By: Peggy Garland
The Journal
Anne Holton, wife of candidate for the U.S. Senate, Tim Kaine, toured Montross Wednesday and then spoke to a packed luncheon at the Art of Coffee about her husband’s philosophy and goals. She said that this is the first time she has been able to campaign for her husband, who has been a city councilman and mayor of Richmond, Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Virginia. She was prevented from campaigning earlier because she was a juvenile judge in Richmond and prohibited from participating in partisan politics.
She and Kaine met at Harvard Law School after he had taken a year off to work as a missionary in Honduras. Her family, including her father, Linwood Holton, a former governor of Virginia who now lives in Lancaster County, were involved in public service in the area of politics. Holton said the she and Kaine had in common a commitment to public service, but his family’s involvement had always been through the church, community and family. That changed when Kaine saw how divisive the political climate was in the city of Richmond. He believed he could bring the factions together by setting goals to solve the problems the sides agreed needed to be addressed. He was successful in doing so and would bring that expertise and listening, and reaching pragmatic solutions to problems to the Senate.
At the state level, also, he demonstrated the ability to bring people together to find pragmatic solutions at a time when the economy was suffering. He cut spending while getting the economy moving. It was Kaine who brought Volkswagen and other companies to Virginia and made Virginia a business magnet. During each of the four years he was governor, Virginia was voted the best state for business.. During his term, in addition to bringing business to Virginia, Kaine stressed education and cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, an initiative that present governor McDonnell is still carrying out.
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