Governor Tim Kaine

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Tim Kaine was inaugurated as the 70th Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia on January 14, 2006. You may read his Inaugural speech here.

As governor, Tim is focused on four main ways to improve life here in Virginia: raising public education goals from competence to excellence; finding common-sense solutions to Virginia's transportation challenges; creating jobs in every part of the state; and giving local governments better tools to serve their citizens.

Tim grew up in the suburbs of Kansas City, working in his father's iron working and welding shop. He is an experienced leader. During law school, he took a year off to work as a Christian missionary, serving as principal of a vocational and technical school in a small village in Honduras. Before his election as Governor, Kaine was Virginia's Lieutenant Governor under Mark Warner; he also served two terms as the Mayor of Richmond (Virginia's capital).

During his time with the city of Richmond, Tim created 76,000 jobs.  He built the city's first new schools in a generation, without raising taxes. Kaine was also a leader in starting Project Exile, an award-winning crime-fighting strategy that helped cut the murder rate in half and won support from both the NRA and gun safety organizations. Under Kaine's leadership, Richmond became one of the 10 best cities in America to do business, according to Forbes magazine.

As Lt. Governor, Tim Kaine worked with Governor Mark Warner to make unprecedented state spending cuts, including a 30% cut to his own salary. He was also a leader in the 2004 effort to reform Virginia's budget. Kaine also began an effort which he has continued as Governor to create a new public university in Southside, the only region of Virginia that lacks a four-year college.

Tim is married to Anne Holton, a former juvenile court judge and the daughter of former Republican Governor Linwood Holton. Their three children - Nat, Woody, and Annella - attend Richmond public schools.