State of the commonwealth address: McAuliffe urges support for economic development

Posted: Wednesday, January 14, 2015 10:00 pm
By JIM NOLAN Richmond Times-Dispatch
jnolan@timesdispatch.com
(804) 649-6061
Twitter: @RTDNolan

After an inaugural year spent selling Virginia around the globe — and consuming stomach-churning, foreign delicacies to seal some deals — Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday made his sales pitch to the General Assembly.

In his State of the Commonwealth Address, delivered to a joint session in the House chamber, McAuliffe urged lawmakers to support expanded investment in his economic development efforts and to continue to work with him on bipartisan reforms to education, transportation, veterans services and ethics.

The Democrat also renewed his call for Medicaid expansion and for more gun control legislation — issues more likely to divide than unite the administration and the Republican-controlled legislature that must work together on how to close an additional $322 million budget gap.

And he challenged lawmakers to match the 2 percent pay raise he sought last year for state employees — that he had hoped to fund with Medicaid expansion revenue — without cuts to education, health care or essential services. ... “In addition to our gratitude, our state employees deserve a raise,” he said.