Democratic gubernatorial nominee Creigh Deeds on Monday rolled out a plan to lift Virginia’s economy out of the doldrums through a combination of tax cuts, incentives, transportation improvements and energy initiatives.
The Deeds economic blueprint will compete directly with that of his Republican opponent, former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell, in what is shaping up to be the top issue of the 2009 governor’s race.
Both plans focus heavily on cutting taxes for small businesses and those looking to grow. For example, both candidates want to dramatically expand the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, which helps localities pay for employers to relocate or expand.
On a conference call with reporters, Deeds called the proposal a “comprehensive plan that will jump-start our economy and create jobs.”
“We want to make sure the commonwealth is in a position to succeed in the next economy once we recover from this challenging time,” he said.
The Bath County state senator argued his plan differed from McDonnell’s in three respects: It offers “more tax relief,” he said, giving a payroll deduction for every job created. Deeds’ version invests more heavily in transportation and renewable energy, and entrusts job creation to the governor, not the lieutenant governor, as McDonnell had proposed.
McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin replied that “it looks like [Deeds has] been reading our press releases.”
“Unfortunately, his 92 percent rating from the AFL-CIO, his six-figure donations from big unions, and low rankings from Virginia business groups show where Creigh really stands,” Martin said. “In a campaign about jobs, Creigh Deeds is on the wrong side of Virginia workers and employers.”
At the center of Deeds’ proposal is a transportation plan that would install high-speed rail, expand the use of freight and passenger trains, and encourage better land-use planning, telecommuting and flextime to cut traffic.
Deeds, however, offered little detail on how he would pay for a broad expansion of transportation funding when similar efforts have been consistently rebuffed in the legislature.
“I’m not going to tie myself to any specific plan to fund transportation,” he said. “The reality is we’ve tried lots of things in the past, they haven’t worked.”
