RICHMOND — Virginia has opened the doors to its 200-year-old Executive Mansion to a flamboyant Democratic cheerleader who will have to overcome skepticism and a GOP-dominated House to effectively govern a state with more than 8 million residents.
With no experience in state government and an agenda outlined only in broad strokes, Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe eked out a win Tuesday on a promise to expand Medicaid, invest in education, improve transportation, promote green technology, protect access to abortion, and ensure that Virginia is welcoming to gays and scientific inquiry.
"I want us to be Number 1 in everything," he declared on the eve of the election.
Now friends and foes wonder how and if the former Democratic National Committee chairman, entrepreneur and Clinton intimate will make good on those ambitious goals, particularly when his narrow win will make it hard to claim a mandate.
"We really don't know where Terry McAuliffe's going," said House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford). "He hasn't really laid out any realistic plans. He's promised something for everyone. . . . His whole orientation is toward Washington-style politics, schmoozing and doing deals, going and having a few drinks. That's not gonna work. I think he's got a pretty sharp learning curve."
But Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) said Virginia's 72nd governor will master Richmond quickly. "There's nobody who has more energy, who has more heart, who goes after something and knows how to get it done," he said.
The man who titled his autobiography "What a Party!" and hawked Bill Clinton inaugural merchandise on the QVC shopping channel just landed the job held by Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and, in recent years, a string of subdued middle-of-the-roaders.
In March, McAuliffe could not name the positions in the governor's Cabinet, but more recently he has taken steps to assemble his own. In the process, he's courted trouble by trying to retain Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell's health and human resources secretary. He has publicly hinted that he would like Bill Hazel to stay on in his Cabinet and made an indirect appeal behind the scenes, according to two people familiar with the effort, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a confidential matter.
As a highly respected expert on health policy with GOP credentials, Hazel might be able to help McAuliffe persuade skeptical House Republicans to go along with the new governor's top priority: expanding Medicaid. But the idea that McAuliffe would even consider Hazel for his Cabinet has upset women's groups, who blame the secretary for supporting legislation mandating ultrasounds before abortions and imposing strict building codes on abortion clinics.
For some supporters, McAuliffe's courtship of Hazel demonstrated an ability to play the bipartisan pragmatist capable of compromise. Others worried that it showed a willingness to abandon principles and people along the way. "We are unabashedly opposed to Secretary Hazel staying on in the cabinet," said Tarina Keene, executive director NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. "I think having someone like Dr. Hazel stay on is certainly not going to be an option for the administration considering the people who put him in that office."
