Chap Petersen is running for Governor!
By Josh St. Louis | Tuesday, October 12th, 2010 | Policy, Politics
I know this isn’t exactly breaking news, but Chap Petersen admitted to VA Gentleman that he’s interested in Bob McDonnell‘s job.
What’s different about this prospective Governor candidate is that he flat out admitted it, unlike Ken Cuccinelli, who is playing with it, by saying things like,
“When we coronate instead of nominate, we tend to lose.”
Hmm. In any event, below is the portion of the interview in which they were talking about a run for the Governorship in 2013.
Virginia Gentleman: On the Democrat side it seems like the race for the gubernatorial election in 2013 is wide open. Do you have interest in running?
Chap Petersen: Yes, eventually. As for 2013, I’m focused on 2011 right now. I’m taking nothing for granted. The 34th is historically a swing district.
Chap’s a smart guy. He’s going to be real tough to beat, even for Bill Bolling or Ken. He’s a strong bipartisan and would no doubt drive out the vote in Northern Virginia. In addition, he’s not a complete idiot like Creigh Deeds was. Below is another portion from the interview,
Virginia Gentleman: If you were Governor what would you do to improve transportation?
Chap Petersen: Wow. This is a huge question and I could take all day. A few basic principles. First, I believe that freight rail improvements in the 95/64 corridor and the ensuing conversion of long-haul trips will make a difference by taking trucks off the road and freeing up highways. Second, we need to look at cost-effective strategies like Bus Rapid Transit in new transit corridors where fixed rail is too expensive (that’s pretty much everywhere). Third, the current revenues for road building and maintenance need to be indexed or else they will fade into nothing. If that happens, we will always have a funding shorftall, unless we decide to toll all our state roads — which I oppose. If I was Governor, I would focus on all three of these items as immediate improvements. In the longer term, I’m still a big believer in high speed passenger rail to connect our downtowns in Virginia with Washington, D.C. But that is still years away.
You can read the entire interview here.
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About the author
Josh is studying Government and Administration of Justice at George Mason University. He also blogs under the name "Not Jim Moran" at http://rednova8.com
Comments
23 Responses to "Chap Petersen is running for Governor!"
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It’s Chap Petersen not Chap Peterson.
Does it matter?…it’s Chap!
We’ll get it fixed. I didn’t notice, so thanks for pointing it out. Of course, you could have just dropped us an email instead of making a public comment.
Can’t see it. When was the last time someone got elected governor out of the State Senate? Given that the Dems don’t have one of the other two state wide offices -l.g. or a.g. – where most governors come from, they’d be better off with someone totally out of government — like Warner and Allen were at the time of their wins. That sound slike an argument for Terry McAuliffe, although I haven’t particularly been a fan of his in the past.
John Battle in 1949 was a sitting state senator when he was elected governor.
For that matter U.S. Senators dont become presidents very often. But in the last election it was pretty much a sure thing as both candidates were US Senators
Gov. Allen had been in House of Delegates & Congress before he was elected Governor.
hey, wouldn’t the liberal Dems just love the future unemployed (in only 21 days!) Perriello? he can get big union & Soros donations in a gubernatorial run.
Kelley: You’re right that Allen had been in both the state legislature and Congress. But in 1993 he was out of office, having been drawn into the same district as Tom Bliley by Dems in the 1991 redistricting. (Wasn’t that a stroke of genius on their part?)
I think Ward Armstrong would be a great choice for the Dems.
Will: For governor? I think a lot of Dems might see that as Deeds Part 2. If he want to run down ticket, he’d probably be welcomed. I’d be surprised if we see another Democratic nominee for governor from rural Virginia.
sv-agree with you on ward to a point. they wont want a rural dem for gov in 2013. However, if one wins downticket, they wouldnt be booted from running for gov four years later.
SE: Oh, absolutely. Totally different issue if there’s a sitting l.g. or a.g. who happens to be from downstate.
It was just a dream.
Perriello might run…
SV-I dont think a downstater is necessarily out for 2013. The last democratic gov was from Richmond. A rural downstater however is out. HptRoads, Richmond, NoVA or maybe Roanoke will produce the next democratic gov nominee. Most likely it will be NOVA since the leading candidates (Petersen, McAuliffe, and potentially Warner) are from there.
One thing I’ve always wondered about Chap!: what must one do to earn an exclamation point after one’s name? Is it the force of his personality, his hefty contributions to the Commonwealth, or what? Can anyone get an exclamation point? In other words (I supposed) what must I do to become Jason!?
SE: I agree. I was using “downstate” to mean “outside the Golden Crescent.” I suppose folks in NOVA do consider Richmond and Hampton Roads downstate.
Jason: Like Hillary! and Chap!, you have to be presumptous and have thick enough skin to withstanding the resulting derision.
Steve: Thanks for the clarification. Under those conditions, I suppose there will be no exclamation point for me!
Well, first you print bumperstickers that say “Jason!” and have your supporters distribute…
Bwana,
Is the bow tie a requirement or is that waiverable?
HisRoc!: a bow tie is just not right on anyone over the age of eight.
oops, except with a tux….then it’s okay.
steve!,
I agree. Bow ties should be worn only when you are wearing either short pants or a cumberbund. The only exception is if you attended one of those rich Methodists prep schools and you wear one to homecoming with a seersucker suit, boat shoes, and no socks. (Wait a minute: doesn’t the latter pretty much describe Chap!?)
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