McDonnell announces electric car initiative; McAuliffe happy?

By JR Hoeft | Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 | Policy

Earlier today, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell announced that the Commonwealth would begin preparing in earnest for the age of electric cars. He announced a laundry list of government, academia, and industry partners who would be involved in developing Virginia’s electric car initiative.

“Electric cars will be an important means of transportation in the decades ahead, and they will play a role in helping to reduce our demand for foreign sources of energy,” wrote McDonnell in the release. “We need to be prepared to integrate these vehicles into our existing transportation system as soon as it is feasible.”

McDonnell went on to say that he wanted the Virginia government to “lead the way” and look for opportunities to “transition existing state vehicles to electric power, and introduce new electric vehicles, at the appropriate times.”

“The easier we make it for electric cars to operate in the Commonwealth, the more we will encourage private citizens and businesses, and local governments and agencies, to purchase these vehicles,” he said.

Personally, I applaud McDonnell for taking the initiative and talking about alternative energy and new technologies during this time when the oil spill is making everyone re-think our dependence on fossil fuel.

As I argued in a recent post, it’s important for all our leaders – particularly conservatives – to show that we’re not married to one energy source: oil (although we all know that HAS to be part of the equation).

But I was surprised that this announcement came so soon on the heels of another big announcement from a former gubernatorial candidate.

Last month, former DNC Chairman and candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, Terry McAuliffe, announced that his firm, Greentech Automotive had purchased EuAuto Technology Ltd., a Hong Kong-based company that manufactures and distributes electric cars.

The Washington Post reported that “Greentech says the purchase will mean 300 jobs transferred to the U.S. and eventually 4,000 jobs in Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia.”

I asked McAuliffe today about the McDonnell administration’s initiative.

“Of course I applaud any effort to encourage electric vehicle development in Virginia,” McAuliffe said. “I’ll be anxious see the full details of this plan and what incentives will be offered to allow Virginia to fully compete with other states.”

McDonnell, who campaigned on being the jobs governor, and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, his appointed jobs creation officer, is sure to want to attract Greentech jobs to Virginia.

And they will have to bargain with none other than Terry McAuliffe.

But Bolling is a rumored candidate for the 2013 GOP nomination for governor. And McAuliffe is still staying active in Democratic circles and might want a run again for the gubernatorial nomination from his party.

So, can I PLEASE be in the room for these negotiations?!

Ain’t politics great?

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