Governor of The Commonwealth of Virginia
On January 16, 2010, McDonnell was inaugurated as the 71st governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, succeeding Kaine as governor. This was the first inaugural ceremony to occur on the newly renovated steps of the Virginia State Capitol. In keeping with tradition, McDonnell signed executive orders after taking the oath. Instead of keeping with a 30-year practice by signing an executive order banning discrimination in state employment (which he later signed on February 5), McDonnell signed orders establishing a Commission on job creation and a Virginia Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring.
Two of McDonnell's appointments drew criticism. On May 7, 2010, McDonnell appointed Fred Malek to chair a 31-member advisory commission on reforming state government. On May 10, 2010, several Democratic members of the Legislature criticized the appointment due to Malek's controversial actions as personnel director in the Nixon White House and due to a 2007 SEC investigation settlement. On May 25, 2010, McDonnell was asked about the Malek appointment and stated that he was not aware of Malek's role in the Nixon Administration, a remark which State Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) told the Washington Post that McDonnell's claim was "absolutely stunning and, frankly, beyond belief." McDonnell also nominated Robert C. Sledd to Secretary of Commerce and Trade, but withdrew the nomination in the face of bipartisan opposition prompted by Sledd's refusal to give up paid outside corporate directorships.
On January 27, 2010, McDonnell delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address. The response was delivered to GOP lawmakers and invited friends in the chamber of the Virginia House of Delegates. Critics have argued that the use of House chamber for McDonnell's speech did not comply with House Rule 82.
Since McDonnell's election as Governor in November 2009, he has shifted his fundraising activities to his "Opportunity Virginia PAC" which has raised $1,194,934 through June 2010. Many of these donations came from industries regulated by the state.
In April 2010, McDonnell renegotiated and extended a contract for outsourcing the state's computer operations to Northrop Grumman. At that time, McDonnell proposed legislation which was adopted to have the Virginia Information Technologies Agency report to the Governor instead of an independent board. Subsequently, McDonnell was criticized when the Northrup computer systems experienced a week-long computer outage from August 25 through September 2, 2010. As a result, as many as 45,000 citizens could not renew their drivers licenses prior to their expiration. Computer systems for 26 of the state's 89 agencies were affected. An estimated 4,240 driver's license and ID card applicants have been asked to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get their photos taken again after an Aug. 25 computer outage left their original photos unrecoverable. The system also experienced an unrelated outage on August 9. Subsequently, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay $250,000 to fund a state investigation of the computer outage.
The 2010 session of the General Assembly passed a bill exempting certain veterans' organizations from the registration and reporting requirements that apply to most charities which solicit donations in Virginia. The bill was introduced at the request of Bobby Thompson, director of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association, who has made large contributions to certain Republican candidates. After the bill passed both the House and Senate, newspaper accounts of that charity's questionable practices caused a sponsor of the bill to request McDonnell to veto it, however the governor signed the bill into law notwithstanding those requests. As a result, the organization, which is under investigation in New Mexico (which barred the USNVA before the Virginia bill was signed), Florida and Missouri, as well as other non profit veterans' organizations will not have to report to Virginia on how they spend the donations that they receive. However, McDonnell later donated to charity the $5,000 campaign contribution that he had received from Thompson. In August 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced that a nation-wide arrest warrant had issued for Bobby Thompson, who had stolen the identity and Social Security Number of a victim who was not connected to the USNVA. Corday stated, "We know he bilked Ohioans out of at least $1.9 million, and we estimate that nationally he collected at least $20 million."
In January 14, 2011, McDonnell issued a directive ordering the Department of Conservation and Recreation to cease enforcing regulations that prohibit people from openly carrying firearms in state parks. He has also given preliminary approval to amend the regulations to allow people to carry open or concealed firearms in state forests. The regulations were already amended in 2003 to allow concealed weapons on park property.
On August 15, 2011, McDonnell was named chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
Read more about this topic: Bob Mc Donnell
Famous quotes containing the words governor of, governor and/or commonwealth:
“Three years ago, also, when the Sims tragedy was acted, I said to myself, There is such an officer, if not such a man, as the Governor of Massachusetts,—what has he been about the last fortnight? Has he had as much as he could do to keep on the fence during this moral earthquake?... He could at least have resigned himself into fame.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“[John] Brough’s majority is “glorious to behold.” It is worth a big victory in the field. It is decisive as to the disposition of the people to prosecute the war to the end. My regiment and brigade were both unanimous for Brough [the Union party candidate for governor of Ohio].”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“By this unprincipled facility of changing the state as often, and as much, and in as many ways as there are floating fancies or fashions, the whole chain and continuity of the commonwealth would be broken. No one generation could link with the other. Men would become little better than the flies of a summer.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)