Virginia

Virginia Republicans
by Aguid Vasconez

            Virginia, also known as the Old Dominion, was one of the original thirteen states of the
American Union. The earliest attempts to settle in the area were made in 1584 when Sir Walter Raleigh set out several expeditions resulting in failure. It was at this time that Virginia was named for Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. Virginia is also home to Jamestown, which in 1607 became the first permanent English colony in North America, founded by Christopher Newport under the London Company. Then in 1619, the first representative assembly in America, the House of Burgesses was established. That same year slavery was introduced into the colony by Dutch traders. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, Virginia had become one of the most prosperous of the English coloies due to its large crops of tobacco, which is still its chief crop, and cotton. Virginia later went on to contribute such leaders as Washington, Lee and Jefferson and its influence in the affairs of the post revolutionary nation is seen in the fact that seven of the first twelve Presidents were Virginians. Nonetheless, Virginia seceded from the Union and because its entire economic system was built on the institution of slavery, joined the Confederacy during the Civil War. At this time it lost its western counties who broke away to form the state of West Virginia. In 1865, the Civil War ended on Virginian soil with Lee's surrender but Virginia was not remitted into the Union until 1870. Today Virginia ranks twelfth in most populous states in the US with a population of 6,187,358 in 1990 and a projected 6,580,000 by 1995. The population density in Virginia is 156.3 per square mile and in 1994 had a per capita income of 21,092.
            Of the Virginia Republican party, its highest representative is Virginia's current governor, Mr. Jim Gilmore. In an attempt to bring prosperity and promise to Virginia, governor Gilmore seeks to do so by focusing on the issues of education, the economy, transportation, technology, public safety and tax relief, in no particular order.
            The No Car Tax is a promise that will come as a tax break for those citizens that rely
on their cars to make a living or raise a family. It will provide the largest tax relief in Virginia's history, eventually providing an annual billion dollar tax break. In the 1998-2000 period alone taxpayers will receive a refund of $435 million. Along the same lines of the Ano car tax, the governor means to cut the food tax in half over the next four years because of his belief that the government should not tax the basic essential necessities of working families. Military personnel living in Virginia can also expect not to be taxed on the first fifteen thousand dollars of their pay.
            In bettering the economy, the governor had promised to create 250,000 new jobs. In
just the first year, 90,000 have already been created through investments along with the help of companies like MCI who have selected northern Virginia as its new office location or Volvo who is expanding their facilities in the southwestern region. Along with increasing job opporunities, it is hoped that an economic boost can be added by raising Virginia's status as a tourism destination and instituting the Virginia Tourism Corporation as its own separate entity. A Secreatary of Technology has also been appointed, not only to keep the economy on the cuttting edge but also to see that the citizens are protected from such things as the Y2K problem.
            Furthering Virginia's progress, the governor seeks to improve the daily commutes of many of its hard working residents by almost doubling its road construction in the past year to $2.1 billion without raising taxes. The long term goals here are less congestion and a more efficient means of traveling amd transporting goods. Motorists should also be pleased to know that Virginia's Department of Motor Vehicles will potentially cut its transaction time by 25 percent through a 24 million dollar investment and electronic upgrade.
            The governor has many plans to improve the quality of public education as well as some ideas that would be beneficial to college students. He has made it public that the school children are his administration's top priority and hopes to establish higher academic standards. Included in this plan are Performance Report Cards that provide information such as attendance rates, school safety and accreditation ratings. The governor insists four thousand new teachers will be hired to reduce class size along with approving $110 million to go toward school construction. At the center of the proposal to improve education is his picking up the abandoned promise to allocate lottery earnings to grades K thru 12. This will proide $245 million in funding over the next two years. As for higher education, governor Gilmore is proposing a twenty percent tuition decrease and has increased the amount of tuition assistance grants by six hundred dollars per student. He has also budgeted $10.4 million to go towards those universities that have been historically black.
            To increase the public's safety, the governor has helped to abolish parole and signed a law to add a few hundred new sheriff's deputies to help prevent crime. He has also helped to reform the juvenile justice system and earn the right to prosecute gangs as a group. He has expanded the death penalty to include the pre-meditated murder of children by adults and strongly supported Megan's Law which allows residents to find out if a convicted sex offender lives in their neighborhood. His New Partnership for Community Safety has also worked to provide A hands-on, community policing around school areas. Deputy sheriffs will be in line for a nine percent increase, as well as $100 million will go to fund local law enforcement.
The governor would also like to keep Virginia clean by regulating the amount of waste
            Entering into the state instead of merely adding new fees, put caps on the amount deposited in landfills, in addition to incresing the inspections, monitoring and investigations that go on in over 200 waste facilities. On a totally unrelated issue, the governor also seeks to help the working poor to get health care without becoming part of the welfare system. The Virginia Children's Medical Security Insurance Plan helps those children whose parents make too much to be covered by Medicaid but who can not afford health insurance on their own. Again, unrelated to the previous issue, governor Gilmore believes women should be informed on the medical implications of abortion. He wishes to pass a legislation that would require informed consent along with a 24 hour waiting period.