Cuccinelli names AG leadership team

Former aide to Del. Lohr among those tapped

Staff Report
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Attorney General-elect Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II announced his leadership team for the Office of the Attorney General today.

In making his appointments, Cuccinelli commented “I, and the citizens of the Commonwealth, are fortunate to have such a talented group of people who are willing serve in public life. With this team, the Office of the Attorney General will work with vigilance to protect the liberties and rights of Virginia’s citizens provided by the Constitution of Virginia and the United States Constitution.”

Charles E. “Chuck” James, Jr. will serve as Chief Deputy Attorney General. Mr. James returns to public service after a time as a partner at Williams Mullen where he Co-Chaired the Government and Corporate Investigations Team. Mr. James previously served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia’s Richmond and Alexandria Divisions and in a policy and management role at the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Washington, D.C. Read more

Cuccinelli announces goals, transition team

On Thursday, Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinelli announced his goals for his transition to taking office as the attorney general of Virginia on Jan. 16, 2010.

The attorney general-elect also announced the leadership team to help coordinate the transition. Read more

GOP three sweep state races

The last pre-election polls had the Republican ticket of Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli winning by 11-14 points.

Bad news for Virginia Democrats – it was worse than expected.

McDonnell bested Democrat Creigh Deeds in the marquee race for governor Tuesday, piling up over 1 million votes en route to garnering just shy of 60 percent of the votes cast overall.

Bolling won a second term as lieutenant governor, beating back the challenge of Democrat Jody Wagner by a 57 percent-to-43 percent margin.

Cuccinelli was elected attorney general with 57.9 percent of the vote to Steve Shannon’s 42 percent of the vote.

Cuccinelli and Shannon each, like McDonnell, received more than 1 million votes. Read more

PPP: McDonnell up 14

A Public Policy Polling survey of Virginia voters released on Monday has Republican Bob McDonnell with a 56 percent-to-42 percent lead over Democrat Creigh Deeds on the eve of the 2009 Virginia governor’s election.

Downticket, GOP running mates Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli also appear to be on their way to resounding victories at the polls. Bolling leads Democrat Jody Wagner in the lieutenant-governor race 54 percent to 41 percent, and Cuccinelli leads Steve Shannon 55 percent to 39 percent in the race for attorney general.

Republicans also had a 48 percent-to-39 percent advantage in a generic House of Delegates ballot. Read more

Chris Graham | Who I’m Voting For

I don’t like – scratch that, I hate – doing endorsements.

I don’t feel qualified to tell you who you should vote for. You know what motivates you better than I do.

OK, so with that out of the way …

I still hear from people who say, Chris, who are you voting for?

I can get comfortable telling you as long as it’s couched in that frame of reference.

So … here goes. Read more

David Cox | The sad state we’re in

On Tuesday Virginians go to the polls for statewide and delegate races, never having heard what a serious mess we’re in.

Admittedly, I didn’t realize how bad things are until attending a conference for local officials last week. The data are grim. Though the information has been out for a long time, certainly for someone running for, say, governor, this clear and present crisis has gotten little or no mention in the present campaign, especially from those running on the level where it most matters–the statewide offices. Read more

Stop the Presses | ‘Homosexual agenda’?

Republican attorney-general candidate Ken Cuccinelli’s recent nonsense about the “homosexual agenda” got me to thinking.

We hear from social conservatives all the time about the “homosexual agenda,” as if such a thing could be more than “economic prosperity,” “basic civil liberties” and “world peace.”

But that wasn’t what I was thinking. As a heterosexual, I was thinking, I wonder if we heterosexuals have a “heterosexual agenda.”

If so, I haven’t been made privy to one. Read more