image.
Craighead also painted the portrait of former Gov. Jim Gilmore that hangs in the Capitol.
The cost of the Kaine painting was about $27,000, according to House of Delegates Clerk Bruce Jamerson. Past portraits had comparable price tags, he added.
Joining Kaine at the downtown Richmond unveiling ceremony in the Library of Virginia were First Lady Anne Holton, two of his three children and more than 100 onlookers, many of them state employees who work under the governor.
Also Tuesday, several civil rights and faith groups jointly sent a letter asking Kaine to issue an executive order restoring voting rights to thousands who forfeited them due to felony convictions.
The letter estimates that 300,000 Virginians are unable to vote due to their criminal history. Its text is below.
By his count, Kaine has restored voting rights to more individuals (upwards of 4,300) than any of his predecessors. At present, citizens who've lost voting rights can apply for reinstatement after successful completion of a sentence.
Applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and the governor has sole discretion over restoration decisions.
Kaine said he is reviewing the letter but has "some concern" about the legality of a blanket restoration order.
Numerous legislative attempts to provide automatic restoration to ex-felons have repeatedly failed in the General Assembly. Those bills typically are drafted as proposed amendments to the state constitution, which is a more involved process than other law changes.
January 5, 2010
The Honorable Timothy M. Kaine Governor of Virginia Patrick Henry Building 1111 E. Broad Street Richmond VA 23219
Dear Governor Kaine:
We write to urge you to issue an executive order that will both restore voting rights for most or all felons in Virginia who have completed their sentences and establish a process by which their voting rights will be automatically restored to those who complete their sentences in the future.
Once as much a part of Jim Crow as poll taxes and literacy tests, felon disenfranchisement is no longer tolerated in the United States. Indeed, only Virginia and Kentucky still permanently disenfranchise all felons, requiring an act of the Governor to restore voting rights.
Virginia's outdated practice has left unable to vote approximately 300,000 Virginians who have completed their sentences. These individuals live in our communities and pay taxes, and most have families, jobs and homes, and participate in civic, religious and social organizations.
Because former felons who do not vote are twice as likely to be re-arrested as those who do, felon disfranchisement is a counterproductive policy. Allowing individuals to vote who have repaid their debt to society makes better citizens and reduces the burden on taxpayers to support the criminal justice system.
Virginia is ready to join the 48 other states that either never remove voting rights or automatically restore voting rights for some or all felons. A 2006 survey shows that more than 60% of Virginia's voters favor reform of Virginia's felon disfranchisement law. In addition, most of Virginia's major newspapers have called for felon disenfranchisement reform. This includes the Roanoke Times, Daily Press, Virginian-Pilot, Washington Post and the Staunton News Leader. We do not know of any newspaper that opposes reform.
In the last few years the Governor of Iowa, a Democrat, and the Governor of Florida, a Republican, have issued executive orders modernizing their state's felon disfranchisement policies. If Kentucky reforms its felon disfranchisement law, Virginia will be the last state in the nation still clinging to this shameful, anachronistic, and ineffective policy.
Most of us have met with you or your staff in recent weeks to discuss an executive order. We appreciate the numerous opportunities you have afforded us to engage in this important dialogue, and we understand that you are concerned about how an executive order would be implemented in Virginia.
Today we ask you to look beyond whatever minor obstacles lie before you and to act on the principles that have guided you in your distinguished career as an elected official by issuing an executive order automatically restoring voting rights for all or most of Virginia's former felons once they have completed their sentences, parole or probation.
We thank you for you attention to this important matter.
NAACP Virginia State Conference League of Women Voters of Virginia Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy Virginia Poverty Law Center Northern Virginia Coalition STEP-UP, Incorporated Virginia CURE Virginia Organizing Project Rutherford Institute ACLU of Virginia
Cc: Mark Rubin, Counsel to the Governor Deputy Secretary Bernie Henderson
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