Tim Kaine

Timothy Michael “Tim” Kaine (born February 26, 1958) is an American politician who has been the junior United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 51st Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011 and as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010.

Early life and education
Kaine was born at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is the son of Mary Kathleen (née Burns) and Albert Alexander Kaine, Jr., who worked as a welder and owned a small iron-working shop. He was raised Catholic. His father is of Scottish and Irish descent, and his mother is of Irish ancestry. Kaine grew up in the Kansas City area and graduated from Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri.

Kaine graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.A. in economics in 1979. Kaine was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978. He attended Harvard Law School, taking a year-long break during law school to work with the Jesuit order as a Catholic missionary in Honduras. Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his year in Honduras. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1983 with a Juris Doctor, and was admitted to the Virginia Bar. He clerked for Judge R. Lanier Anderson on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1984, Kaine married former Richmond Juvenile Court Judge Anne Holton. Holton is the daughter of former Virginia governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr. Kaine and Holton have three children, Nat, Woody, and Annella.

Kaine practiced law in Richmond for 17 years, specializing in representing people who had been denied housing opportunities because of their race or disability. He was recognized by local, state, and national organizations for his advocacy of fair housing. He also taught legal ethics for six years at the University of Richmond Law School. More than ten years into his legal career in 1994, he was elected to the city council of the independent city of Richmond from the portion of the city in which he resided under Richmond's system of nine wards.

Mayor of Richmond (1998-2001)
He was elected mayor of Richmond by the city council in 1998. (Until 2004, the mayor of Richmond was chosen by the city council from among its membership; under the present system, the mayor is chosen by popular vote.) He spent seven years on the city council, including two terms as mayor.

Under Kaine's leadership, Richmond saw the construction of its first new schools in a generation, tax cuts, and a reduction in the city’s crime rate. Richmond’s success in reducing violent crime, including a 55 percent drop in the city's homicide rate during his tenure, earned national recognition from Presidents Clinton and Bush and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Richmond's economic success during Kaine’s tenure earned the city its first-ever listing in Forbes Magazine’s annual ranking of the top 10 cities in America for doing business.

As mayor, Kaine gained national attention following the implementation of a gun law known as Project Exile, an initiative that moved trials for armed defendants to federal court, which has stiffer sentencing guidelines.

During his tenure as Mayor, Kaine drew criticism for designating public funds for an anti-gun-violence rally. After a constituent raised concerns about the funding at a Richmond City Council meeting, Kaine raised the money privately and reimbursed the city.

Lieutenant governor (2002-2005)
In the Virginia general elections of November 2001, Kaine ran for lieutenant governor and won with 925,974 votes (50.35%). His opponents were Republican state Delegate Jay Katzen, with 883,886 votes (48.06%) and Libertarian Gary Reams, with 28,783 votes (1.57%). Kaine was inaugurated on January 12, 2002. As lieutenant governor, he also served as president of the Virginia Senate.

2005 Gubernatorial election
In 2005, Kaine ran for and won the office of governor of Virginia in the November general election, defeating Republican former Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore with 52% of the vote to Kilgore's 46%.

An underdog for most of the race, Kaine led in some polls for the first time in October 2005, and held his lead into the final week before the election. While the previous Democratic Governor, Mark Warner, was credited with doing especially well for a Democrat in rural areas of the commonwealth, Kaine's win featured surprising triumphs in traditionally Republican areas such as Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and the Northern Virginia exurbs of Prince William County and Loudoun County, as well as impressive showings in Democratic strongholds such as Richmond and Norfolk.

Kaine closely associated himself with popular outgoing Democratic Governor Mark Warner during his campaign; he won his race with a slightly smaller portion of the vote than Warner did, but achieved a slightly wider margin on account of the third-party candidate's comparatively greater success in 2005. A number of factors, from the poll numbers of President George W. Bush to public reaction to the death penalty ads run by Kilgore, have also been cited as contributing to his decisive win. Kaine was inaugurated in Williamsburg on January 14, 2006.

Democratic response to State of the Union address
On January 31, 2006, Kaine gave the Democratic response to President Bush's 2006 State of the Union address. In his response, he argued that the Republicans failed to support bipartisanship in Washington and he condemned Bush's spending increases and tax cuts as "reckless".

Budget special session
In March 2006, after the Virginia General Assembly failed to come up with a budget, Kaine called for a special session that continued until June. The debate was over transportation issues and how to fund current and new projects. Most of the debate originated in a struggle within the Republican-controlled Senate and House of Delegates. In 2007, however, a transportation bill was passed and signed into law by Kaine.

Conservation
In May 2006, Governor Kaine announced his plan to protect 400000 acre of Virginia land from development before the end of his service as Governor of Virginia. Kaine's conservation efforts focus on encouraging landowners to donate protective easements that restrict development. As of 2007, according to government statistics, Maryland spends as much as $21 per capita on land conservation, while Virginia spends $1.45. On the other hand, Virginia also has a higher proportion of its total land area under permanent protection than many other states, with about 13.69% of it currently protected.

Smoking
In June 2006, Kaine signed an executive order banning smoking in all government buildings and state-owned cars.

Civil War records
Kaine announced that Virginia would be the first state to digitize records from the Civil War Era Freedman's Bureau. This would facilitate research into post-Civil War African-American history.

HPV vaccinations
Kaine has signaled his support for vaccinating sixth-grade girls in Virginia with the HPV vaccine. In 2007, Virginia, along with 20 other states, was considering a law to expand such vaccinations. Accordingly, in 2007, the Republican-controlled state legislature passed a law that mandated such vaccinations, while allowing parents to opt out of the requirement without citing a reason. After expressing "some qualms", Kaine signed the bill into law.



Virginia Tech massacre
When news of the Virginia Tech massacre broke, Kaine canceled a trade mission to Japan and India to attend to the situation. Kaine spoke at the convocation held in Blacksburg the day after the shooting in which he invoked the Biblical story of Job. Kaine said he would appoint a panel of independent law-enforcement officials to determine what the university knew about the student responsible for the massacre, which resulted in the deaths of 32 people.

The commission, led by former Virginia State Police Superintendent Gerald Massengill and former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, began work on April 28, 2007, and issued its findings and recommendations on August 30, 2007. On April 30, 2007, Governor Kaine signed an executive order instructing state agencies to step up efforts to block gun sales to people involuntarily committed to inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment centers. Kaine's quick return to the state and his handling of the issue received widespread praise.

Metro
In July 2007, Kaine supported an above-ground solution to the debate on building the Silver Line of the Washington Metro through Tysons Corner. Some people disagreed and preferred a tunnel.

Education
During the 2008 General Assembly session, Governor Kaine backed a $22 million proposal to make pre-kindergarten education more accessible to at-risk four-year-olds.

Omeish resignation
Kaine appointed Dr. Esam Omeish to the Virginia Commission on Immigration, which was examining whether Virginia should do more to restrict illegal immigration. In September 2007, Omeish resigned as a commission member—as requested by Kaine—three hours after remarks made by Omeish on a call-in show on WRVA radio in Richmond were brought to Kaine's attention, specifically his criticisms of the Israel lobby and call for Bush's impeachment on account of the Iraq War. "I have been made aware of certain statements he has made which concern me," Kaine said in accepting Omeish's resignation. Kaine added that background checks would be more thorough in the future.

Coal power plant
Kaine's support of a coal-fired power plant in Wise County that would emit an estimated 5.4 million tons of carbon dioxide per year was opposed by environmentalists.

Cabinet

 * Chief of Staff — William Leighty (2006–07), Wayne Turnage (2007–10)
 * Secretary of Administration – Viola Baskerville (2006–10)
 * Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry – Robert Bloxom (2006–10)
 * Secretary of Commerce and Trade – Patrick Gottschalk (2006–10)
 * Secretary of the Commonwealth – Katherine Hanley (2006–10)
 * Secretary of Education – Thomas Morris (2006–10)
 * Secretary of Finance – Jody Wagner (2006–2008), Richard D. Brown (2008–10)
 * Secretary of Health and Human Resources – Marilyn Tavenner (2006–10)
 * Secretary of Natural Resources – Preston Bryant (2006–10)
 * Secretary of Public Safety – John W. Marshall (2006–10)
 * Secretary of Technology – Aneesh Chopra (2006–09), Leonard M. Pomata (2009–10)
 * Secretary of Transportation – Pierce Homer (2006–10)
 * Assistant for Commonwealth Preparedness – Robert P. Crouch (2006–10)
 * Senior Advisor for Workforce – Daniel G. LeBlanc (2006–10)

2008 vice presidential speculation
Kaine was considered as a possible running mate for Barack Obama in 2008, but was not chosen. Kaine first supported Senator Obama's presidential bid in February 2007. It was maintained that Kaine's endorsement was the first from a state-wide elected official outside of Illinois Since Kaine was a relatively popular governor of a southern state, there was media speculation that he was a potential nominee for Vice President. Obama had supported Kaine in his campaign for governor and had said about him: "Tim Kaine has a message of fiscal responsibility and generosity of spirit. That kind of message can sell anywhere." On July 28, 2008, Politico.com reported that Kaine was "very, very high" on Obama's shortlist for vice president, a list which also included then Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. Obama ultimately selected Biden to become the vice-presidential nominee.

Democratic Party chairman (2009-2011)
In January 2009, Kaine became the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He took the position at the request of President Obama, and during his tenure he oversaw a significant expansion of the party's grassroots focus through Organizing for America.

In February 2011, it was reported that President Obama had joined Wisconsin's budget battle and would oppose the Republican anti-union bill. The Washington Post reported that Organizing for America, the political operation for the White House, got involved after Kaine spoke to union leaders in Madison. They made phone calls, sent emails, and distributed messages via Facebook and Twitter to work on building crowds for the rallies.

2012 election
Kaine announced on April 5, 2011 that he would run for United States Senate in 2012, following Senator Jim Webb's decision not to seek re-election. Kaine filmed announcement videos in English and Spanish. Kaine was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Kaine defeated former Senator and Governor George Allen in the general election. Mike Henry was chosen as Kaine's campaign manager.

Abortion
Tim Kaine, a Roman Catholic, is privately against abortion for religious reasons, but opposes overturning Roe v. Wade. On his 2012 Senate campaign website he says, "I strongly support the right of women to make their own health and reproductive decisions and, for that reason, will oppose efforts to weaken or subvert the basic holding of Roe v. Wade." Abortion is treated as an "individual right."

Kaine claims that he has encouraged policymakers to focus on bringing down the number of abortions by reducing teen pregnancy through abstinence-focused education, ensuring women's access to health care and contraception, and promoting adoption. He supports some legal restrictions on abortion, such as requiring parental consent and banning partial-birth abortions in cases where the woman's life is not at risk.

Afghanistan
On the issue of the war in Afghanistan, Tim Kaine's website states "The main mission in Afghanistan--destroying Al Qaeda--is nearly complete and we should bring our troops home as quickly as we can, consistent with the need to make sure that Afghanistan poses no danger in the broader region."

Capital punishment
Despite his personal opposition to capital punishment, often cited during the 2005 campaign by both sides, Kaine oversaw eleven executions as Governor, including the execution of John Allen Muhammad, the Beltway Sniper, on November 10, 2009. He has vetoed eight death-penalty expansion bills although some of the vetoes were overturned, and opposed the electric chair as an option. On June 9, 2008, Kaine commuted the death sentence of Percy Levar Walton to life in prison without parole.

Health care
Kaine supported passage of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare. On this issue, Kaine said, “I was a supporter and remain a supporter of the Affordable Care Act. I felt like it was a statement that we were going to put some things in the rear view mirror.”

LGBT rights
When talking about gay marriage in 2005, Kaine said that "No couples in Virginia can adopt other than a married couple -- that's the right policy. Gay individuals should be able to adopt." In 2011, however, Kaine would change his position and become more open to the idea of adoption. Kaine said he believed that the judges would be able to make effective case-by-case analyses when dealing with unmarried couples applying to be possible parents. He said that he was open to consideration being made available to all couples, regardless of if they are gay or straight.

On May 8, 2012, Kaine said that "There should be a license that would entitle a committed couple to the same rights as a married couple."

Local issues
Kaine supports some "smart growth"-style policies to manage sprawl and transportation issues; he refers to these plans as "balanced growth."

Taxes
Kaine says that he supports allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for those with high incomes. Kaine also stated during a debate that he would be open to establishing a minimum tax that everyone must pay.

Kaine supports removing the cap on income subject to Social-Security taxes. He said, "For Social Security, we can raise the income payroll tax cap so that it covers a similar percentage of income as it did in the 1980s under President Reagan, which would greatly extend the solvency of the program."

Kaine supports a new internet sales tax that would impose a sales tax on online sellers and require them to pay taxes to states where they have no physical presence. Sellers in states with low sales taxes, like Virginia, would be required to pay a higher sales tax directly to other states.

Electoral history
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