Hank Silverberg, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – Thousands of cars remain stuck in gridlock on Northern Virginia roads and the state’s economy is still recovering, but the race for governor may now stall progress on dealing with both.
When the Virginia General Assembly convenes Jan. 11, the Senate will have 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans. That leaves the deciding vote on many issues to Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.
Now that Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, also a republican, is running for governor, likely candidate Bolling may be looking over his right shoulder on many votes, unwilling to alienate the conservative wing of his own party.
George Mason University professor and political analyst Steve Farnsworth says as a result, social issues may dominate the 2012 legislation session.
He says there will be a lot of discussion on charter schools and whether to expand them, and there will be more discussion on abortion.
“I think there will efforts to see what further restrictions can be put in place with respect to abortion procedures and abortion clinics,” says Farnsworth.
That could distract lawmakers from other issues including transportation spending.
“I think we will also see an unwillingness to spend much in a way to deal with the gridlock that plagues Northern Virginia day by day,” he adds.
The politics gets even more complicated by the Presidential race. Bolling has been actively helping Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign in Virginia while Cuccinelli has been getting tacit support from the Tea Party.
Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has reached his term limit, avoided a primary with Bolling in 2008 by announcing his support for Bolling’s run in 2013. He has already expressed disappointment in Cucinelli’s decision to run.
Cuccinelli was among the first state attorney generals to file suit challenging President Barack Obama’s health care reform law.
That lawsuit that could play a key role in the 2012 Presidential race. The U.S. Supreme court has agreed to hear Virginia’s challenge to the federal health care law and a decision is likely to be announced next year just as the Presidential race begins to heat up.
Cuccinelli had not intended to announce his candidacy so early. He confirmed his plans after an email to his staff outlining his intentions, became public.
Cuccinelli has an appearance slated for Fairfax County on Monday where he will teach a criminal justice class at Westfield High school. He has been otherwsie keeping a low profile since his intentions to run were made public.
A statement from his office says the event is closed to the media and he will not be available before or after the event for interviews.
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