McAuliffe made no direct mention of last year’s presidential contest between his close friend Hillary Clinton and President-elect Donald Trump, instead stressing the need to plow ahead in a spirit of collaboration and build an economy that can thrive regardless of what happens in world capitals, including Washington.
“For the past three years, our work together has seen far more bipartisan victories than divisive battles,” McAuliffe told the state lawmakers, Cabinet officials and Supreme Court of Virginia justices crowded into the House of Delegates chamber. “While political fights rage in Washington, we have proven again and again that Virginia is a place where leaders still work together to get things done.”
Reminders of conflict at times poked through as the governor laid out a rosy view of his working relationship with the Republican-controlled legislature.
