A letter from Tim Kaine

Editor’s note: Kaine For Virginia contacted C-VILLE about coverage for its campaign visit last week. I invited Tim Kaine to make a direct appeal to our readers in a letter.

For the last year, I have traveled across the Commonwealth as a senate candidate holding economic roundtables and listening to business owners, workers, veterans, and unemployed Virginians as they share their thoughts about our economic challenges. And a year to the day after I launched my campaign for U.S. Senate, I had a chance to visit Charlottesville as part of a larger economic tour across Virginia with Senator Mark Warner. After releasing a document which outlines my vision for our economic future, I embarked on a two-week economic tour to discuss my approach in communities across Virginia.

Senator Warner and I held a roundtable with leaders of the Virginia maritime industry in Norfolk, met with innovative businesses in Bristol and Arlington, and visited education and research facilities in Roanoke and Harrisonburg. We concluded our tour with a conversation on workforce development at the Charlottesville Workforce Center.

During my time in Charlottesville, I had an opportunity to talk with the community about specific pieces of my economic agenda to help businesses grow, to develop the most talented workforce in the world, and to take a balanced approach to our fiscal challenges and our politics. My approach is based on the key elements that have strengthened the economies of Charlottesville and of Virginia. And, if we take this Virginia approach to Washington, I believe we can strengthen our nation’s economy.

America’s economy has been the world’s largest since the 1890s. We’ve been propelled by the ingenuity of American workers and American businesses. We’re blessed with unparalleled natural resources. And, our nation’s transportation, communication, defense, and education assets have enabled us to be at the forefront of virtually every technological innovation in the last century. Though the global competition keeps getting tougher and tougher, we can continue our role as an economic powerhouse if we have leaders willing to work together and make tough decisions to strengthen America.

I believe my approach, based on growth, talent, and balance, is the right one to ensure our economic success. As mayor of Richmond and governor of Virginia, I promoted the right public policies to strengthen our economy in an increasingly competitive world. My work in Richmond helped Virginia’s capital revitalize its business climate and receive accolades as a business-friendly city. When I was governor, Virginia was in the top 10 states for median income and had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation. We recruited many world-class companies to relocate their headquarters here even in the midst of the worst recession in 70 years.

At our Charlottesville Workforce Center roundtable, we discussed ways to improve federal workforce development programs, better prepare workers, and match potential workers with available jobs. The members of the workforce development community agreed that we need to do more to develop our nation’s most valuable resource: talent. Talent has been the driving force behind Virginia’s success, and it is the reason that, in my lifetime, our Commonwealth advanced from 38th in national per-capita income to seventh, showing one of the strongest economic growth trajectories in the country. If our nation is to remain an economic superpower, we need to do more to ensure all Americans have access to the resources they need to find a job that fits their skills.

Thursday’s visit to the CWC was not my first. As governor, I helped establish the CWC as the first of many one-stop workforce centers in Virginia. We created these state-of-the-art facilities to consolidate services for jobs seekers, including resume writing, GED attainment, post-secondary education, finance management and job services.

Charlottesville’s workforce program has successfully trained and matched thousands ofunemployed Virginians with a job. As senator, I will work to foster partnerships between community colleges, school systems, career and technical programs, workforce boards and employers, to create programs that meet the needs of local areas.

Charlottesville has shown that a focus on talent can pay dividends for a region. The University of Virginia has been a tremendous asset for developing and attracting innovative and talented people who then create their own businesses, hire workers, and strengthen our economy. Piedmont Virginia Community College is a powerhouse in granting meaningful degrees and job skills training. As Virginia’s senator I will take to Washington the Virginia lessons on economic growth, talent development, and balance. I believe our best days are still ahead of us if we work together to make tough choices that strengthen our economy and move our country forward.

Sincerely,

Tim Kaine