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Mark Warner

Mark Warner

Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Virginia. Warner, a Democrat, is the current Governor of Virginia. As he begins the final months of his gubernatorial term, Warner's poll ratings indicate that he is the most popular Virginia governor in a generation, with record approval ratings of nearly 75 percent. Warner is considered one of the top contenders for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 2008 because of his wide appeal to independents and moderate Republicans, and his high popularity in a relatively Republican state. Some have compared him to Bill Clinton, another moderate Southern Democratic governor who had strong appeal to moderates and independents. In November 2005, Time magazine named Warner one of the "five best governors" in the United States.

Early life and career

Warner was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and was raised in Vernon, Connecticut where he graduated from Rockville High School. He attended George Washington University and in 1977 became the first person in his family to graduate from college. Warner went on to graduate from Harvard Law School in 1980. In the early 1980s, Warner served as a Senate staff member. He used his knowledge of federal telecommunications policies as a broker of cellular phone franchise licenses, making a large fortune. As managing director of Columbia Capital Corporation he helped found or was an early investor in a number of technology companies. He co-founded Nextel, as well as Capital Cellular Corporation, and built up an estimated fortune of over $200 million. Around the same time, he married Lisa Collis. The couple has three daughters, Madison, Gillian, and Eliza. Warner involved himself in public efforts related to health care, telecommunications, information technology, and education. He managed Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder's successful 1989 gubernatorial campaign, served as state chairman of the state Democratic Party and ultimately made his own bid for public office, unsuccessfully running for the Senate in 1996 against Republican Senator John Warner (no relation) in a "Warner vs. Warner" election. John Warner was unpopular in rural Virginia for opposing the 1994 Senate candidacy of controversial right-wing Republican Oliver North, and Mark Warner seized on this to perform impressively in the state's rural areas.

Governor of Virginia

Oliver North In 2001, Warner campaigned for Governor as a moderate Democrat after years of slowly building up a power base in rural Virginia. He defeated the Republican candidate, then-State Attorney General Mark Earley, by a margin of almost 100,000 votes. In the same election, Republican Jerry Kilgore was elected Attorney General, and Democrat Tim Kaine was elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Although Virginians rejected Warner's bid to raise the sales tax in 2002, state revenue has increased significantly from $19 billion in Fiscal Year 1999 to nearly $30 billion in Fiscal Year 2005. Warner worked with moderate Republican legislators to reform the tax code, lowering food and income taxes, and increasing the sales and cigarette taxes in 2004. He is a former chairman of the National Governors Association and the Southern Governors' Association. Southern Governors' Association Warner's popularity paid off for the Democrats when, in 2003 and again in 2005, the party made a net gain in the Virginia House of Delegates for the first time in generations (although the House remained under Republican control.) He succeeded in passing a tax bill to improve the state's financial balance sheet. He won the support of several key Republican legislators and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce for the proposal, although the effort also led to an attack ad campaign from conservative seniors who opposed raising taxes. Warner has also made a major push to reform high school to offer more college credit or technical training options. He has encountered some criticism for being too low-key and not leading on hot button issues, but maintains he is trying to avoid unproductive posturing and partisanship. In January 2005, after a two-year study, the Government Performance Project, in conjunction with Governing magazine and the Pew Charitable Trust, ranked the states in four management categories: money, people, infrastructure, and information. Virginia and Utah tied with an A- overall, but Virginia got A's across the board, prompting Warner to dub Virginia "the best managed state in the nation." Kaine and Kilgore both sought to succeed Warner as Governor of Virginia. (The Virginia Constitution forbids any Governor from serving consecutive terms, so Warner could not have run for a second term in 2005.) On November 8, 2005, Kaine, the former Mayor of Richmond, won with 52 percent of the vote. Kilgore, who had resigned as Attorney General in February 2005 to campaign full-time, and who had previously served as Virginia Secretary of Public Safety, received 46 percent of the vote. Russ Potts, a Republican State Senator, also ran for Governor as an independent, receiving 2 percent of the vote. Warner had supported and campaigned for Kaine, and many national pundits considered Kaine's victory to be further evidence of Warner's political clout in Virginia, as well as a signal of his viability as a presidential candidate. On November 29, 2005, as is his prerogative as governor, Warner commuted the death sentence of Robin Lovitt to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Lovitt was convicted of murdering Clayton Dicks at an Arlington pool hall in 1999. After his trial in 2001, a court clerk illegally destroyed evidence that was used against Lovitt during his trial, but that could have exonerated him upon further DNA testing. Just a few weeks earlier, Virginia implemented a law requiring the preservation of DNA evidence in death row cases. Lovitt's death sentence would have been the 1,000th carried out in the United States since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment as permissible under the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution in 1976. In a statement, Warner said, "The actions of an agent of the commonwealth, in a manner contrary to the express direction of the law, comes at the expense of a defendant facing society's most severe and final sanction." Warner has denied clemency in 11 other cases that have come before him as governor.

Future political career

clemency Warner's home-state popularity is high, polling in the final year of his term with an 80% approval rating from Mason-Dixon Political Media Research, published in newspapers statewide. According to Mason-Dixon pollster Brad Coker, that gives Warner the highest approval rating for an outgoing governor in the firm's two-decade history. Warner is considered to be a potential Presidential candidate in 2008, as Virginia limits its governors to a single consecutive term in office. After John Kerry's 2004 presidential election defeat, Warner has been regarded by some Democrats as a Clinton-like figure around whom the party could rally in the 2008 election. His business experience, Southern base, fundraising connections within high-tech and venture capital circles, and record of working with black leaders add up to what some see as an attractive political résumé. Having served only one term as an elected official, however, Warner may be considered too inexperienced to move to the Presidency; the same point was raised about John Edwards' one Senate term. If he did run for president in 2008, his first test might be a comparison with several others, possibly including Evan Bayh, John Edwards, John Kerry, and/or Tom Vilsack, who would vie for support from moderate Democratic voters seeking a fresh voice. [http://www.demstore.com DemStore], a website that manufactures official and unofficial campaign paraphernalia for Democratic office-seekers (including the 2004 presidential campaigns of Howard Dean, Dick Gephardt, and Wesley Clark), has already begun manufacturing "Warner for President" buttons and bumper stickers. It is not clear, however, if their services have been retained by Warner, by his emissaries, or by some sort of "Draft Warner" movement similar to that which surrounded Clark. On June 10, 2005, Warner hired Monica Dixon, a former top-political aide to 2000 Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore, and also formed a political action committee which has been dubbed "Forward Together." Both of these actions could be indicative of a run for the presidency in 2008. On August 29, 2005, Warner announced that he would not challenge George Allen for his Senate seat in 2006, even though a poll commissioned by the Roanoke Times and other papers across Virginia had recently shown that voters would prefer Warner in a head-to-head matchup with Allen. [http://www.roanoke.com/politics/wb/xp-28179] If not elected President, Virginia law would not bar Warner from running for Governor again in 2009 – the law only prevents consecutive terms. Warner would have been likely to pursue Virginia's second Senate seat in 2008 if John Warner had decided to retire (the elder Warner has indicated he will stay on.) According to the Washington Post, "one of the Democratic Party's most experienced Internet specialists formally signed on" with Warner's Forward Together PAC. Jerome Armstrong, who "served as a key member of Howard Dean's Internet team in 2004, will be Warner's Internet Director." [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/29/AR2005082901175_pf.html] Jerome Armstrong On December 6th, 2005, Warner held the kickoff gala of his [http://www.forwardtogetherpac.com Forward Together PAC] in Virginia, where he raised over $2.5 million dollars. In attendence were Governor-elect Tim Kaine, and former Senator John Breaux. Following the Forward Together PAC Gala, Warner headed down to South Carolina for the Democratic Dinner honoring South Carolina's four Democratic Governors where he [http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=57701§ion=localnews impressed] South Carolina Democrats. Warner was also the guest speaker at the Florida Democratic Party Conference on the weekend of December 9.

References


- Clift, Elenor (December 9, 2005). [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10401164/site/newsweek/ "Hillary vs Warner]. Newsweek
- Gelineau, Kristen (Nov. 29, 2005). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/29/AR2005112901090.html "Va. Gov. Grants Clemency for Condemned Man"]. The Washington Post.
- Przybyla, Heidi (Nov. 10, 2005). [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=alzoQPiW_xxc&refer=us "Warner's Star in Presidential Politics Rises on Virginia Vote"]. Bloomberg.com.
- Polman, Nick (Nov. 10, 2005). [http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13130424.htm "A new face for 2008? Yes, Virginia"]. The Philadelphia Inquirer.

External links


- [http://www.governor.virginia.gov/ Governor Warner's website]
- [http://draftmarkwarner.com/ Draft Mark Warner for President 2008]
- [http://www.forwardtogetherpac.com/ Forward Together PAC] Warner, Mark Warner, Mark Warner, Mark Warner, Mark Warner, Mark Warner, Mark Warner, Mark Warner, Mark Warner, Mark Warner, Mark Category:Pro-choice politicians

December 15

December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 16 days remaining.

Events


- 533 - The Battle of Ticameron begins
- 687 - St. Sergius I becomes Pope
- 1256 - Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran.
- 1791 - The United States Bill of Rights is passed
- 1891 - James Naismith introduces basketball.
- 1913 - Nicaragua becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1914 - The Battle of Łódź ends; Russians retreat toward Moscow
- 1939 - Gone with the Wind premiers in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1945 - General Douglas MacArthur orders end of Shinto as state religion of Japan
- 1947 - All India Muslim League meeting in Karachi resolved to split itself into two separate organizations for Pakistan and India.
- 1960 - King Baudouin of Belgium marries Fabiola Fernanda María de las Victorias Antonia Adelaida de Mora y Aragón
- 1961 - An Israeli war crimes tribunal sentences Adolph Eichmann to die for his part in the Jewish holocaust
- 1965 - Gemini program: Gemini 6A is launched
- 1976 - Samoa becomes a member of the UN
- 1994 - Netscape Navigator 1.0 is first released
- 1994 - Palau becomes a member of the UN.
- 1995 - The European Communities Court of Justice passes the Bosman ruling
- 1997 - A chartered Tupolev TU-154 from Tajikistan crashes in the desert near Sharja, United Arab Emirates airport killing 85
- 2002 - BBC 7, digital radio station is launched in UK

Births


- 37 - Nero, Roman Emperor (d. 68)
- 130 - Lucius Verus, Roman Emperor (d. 169)
- 1242 - Prince Munetaka, Japanese shogun (d. 1274)
- 1567 - Christoph Demantius, German composer (d. 1643)
- 1610 - David Teniers the Younger, Flemish artist (d. 1690)
- 1634 - Thomas Hansen Kingo, Danish poet (d. 1703)
- 1648 - Gregory King, English statistician (d. 1712)
- 1713 - Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, British statesman (d. 1802)
- 1719 - Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (d. 1742)
- 1802 - János Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1860)
- 1832 - Gustave Eiffel, French civil engineer (d. 1923)
- 1852 - Henri Becquerel, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1908)
- 1859 - L. L. Zamenhof, Russian initiator of Esperanto (d. 1917)
- 1860 - Niels Ryberg Finsen, Danish physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1904)
- 1861 - Charles Duryea, American automobile pioneer (d. 1938)
- 1878 - Hans Carossa, German writer (d. [[1956]{

Politics of the United States

The federal government of the United States was established by the United States Constitution. United States politics is dominated by the two major parties, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. There are several other groups or parties of minor political significance.

Federal, state and local governments

The federal entity created by the Constitution is the dominant feature of the American governmental system. However, every person outside the capital is subject to at least three governing bodies: the federal government, a state, and a county (Note: county government has been abolished in some places, see New England and Town Meeting, the town/city fulfills this level of government). Within an incorporated entity, such as a city, they are also subject to the local government and possibly a district. Each level has its own political system (subject to constraints at higher levels). This multiplicity of jurisdictions reflects the country's history. The federal government was created by former colonies that had been established separately and had governed themselves independently of the others. Within these colonies were counties and towns with varying levels of development and therefore different administrative needs. Rather than replacing the states' legal systems with a unitary government, the Constitutional Convention chose to keep the states largely self-governing. As the country expanded, it admitted new states modeled on the existing ones.

State government

Before their independence, colonies governed themselves separately under the authority of the British Crown. In the early years of the republic, prior to the adoption of the Constitution, each state was virtually an autonomous unit. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention sought a stronger, more viable federal union, but they could not ignore state traditions, nor the interests of state politicians. In general, matters that lie entirely within state borders are the exclusive concern of state governments. These include internal communications; regulations relating to property, industry, business, and public utilities; the state criminal code; and working conditions within the state. Within this context, the federal government requires that state governments must be republican in form and that they adopt no laws that contradict or violate the federal Constitution or the laws and treaties of the United States. There are, of course, many areas of overlap between state and federal jurisdictions. Particularly in recent years, the federal government has assumed ever broadening responsibility in such matters as health, education, welfare, transportation, and housing and urban development. But where the federal government exercises such responsibility in the states, programs are usually adopted on the basis of cooperation between the two levels of government, rather than as an imposition from above. Like the national government, state governments have three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial; these are roughly equivalent in function and scope to their national counterparts. The chief executive of a state is the governor, elected by popular vote, typically for a four-year term (although in a few states the term is two years). Except for Nebraska, which has one legislative body, all states have a bicameral legislature, with the upper house usually called the Senate and the lower house called the House of Representatives, the House of Delegates, or the General Assembly. To confuse matters further, some states refer to the entire state legislature as the "General Assembly", with two houses therein. In most states, senators serve four-year terms, and members of the lower house serve two-year terms. The constitutions of the various states differ in some details but generally follow a pattern similar to that of the federal Constitution, including a statement of the rights of the people and a plan for organizing the government. On such matters as the operation of businesses, banks, public utilities, and charitable institutions, state constitutions are often more detailed and explicit than the federal one. Each state constitution, however, provides that the final authority belongs to the people, and sets certain standards and principles as the foundation of government.

City government

Once predominantly rural, the United States is today a highly urbanized country, and about 80 percent of its citizens now live in towns, large cities, or suburbs of cities. This statistic makes city governments critically important in the overall pattern of American government. To a greater extent than on the federal or state level, the city directly serves the needs of the people, providing everything from police and fire protection to sanitary codes, health regulations, education, public transportation, and housing. The business of running America's major cities is enormously complex. In terms of population alone, New York City is larger than 41 of the 50 states. It is often said that, next to the presidency, the most difficult executive position in the country is that of mayor of New York. City governments are chartered by states, and their charters detail the objectives and powers of the municipal government. But in many respects the cities function independently of the states. For most big cities, however, cooperation with both state and federal organizations is essential to meeting the needs of their residents. Types of city governments vary widely across the nation. However, almost all have some kind of central council, elected by the voters, and an executive officer, assisted by various department heads, to manage the city's affairs. There are three general types of city government: the mayor-council, the commission, and the council-manager. These are the pure forms; many cities have developed a combination of two or three of them. Mayor-Council. This is the oldest form of city government in the United States and, until the beginning of the 20th century, was used by nearly all American cities. Its structure is similar to that of the state and national governments, with an elected mayor as chief of the executive branch and an elected council that represents the various neighborhoods forming the legislative branch. The mayor appoints heads of city departments and other officials, sometimes with the approval of the council. He or she has the power of veto over ordinances — the laws of the city — and frequently is responsible for preparing the city's budget. The council passes city ordinances, sets the tax rate on property, and apportions money among the various city departments. As cities have grown, council seats have usually come to represent more than a single neighborhood. The Commission. This combines both the legislative and executive functions in one group of officials, usually three or more in number, elected city-wide. Each commissioner supervises the work of one or more city departments. One is named chairperson of the body and is often called the mayor, although his or her power is equivalent to that of the other commissioners. Council-Manager. The city manager is a response to the increasing complexity of urban problems, which require management expertise not often possessed by elected public officials. The answer has been to entrust most of the executive powers, including law enforcement and provision of services, to a highly trained and experienced professional city manager. The city manager plan has been adopted by a growing number of cities. Under this plan, a small, elected council makes the city ordinances and sets policy, but hires a paid administrator, also called a city manager, to carry out its decisions. The manager draws up the city budget and supervises most of the departments. Usually, there is no set term; the manager serves as long as the council is satisfied with his or her work.

County government

The county is a subdivision of the state, sometimes — but not always — containing two or more townships and several villages. New York City is so large that it is divided into five separate boroughs, each a county in its own right. On the other hand, Arlington County, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is both an urbanized and suburban area, governed by a unitary county administration. What has happened, in these cases, is known as consolidated city-county government, which is also used by several other larger U.S. cities. In most U.S. counties, one town or city is designated as the county seat, and this is where the government offices are located and where the board of commissioners or supervisors meets. In small counties, boards are chosen by the county as a whole; in the larger ones, supervisors represent separate districts or townships. The board levies taxes; borrows and appropriates money; fixes the salaries of county employees; supervises elections; builds and maintains highways and bridges; and administers national, state, and county welfare programs. In some New England states, counties do not have any governmental function and are simply a division of land.

Town and village government

Thousands of municipal jurisdictions are too small to qualify as city governments. These are chartered as towns and villages and deal with such strictly local needs as paving and lighting the streets; ensuring a water supply; providing police and fire protection; establishing local health regulations; arranging for garbage, sewage, and other waste disposal; collecting local taxes to support governmental operations; and, in cooperation with the state and county, directly administering the local school system. Note that in many states the term "town" does not have any specific meaning--it is simply an informal term applied to populated places (both incorporated and unincorporated municipalities). And in some states, the term town is equivalent to how civil townships are used in other states. The government is usually entrusted to an elected board or council, which may be known by a variety of names: town or village council, board of selectmen, board of supervisors, board of commissioners. The board may have a chairperson or president who functions as chief executive officer, or there may be an elected mayor. Governmental employees may include a clerk, treasurer, police and fire officers, and health and welfare officers. One unique aspect of local government, found mostly in the New England region of the United States, is the "town meeting." Once a year — sometimes more often if needed — the registered voters of the town meet in open session to elect officers, debate local issues, and pass laws for operating the government. As a body, they decide on road construction and repair, construction of public buildings and facilities, tax rates, and the town budget. The town meeting, which has existed for more than two centuries, is often cited as the purest form of direct democracy, in which the governmental power is not delegated, but is exercised directly and regularly by all the people.

Other local governments

The federal, state, and local governments covered here by no means include the whole spectrum of American governmental units. The U.S. Bureau of the Census (part of the Commerce Department) has identified no less than 84,955 local governmental units in the United States, including counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, and special districts. Americans have come to rely on their governments to perform a wide variety of tasks which, in the early days of the republic, people did for themselves. In colonial days, there were few police officers or firefighters, even in the large cities; governments provided neither street lights nor street cleaners. To a large extent, people protected their own property and saw to their families' needs. In modern times, meeting these needs is usually seen as the responsibility of the whole community, acting through the agency of one or more levels of government. Even in small towns, the police, fire, welfare, and health department functions are exercised by governments. Hence, the bewildering array of jurisdictions.

Participation

Suffrage is nearly universal for citizens 18 years of age and older. A major remaining exception is the District of Columbia, where residents have no representation whatsoever in the US Senate; only a non-voting "delegate" in the House; and an extremely weak "home rule" city government. Also, US voting rights can be restricted as a result of felony conviction (such laws vary widely by state). The most significant fact about politics in the United States, especially at the national level, is that successful participation requires large amounts of money, especially for television advertising. This money is very difficult to raise by appeals to a mass base, although the Republican Party has had some success, as has Howard Dean with his Internet appeals. Both parties must depend on wealthy donors and organizations - traditionally the Democrats depended on donations from organized labor while the Republicans relied on business donations. Since 1984, however, the Democrats' business donations have surpassed those from labor organizations. This dependency on donors is controversial, and has led to laws limiting spending on political campaigns being enacted; as a complicating factor due to the United States Constitution, opponents of campaign finance laws cite the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, and challenge campaign finance laws on grounds that they attempt to circumscribe their constitutionally-guaranteed rights. Even when laws are upheld, the complication of compliance with the First Amendment requires careful and cautious drafting of legislation, leading to laws that are still fairly limited in scope, especially in comparison to those of other countries such as the United Kingdom, France or Canada. Some would allege that funding practices commonplace in the United States would likely be considered political corruption elsewhere.

Political culture

Most schools in the United States teach the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the writings of the Founding Fathers as the definition of the country's governing ideology. Among the core tenets of this ideology are the following:
- The government is answerable to citizens, who may change it through elections.
- The government's power in matters of religion, expression, and law enforcement should be limited to prevent abuse of power.
- The laws should attach no special privilege to any citizen (that is, citizens should be equal before the law).
- Individuals and political parties debate how this ideology applies to particular circumstances, and may disagree openly with any of it. At the time of the United States's founding, the economy was predominantly one of private business, and state governments left welfare issues to private or local initiative. The United States government has largely accepted the system of private enterprise and opposed broad grants of support to citizens, although the experience of the Great Depression challenged both positions. As a result the US tends to be ideologically oriented toward capitalism in contrast with the social democratic cultures in Europe. Prior to World War II the United States pursued a policy of isolationism in foreign affairs by not taking sides in conflicts between foreign powers. The country abandoned this policy when it became a superpower, but the country remains skeptical of internationalism. The ideology of the incumbent President and the President's advisors largely determines the government's attitude in foreign affairs.

Political parties

See also: Republican Party, Democratic Party, Puerto Rico political parties Many of America's Founding Fathers hated the thought of political parties. They were sure quarreling factions would be more interested in contending with each other than in working for the common good. They wanted individual citizens to vote for individual candidates, without the interference of organized groups — but this was not to be. By the 1790s, different views of the new country's proper course had already developed, and those who held these opposing views tried to win support for their cause by banding together. The followers of Alexander Hamilton, the Hamiltonian faction, took up the name "Federalist"; they favored a strong central government that would support the interests of commerce and industry. The followers of Thomas Jefferson, the Jeffersonians and then the "Anti-Federalists," took up the name Democrat-Republicans" (not to be confused with the modern Republican party); they preferred a decentralized agrarian republic in which the federal government had limited power. By 1828, the Federalists had disappeared as an organization, replaced by the Whigs, brought to life in opposition to the election that year of President Andrew Jackson. Jackson's presidency split the Republican party: Jacksonians became the "Democratic-Republicans" and those following the leadership of John Quincy Adams became the "National Republicans." The Democratic-Republicans quickly shortened their name to the Democratic party, and the two-party system, still in existence today, was born. The United States thus has exceptionally old political parties. In the 1850s, the issue of slavery took center stage, with disagreement in particular over the question of whether or not slavery should be permitted in the country's new territories in the West. The Whig Party straddled the issue and sank to its death; it was replaced in 1854 by the Republican Party, whose primary policy was that slavery be excluded from all the territories. Just six years later, this new party captured the presidency when Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860. By then, parties were well established as the country's dominant political organizations, and party allegiance had become an important part of most people's consciousness. Party loyalty was passed from fathers to sons, and party activities — including spectacular campaign events, complete with uniformed marching groups and torchlight parades — were a part of the social life of many communities. By the 1920s, however, this boisterous folksiness had diminished. Municipal reforms, civil service reform, corrupt practices acts, and presidential primaries to replace the power of politicians at national conventions had all helped to clean up politics — and make it quite a bit less fun. How did the two-party system develop in the United States? America has historically had many minor or third political parties. They tend to serve a means to advocate polices that eventually are adopted by the two major political parties, i.e. the abolishment of slavery, and child labor laws. Some of these third political parties such as the Socialist Party, the Farmer Labor Party and the Populist Party developed an impressive degree of support, although limited electoral success. Most officials in America are elected from single-member districts and win office by beating out their opponents in a system for determining winners called first-past-the-post — the one who gets the pluarity wins, (which is not the same thing as actually getting a majority of votes). While some cities and the state of Illinois did experiment with proportional representation, the United States Congress banned the usage of that alternative voting method for federal legislative elections in 1967. This, too, encourages the two-party system; see Duverger's law. Another critical factor has been ballot access law. Originally voters went to the polls and publicly stated which candidate they supported, later on this developed into a process whereby each political party would create its own ballot and thus the voter would put the party's ballot into the voting box. In the late nineteenth century, states became to adopt the Australian Secret Ballot Method and it eventually became the national standard. The secret ballot method ensured that the privacy of voters would be protected (hence government jobs could no longer be awarded to loyal voters) and each state would be responsible for creating one official ballot. The fact that states legislators were dominated by Democrats and Republicans provided an opportunity to possible discriminatory laws against minor political parties, yet such laws did not start to arise until the first Red Scare that hit America after World War I. State legislators became to enact tough laws that made it harder for minor political parties to run candidates for office by requiring a high number of petition signatures from citizens and decreasing the length of time that such a petition could legally be circulated. The election laws encourages the creation of a duopoly: one party in power, the other out. If those who are "out" band together, they have a better chance of beating those who are "in." Occasionally a third party does come along and receive a considerable share of the vote, although usually not for very long. The most successful third parties in recent years have been H. Ross Perot's Reform Party, which won 8% of the vote in the presidential election of 1996 (Perot himself won 19% of the vote in 1992, but the Reform Party did not yet exist) and the Libertarian Party, which has more than 400 members in elected office. Jesse Ventura became the only Reform Party candidate to win statewide office when he was elected governor of Minnesota in 1998. Only two independents currently hold federal office - Senator James Jeffords (though he often votes with Democrats and sits with them in their closed meetings) and Congressman Bernie Sanders, both of Vermont (Vermont has only one House seat). However, Jeffords was elected as a Republican, and has yet to face re-election since leaving the GOP. Most third parties have a hard time surviving, though, because one or both of the major parties often adopt their most popular issues, and thus their voters. Also, voters who might otherwise favor a third party often hesitate to give them their votes because they are perceived as not having any realistic chance of winning, or because they fear their support for a third party will the divide the vote and cause the defeat of the major party candidate more favorable than the other. It should also be noted that while almost all elected officials do identify with a political party, the political parties of the United States are much more individualistic than in other political systems (i.e. in a parliamentary system). More often than not, party members will "toe the line" and support their party's policies, but it is important to note that they are free to vote against their own party and vote with the opposition ("cross the aisle") if a particular policy is counter to the priorities and interests of their constituents. Recent examples of this can be seen in such highly controversial matters as Social Security reform, the federal budget, and some environmental policies. "In America the same political labels — Democratic and Republican — cover virtually all public officeholders, and therefore most voters are everywhere mobilized in the name of these two parties," says Nelson W. Polsby, professor of political science, in the book New Federalist Papers: Essays in Defense of the Constitution. "Yet Democrats and Republicans are not everywhere the same. Variations — sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant — in the 50 political cultures of the states yield considerable differences overall in what it means to be, or to vote, Democratic or Republican. These differences suggest that one may be justified in referring to the American two-party system as masking something more like a hundred-party system." The commonwealth of Puerto Rico has separate political parties. The main ones are the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico, Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rican Independence Party.

Organization of American political parties

Unlike in some countries, American political parties are very loosely organized. The two major parties, in particular, have no formal organization at the national level that controls membership, activities, or policy positions, though some state affiliates do. Thus, for an American to say that he or she is a member of the Democratic or Republican party, is quite different from a Briton's stating that he or she is a member of the Labour party. In the United States, one can often become a "member" of a party, merely by stating that fact. In some U.S. states, a voter can register as a member of one or another party or vote in the primary election for one or another party, but such participation does not restrict one's choices in any way; nor does it give a person any particular rights or obligations with respect to the party. A person may choose to attend meetings of one local party committee one day and another party committee the next day. The sole factor that brings one "closer to the action" is the quantity and quality of participation in party activities and the ability to persuade others in attendance to give one responsibility. Party identification becomes somewhat formalized when a person runs for partisan office. In most states, this means declaring oneself a candidate for the nomination of a particular party and intent to enter that party's primary election for an office. A party committee may choose to endorse one or another of those who is seeking the nomination, but in the end the choice is up to those who choose to vote in the primary, and it is often difficult to tell who is going to do the voting. The result is that American political parties have weak central organizations and little central ideology, except by consensus. A party really cannot prevent a person who disagrees with the majority of positions of the party or actively works against the party's aims from claiming party membership, so long as the voters who choose to vote in the primary elections elect that person. At the federal level, each of the two major parties has a national committee (See, Democratic National Committee, Republican National Committee) that acts as the hub for much fund-raising and campaign activities, particularly in presidential campaigns. The exact composition of these committees is different for each party, but they are made up primarily of representatives from state parties, affiliated organizations, and other individuals important to the party. However, the national committees do not have the power to direct the activities of individual members of the party. Thus, although each party has a chairman, that chairman cannot truly be considered the party's "leader" and it is often difficult to define party leadership with respect to American political parties. The parties' leaders generally are those who persuade other members to follow their leads. Often the party leaders are de facto those members of the party who hold high office, such as the presidency, or leadership in the House of Representatives or the Senate. However, such leadership only functions to the extent that other party members are willing to go along. As a formal matter, an incumbent president is considered to be the ex officio head of his party, who selects its national committee chair, as is the presidential nominee of the opposing party in an election year (though the nominee's power to oust an incumbent chair is not absolute, and has not been tested in recent years). Both parties also have separate campaign committees which work to elect candidates at a specific level. The most significant of these are the Hill committees, which work to elect candidates to each house of Congress. State parties exist in all fifty states, though their structures differ according to state law, as well as party rules at both the national and the state level. See also: Political Party Strength in U.S. States

Political pressure groups

Special interest groups . Business organizations will favor low corporate taxes and restrictions of the right to strike, whereas labor unions will support minimum wage legislation and protection for collective bargaining. Other private interest groups — such as churches and ethnic groups — are more concerned about broader issues of policy that can affect their organizations or their beliefs. One type of private interest group that has grown in number and influence in recent years is the political action committee or PAC. These are independent groups, organized around a single issue or set of issues, that contribute money to political campaigns for U.S. Congress or the presidency. PACs are limited in the amounts they can contribute directly to candidates in federal elections. There are no restrictions, however, on the amounts PACs can spend independently to advocate a point of view or to urge the election of candidates to office. PACs today number in the thousands. "The political parties are threatened as the number of interest groups has mushroomed, with more and more of them operating offices in Washington, D.C., and representing themselves directly to Congress and federal agencies," says Michael Schudson in his book The Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life. "Many organizations that keep an eye on Washington seek financial and moral support from ordinary citizens. Since many of them focus on a narrow set of concerns or even on a single issue, and often a single issue of enormous emotional weight, they compete with the parties for citizens' dollars, time, and passion." The amount of money spent by these special interests continues to grow, as campaigns become more and more expensive. Many Americans have the feeling that these wealthy interests — whether corporations or unions or PACs organized to promote a particular point of view — are so powerful that ordinary citizens can do little to counteract their influence.

International organizations

International organization participation: ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, FAO, G-7, G-8, G-10, G12, G20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, NMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, Zangger Committee

International agreements that the USA has not ratified

The United States is often criticized by nationals of participant countries for not taking part in the following agreements:
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) is an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. Only Somalia and the U.S. have not ratified it.
- The International Criminal Court (2002) was established as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, as defined by several international agreements. Notable refusals of compulsory ICC jurisdiction include the U.S., Israel, and China.
- The Kyoto Protocol (entered into force in 2005) is an international treaty on climate change. Countries which ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases, or engage in emissions trading if they maintain or increase emissions of these gases. The U.S. signed the treaty but has not ratified it; Australia has refused to sign it; India and many other nations have ratified the treaty but are exempt from it.
- The Ottawa Treaty (binding as of 1999) bans completely all anti-personnel landmines. Forty nations have not ratified this treaty, including China, Cuba, Finland, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Russia, and the United States.
- The USA withdrew from Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002. This was a treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems used in defending areas against missile-delivered nuclear weapons.
- The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide came into effect in 1951. Of the nations that have ratified this treaty, ten have done so with the proviso of immunity from compulsory prosecution for genocide. These countries include the U.S. and India.

See also


- Federal Government of the United States
- Law of the United States
- Duverger's law
- List of political parties in the United States
  - Democratic Party
  - Republican Party
  - Green Party
  - Libertarian Party
  - Constitution Party
- Political divisions of the United States
- Politics of Puerto Rico
- Politics of the Southern United States
- Political parties of the world
- Canadian and American politics compared

Further reading


- Elizabeth Drew, The Corruption of American Politics: What Went Wrong and Why, Overlook Press, ISBN 1585670499
- Ron Suskind, The Price of Loyalty, George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul ONeill, ISBN 0743255453
- Nancy Watzman and Micah Sifry, Is That a Politician in Your Pocket? : Washington on $2 Million a Day, John Wiley, July, 2004, trade paperback, 208 pages, ISBN 047167995X

External links


- [http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/outusgov/homepage.htm Outline of the U.S. Government]
- [http://www.gop.org Official Republican Party Web Site]
- [http://www.democrats.org Official Democratic Party Web Site]
- [http://www.greenpartyus.org Official Green Party Web Site]
- [http://www.lp.org Official Libertarian Party Web Site]
- [http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/ CNN Politics]
- [http://www.dcpages.com/forums/index.php?showforum=192 Washington DC Pages: United States Politics]
- [http://www.realopinion.com/realboards Discuss American politics at RealOpinion.com] Category:Politics of the United States ja:アメリカ合衆国の政治

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is one of the original thirteen states of the United States that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, and is part of the South. It is one of four states that use the name commonwealth. Virginia was the first part of the Americas to be colonized permanently by England. Virginia's U.S. postal abbreviation is VA, and its Associated Press abbreviation is Va. Kentucky and West Virginia were part of Virginia at the time of the founding of the United States; but the former was admitted to the Union as a separate state in 1792, while the latter broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War. Virginia is known as the "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents, more than any other state. Five of them were re-elected to a second term: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and Woodrow Wilson. William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Zachary Taylor round out the list of American Presidents from the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Harrison and Taylor died while in office.)

History

Native Americans

At the time of the English colonization of Virginia, among Native American people living in what now is Virginia were the Cherokee, Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Meherrin, Monacan, Nansemond, Nottaway, Pamunkey, Pohick, Powhatan, Rappahannock, Saponi, and Tuscarora. The natives are often divided into three groups. The largest group are known as the Algonquian who numbered over 10,000. The other groups are the Iroquoian (numbering 2,500) and the Siouan. [http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/vahistory/tribes.html]

Virginia Colony: 1607–1776

At the end of the 16th century, when Great Britain began to colonize North America, Virginia was the name that Queen Elizabeth I of England (who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married) gave to the whole area explored by the 1584 expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh along the coast of North America, eventually applying to the whole coast from South Carolina to Maine. The London Virginia Company became incorporated as a joint stock company by a proprietary charter drawn up on April 10, 1606. It swiftly financed the first permanent English settlement in the New World, which was at Jamestown, named in honor of King James I, in the Virginia Colony, in 1607, which settlement was founded by Captian Christopher Newport and Captain John Smith. Its Second Charter was officially ratified on May 23, 1609. Jamestown was the original capital of the Virginia Colony, and remained so until the State House burned (not the first time) in 1698. After the fire, the colonial capital was moved to nearby Middle Plantation, which was renamed Williamsburg in honor of William of Orange, King William III. Virginia was given its nickname, "The Old Dominion", by King Charles II of England at the time of the Restoration, because it had remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil War.

A new state

In 1780, during the American Revolutionary War, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of then-Governor Thomas Jefferson, who was afraid that Williamsburg's location made it vulnerable to a British attack. In the autumn of 1781, American troops trapped the British on the Yorktown peninsula in the famous Battle of Yorktown. This prompted a British surrender on October 19, 1781, formally ending the war and securing the former colonies' independence, even though sporadic fighting continued for two years. Patrick Henry served as the first Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779, and again from 1784 to 1786. On June 12, 1776, the Virginia Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a document that influenced the Bill of Rights added later to the United States Constitution. On June 29, 1776, the convention adopted a constitution that established Virginia as a commonwealth independent of the British Empire. In 1790 both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to form the new District of Columbia, but in an Act of the U.S. Congress dated July 9, 1846, the area south of the Potomac that had been ceded by Virginia was retroceded to Virginia effective 1847, and is now Arlington County and part of the City of Alexandria.

American Civil War

Virginia is one of the states that seceded from the Union to become the Confederacy during the Civil War. When it did, some counties were separated as Kanawha (later renamed West Virginia), an act which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1870. More battles were fought on Virginia soil than anywhere else in America during the Civil War. Virginia formally rejoined the Union on January 26, 1870, after a period of post-war military rule.

20th century

When Douglas Wilder was elected Governor of Virginia on January 13, 1990, he became the first African-American to serve as Governor of a U.S. state since Reconstruction.

Law and government

The capital is Richmond: the current Governor is Mark Warner, a Democrat. Tim Kaine, also a Democrat, is the governor-elect. Previous capitals included Jamestown (1609–1699) and Williamsburg (1699–1780). The Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thomas Jefferson and the cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785. In colonial Virginia, the lower house of the legislature was called the House of Burgesses. Together with the Governor's Council, the House of Burgesses made up the General Assembly. The Governor's Council was composed of 12 men appointed by the British Monarch to advise the Governor. The Council also served as the General Court of the colony, a colonial equivalent of a Supreme Court. Members of the House of Burgesses were chosen by all those who could vote in the colony. Each county chose two people or burgesses to represent it, while the College of William and Mary and the cities of Norfolk, Williamsburg, and Jamestown each chose one burgess. The Burgesses met to make laws for the colony and set the direction for its future growth; the Council would then review the laws and either approve or disapprove them. The approval of the Burgesses, the Council, and the Governor was needed to pass a law. The idea of electing burgesses was important and new. It gave Virginians a chance to control their own government for the first time. At first the burgesses were elected by all free men in the colony. Women, indentured servants, and Native Americans could not vote. Later the rules for voting changed, making it necessary for men to own at least fifty acres (200,000 m²) of land in order to vote. Founded in 1619, the Virginia General Assembly is still in existence as the oldest legislature in the Western Hemisphere. Today, the General Assembly is made up of the Senate and the House of Delegates. Like many other states, by the 1850s Virginia featured a state legislature, several executive officers, and an independent judiciary. By the time of the Constitution of 1901, which lasted longer than any other state constitution, the General Assembly continued as the legislature, the Supreme Court of Appeals acted as the judiciary, and the eight elected executive officers were the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration. The Constitution of 1901 was amended many times, notably in the 1930s and 1950s, before it was abandoned in favour of more modern government, with fewer elected officials, reformed local governments and a more streamlined judiciary. Virginia currently functions under the 1970 Constitution of Virginia. It is the state's ninth constitution. Under the Constitution, the State Government is composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch or state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly, a bicameral body whose 140 members make all state laws. Members of the Virginia House of Delegates serve two-year terms, while members of the Virginia Senate serve four-year terms. The General Assembly also selects the state's Auditor of Public Accounts. The statutory law enacted by the General Assembly is codified in the Code of Virginia. The executive branch comprises the Governor of Virginia, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and the Attorney General of Virginia. All three officers are separately elected to four-year terms in years following Presidential elections (1997, 2001, 2005, etc) and take office in January of the following year. The Governor serves as chief executive officer of the Commonwealth and as Commander-in-Chief of the State Militia. State law forbids any Governor from serving consecutive terms. The Lieutenant Governor serves as President of the Senate of Virginia and is first in the line of succession to the Governor. The Attorney General is chief legal advisor to the Governor and the General Assembly, chief lawyer of the state and the head of the Department of Law. The Attorney General is second in the line of succession to the Governor. Whenever there is a vacancy in all three executive offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, then the Speaker of the House of the Virginia House of Delegates becomes Governor. The Office of the Governor's Secretaries helps manage the Governor's Cabinet, comprised of the following individuals, all appointed by the Governor:
- Governor's Chief of Staff
- Secretary of Administration
- Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
- Secretary of Commerce and Trade
- Secretary of the Commonwealth
- Secretary of Education
- Secretary of Finance
- Secretary of Health and Human Resources
- Secretary of Natural Resources
- Secretary of Public Safety
- Secretary of Technology
- Secretary of Transportation
- Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Virginia Court of Appeals, the General District Courts and the Circuit Courts. The Virginia Supreme Court, composed of the chief justice and six other judges is the highest court in the Commonwealth (although, as with all the states, the U.S. Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over decisions by the Virginia Supreme Court involving substantial questions of U.S. Constitution law or constitutional rights). The Chief Justice and the Virginia Supreme Court also serve as the administrative body for the entire Virginia court system. The 95 counties and the 39 independent cities all have their own governments, usually a county board of supervisors or city council which choose a city manager or county administrator to serve as a professional, non-political chief administrator under the council-manager form of government. There are exceptions, notably Richmond, Virginia, which has a popularly-elected Mayor who serves as chief executive separate from the city council.

Political control

After William Mahone and the Readjuster Party lost control of Virginia politics around 1883, the Democratic Party held a strong majority position of state and federal offices for over 85 years. In 1970, Republican A. Linwood Holton Jr. became the first Republican governor in the 20th century. In the years thereafter, Republicans made substantial gains, and for a time, controlled both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, as well as the Governorship from 1994 until 2002.
- Republicans hold both seats in the U.S. Senate, 8 of 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, hold a majority in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate, and a Republican is Virginia's Lieutenant Governor-Elect. A republican is also temporarily serving as attorney general having been appointed to fill the seat left by Jerry Kilgore. However, the recent election for attorney general to fill the open seat has not been decided and a recount will occur to determine the election.
- Democrats control the remaining 3 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Governor and Governor-Elect are both Democrats. The Democrats have steadily been gaining seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and may soon take control, however the State Senate will likely remain under Republican Leadership. Incumbent Virginia governors cannot run for re-election under the state constitution and In the November 2005 election, the race to succeed Democratic Governor Mark Warner, Democrat Timothy M. Kaine beat Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (Scott County), and State Senator Russ Potts (Winchester) (longtime Republican) running as an independent. Kaine will become governor of the state at his inauguration on January 14, 2006.

Geography

2006 2006 Virginia is bordered by West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia (across the Potomac River) to the north, by Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, and by Kentucky and West Virginia to the west. The Chesapeake Bay divides the state, with the eastern portion (called 'the Eastern Shore of Virginia'), a part of the Delmarva Peninsula, completely separate (an exclave) from the rest of the state. Geographically, Virginia is divided into the following 5 regions:
- Tidewater - Stretching from the Atlantic coast to the fall line
- Piedmont - East of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Tidewater Region
- Blue Ridge Mountains - East of the Appalachian Mountains to the Blue Ridge Mountain Region
- Valley and Ridge - Appalachian Mountains and Shenandoah Valley Region
- Appalachian Plateau - West of the Appalachian Mountains Virginia's long east-west axis means that metropolitan northern Virginia lies much closer to New York and New England than to the rural western panhandle of its own state. Conversely, Lee County, at the tip of the panhandle, is closer to 8 state capitals than it is to Richmond.

Demographics

As of 2004, Virginia's population was estimated to be 7,459,827. The state had a foreign-born population of 679,500 (9.1% of the state population), of which an estimated 100,000 were illegal aliens (15% of the foreign-born). The state's population increased by 1.3 million between 1990 and 2004, a growth of 21% Race and Ancestry
The racial makeup of the state:
- 70.2% White non-Hispanic
- 19.6% Black
- 4.7% Hispanic
- 3.7% Asian
- 0.3% Native American
- 2% Mixed race The five largest reported ancestry groups in Virginia are: African American (19.6%), German (11.7%), American (11.2%), English (11.1%), Irish (9.8%). Historically, as the largest and wealthiest colony and state and the birthplace of Southern and American culture, a large proportion (about half) of Virginia's population was made up of black slaves who worked the state's tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. The twentieth century Great Migration of blacks from the rural South to the urban North reduced Virginia's black population to about 20 percent. Today Blacks are concentrated in the eastern and southern tidewater and piedmont regions where plantation agriculture was most dominant. The western mountains are populated primarily by people of British and American ancestry. People of German descent are present in sizable numbers in the northwestern mountains and Shenandoah Valley. And due to recent immigration, there is a rapidly growing population of Hispanics (particularly Central Americans) and Asians in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. 6.5% of Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 24.6% under 18, and 11.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Virginia are:
- Christian – 84%
  - Protestant – 69%
    - Baptist – 32%
    - Methodist – 8%
    - Episcopal – 3%
    - Presbyterian – 3%
    - Other Protestant or general Protestant – 23%
  - Roman Catholic – 14%
  - Other Christian – 1%
- Other Religions – 2%
- Non-Religious – 12%

Economy

Virginia's economy has long been regarded as one of the better-balanced in the United States with diverse sources of income, including military installations concentrated in the Hampton Roads area, tobacco and peanut farming all through Southside Virginia, manufacturing and transportation, and the location of Northern Virginia as a bedroom community for the federal government and its vendors. Virginia, arguably the wealthiest southern state before the Civil War, recovered from the civil war and the Great Depression much faster than the rest of the south. Today it is still significantly wealthier than the rest of the south, although much of that is from the northern influence around Washington D.C.

Transportation

Northern Virginia Virginia is served by a network of Interstate Highways, arterial highways, several limited access tollways, bridges, tunnels, and three bridge-tunnel complexes. The [http://www.springfieldinterchange.com/ Springfield Interchange Project] (also known as "The Mixing Bowl") and the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, two of the country's largest highway improvement projects, are taking place in the state ten miles apart. Major airports are located in these areas: Northern Virginia (Reagan-National and Dulles), Richmond-Petersburg (Richmond), Virginia Peninsula (Newport News), South Hampton Roads (Norfolk), and the Roanoke Valley (Roanoke). Virginia has extensive waterways. In addition to the lower portion of the Chesapeake Bay, navigable rivers include the Elizabeth River at Hampton Roads, the James River, the York River, the Rappahannock River, and the Potomac River. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway passes through eastern Virginia. Virginia has Amtrak passenger rail service along several corridors and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) maintains two commuter lines into Washington, D.C. The Washington Metro serves Northern Virginia as far west as Fairfax County.

Sports

Virginia is by far the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise. The reasons for this include the close proximity of Washington, D.C. which has franchises in all four major sports, and the lack of any dominant city or market within the state. An attempt to bring a National Hockey League expansion franchise to Hampton Roads in the 1990s was rejected by the NHL. A proposal to relocate the Montreal Expos to Northern Virginia was considered by Major League Baseball, but MLB eventually settled on the national capital as the Expos' new home. Virginia is home to many minor league clubs, especially in baseball and soccer.

Baseball


- Bluefield Orioles (Appalachian League)
- Bristol White Sox (Appalachian League)
- Danville Braves (Appalachian League)
- Lynchburg Hillcats (Carolina League)
- Norfolk Tides (International League)
- Potomac Nationals (Carolina League)
- Pulaski Blue Jays (Appalachian League)
- Richmond Braves (International League)
- Salem Avalanche (Carolina League)
- [http://www.winchesterroyals.com Winchester Royals] ([http://www.valleyleaguebaseball.com Valley League])

Basketball


- Roanoke Dazzle (NBDL)

Ice hockey


- Norfolk Admirals (AHL)
- Richmond RiverDogs (UHL)
- Roanoke Valley Vipers (UHL)

Indoor football


- Richmond Bandits (AIFL)

Soccer


- Chesapeke Athletic (Super Y-League)
- Hampton Roads Piranhas (W-League)
- Northern Virginia Majestics (W-League)
- Northern Virginia Royals (USL Second Division)
- Richmond Kickers (USL First Division)
- Richmond Kickers Destiny (W-League)
- Richmond Kickers Future (Premier Development League)
- Virginia Beach Mariners (USL First Division)
- Virginia Beach Submariners (Premier Development League)
- Williamsburg Legacy (Premier Development League)

Important cities and towns

Under the laws in effect in Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as cities are independent of any county. Of the 43 independent cities in the United States, 39 are in Virginia. The complete list of Virginia independent cities follows: Some other municipalities are incorporated towns, which are not independent of a county, but rather, located within one of the 95 counties in Virginia. These incorporated towns include: Finally, Arlington County, which lies across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is a completely urbanized community, much like a city, but remains organized as a county, and has no towns within its borders. There are also hundreds of other unincorporated communities (sometimes informally called villages or towns) in Virginia.

Colleges and universities

Miscellaneous information


- State motto: "Sic semper tyrannis." (Thus always to tyrants.)
- State bird: Cardinal
- State dog: American Foxhound
- State flower: Dogwood
- State tree: Dogwood
- State insect: Tiger swallowtail
- State bat: Virginia Big-Eared Bat
- State song: none; the former state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," was retired in 1997 because some found its lyrics to be racially offensive
- State dance: Square dance
- State boat: Chesapeake Bay deadrise
- State fish: Brook trout
- State shell: Oyster
- State fossil: Chesapecten Jeffersonius
- State beverage: Milk USS Virginia was named in honor of this state.

See also


- List of school divisions in Virginia
- Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia

Other places

There are also places named Virginia in the States of Illinois and Minnesota: see
- Virginia, Illinois.
- Virginia, Minnesota.

External links


- [http://www.virginia.gov State Government website]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/raleigh.htm Charter to Sir Walter Raleigh : 1584]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va01.htm The First Charter of Virginia; April 10, 1606]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va02.htm The Second Charter of Virginia; May 23, 1609]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va03.htm The Third Charter of Virginia; March 12, 1611]
- [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51000.html U.S. Census Bureau]
- [http://www.vahistorical.org Virginia Historical Society]
- [http://www.historical-markers.org Virginia's Historical Markers]
- [http://www.virginiaplaces.org/ Geography of Virginia]
- [http://www.fathersforvirginia.org/ Fathers for Virginia]
- Category:States of the United States ko:버지니아 주 ja:バージニア州

Governor of Virginia

The Governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Democrat Mark Warner whose term expires in January, 2006. The current Lieutenant Governor, Democrat Tim Kaine, has been elected Governor and will succeed Warner in 2006.

Qualifications

Candidates for Governor must be United States citizens who have resided in Virginia as registered voters for five years prior to the election in which they are running. The candidates must be at least 30 years of age. Also, Virginia does not allow governors to hold the office for consecutive terms, so the incumbent Governor is barred from running in the election (although a former governor may run again in subsequent gubernatorial elections). Virginia is the only state in the U.S. in which governors cannot serve consecutive terms.

Duties

The Governor is required to live in the seat of government of Virginia. At every regular session, he must report the state of the Commonwealth to the General Assembly, Virginia's legislature. He must also convene the legislature when two-thirds of each house calls for a special session. The Governor must ensure that the laws of the Commonwealth are faithfully executed and is responsible for the safety of the state, as he serves as commander-in-chief of the state militia.

Powers

militia
- The Governor has the legislative power to submit recommendations and to call special sessions when he finds them necessary.
- The Governor has veto powers. All bills must be sent to the Governor before becoming law. The Governor may sign the bill, let it sit unsigned for seven days after which it becomes law, or veto the legislation. After a veto, the bill returns to its house of origin and must be overridden by two-thirds of the vote in each house.
- The Governor also has the power to use a line-item veto. He may send legislation back to the legislature with recommendations and amendments. The legislature must either approve the changes by a majority in each house, or override the veto with a two-thirds majority in each house.
- The Governor is commander-in-chief of Virginia's armed forces.
- The Governor may also communicate with other States and foreign powers.
- The Governor has the power to fill vacancies in positions unless the position is appointed by the legislature.
- The Governor may commute fines or sentences and issue pardons. The Governor may also restore voting rights and overturn other political penalties on individuals.

History

line-item veto] The position of Governor of Virginia dates back to the first permanent English settlement in America, Jamestown. The Virginia Company of London set up a government run by a council. The President of the Council basically served as governor. The council was based in London and controlled the colony from afar. Nominally, Thomas Smith was the first President of the Council, but he never left England. Edward Maria Wingfield was the first President of the Council in residence, making him the first to exercise the actual authority of governing Virginia. The Virginia Company abandoned governance by council May 23, 1609 and replacing it with a Governor, John Smith. [http://www.apva.org/history/timeline.html] In 1624, the English Monarchy took control from the Virginia Company and made Virginia a crown colony. Governors continued to be appointed by the monarch for many years. Most often, the appointed Governor would reside in England while a Deputy or Lieutenant Governor actually exercised authority. Royal rule was interrupted during the English Civil War after which Governors were appointed by the Commonwealth of England until the English Restoration. Virginia became an independent state during the American Revolution with Patrick Henry as its first Governor. From the Revolution until 1851, the Governor was elected by the state legislature. After 1851, the state turned to popular elections. During the American Civil War, Francis Harrison Pierpont was the Governor of the Union controlled parts of the state. Pierpont also served as one of the provisional Governors during Reconstruction. These governors were appointed by the Federal government. In 1874, Virginia regained its right to self-governance and elected James L. Kemper as Governor. After Reconstruction, Virginia would not elect a Republican as Governor until A. Linwood Holton Jr. in 1970. Doug Wilder became the first elected African-American Governor of any U.S. state. He served as Governor from 1990-1994. Ever since 1851, Virginia's gubernatorial elections have been held in "off-off" years -- that is, years in which there are no national (presidential, sentatorial, or House) elections. (Most states hold guberatorial elections either on presidential-election years or on "off" years, when there are congressional elections.) This fact, coupled with the no-consecutive-terms rule, has been charged with limiting interest and voter turnout in gubernatorial elections in Virginia. There are never incumbents in the race, and voters are always being introduced to new politicians, so they often choose between two little-known politicians every four years. The no-consecutive-terms rule also, some argue, makes it very difficult for the state's chief executive to make sweeping changes in four short years. Tim Kaine will be inaugurated on January 14, 2006. Due to renovations on the Capitol in