kilgore-w-text-2.JPG Now in its final weeks, the race for Virginia governor has devolved in predictable fashion, with both major candidates attacking each other ad nauseum. It's hard for us here on the 13th Floor not to take notice that we have been grabbed by both men and used as a blunt weapon.
Our words, that is. Earlier today, during their first televised debate, Republican Jerry Kilgore repeatedly attacked Democrat Tim Kaine's record as the former mayor of Richmond. Putting aside schools and the homicide rate, Kilgore's main proof was the grade Richmond received in Governing's 2000 "Grading the Cities" report card -- a C+.
This is a point Kilgore has brought up often during the campaign. It would be easy to argue that it's an unfair point. The grade was given to the overall city management, not Kaine, and Richmond at the time had a weak-mayor system. Still, the grade was earned on Kaine's watch. kaine-w-text-2.JPG
Maybe that's why Kaine has been making so much about other Government Performance Project grades highlighted in Governing. Kaine's campaign Web site claims that "Governing Magazine named Virginia the best-managed state in the union."
This is in keeping with Kaine's major campaign theme, which has been to take credit for all the successes of the present administration, run by his boss Mark Warner.
But that's a bit disingenuous. We did say that "there is little that Virginia does not do well in government management." That's not the same as saying Kaine is in any way responsible for that. We've shown a liking for Warner, and my colleague Rob Gurwitt will explain why we think so highly of Virginia's government in general in our October issue.
But we no more mention Kaine in our various articles of praise than we knocked him in our C+ story about Richmond.
MORE: GRADING THE STATES 2005 (Governing, February 2005)
GRADING THE CITIES 2000 (Governing, February 2000)
