Mark Warner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mark R. Warner
Governor Mark Warner during a Navy commissioning ceremony, October 2004.
69th Governor of Virginia
In office January 2002 – January 2006
Lieutenant(s)	Tim Kaine (2002-2006)
Preceded by	Jim Gilmore
Succeeded by	Tim Kaine
Born	December 15, 1954 (age 52) Indianapolis, Indiana
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Lisa Collis
Profession	Businessman
Religion	Presbyterian
Signature

Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Virginia and a member of the Democratic Party. Warner is the immediate former Governor of Virginia and the Honorary Chairman of the Forward Together PAC. While he was widely expected to be a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections and took initial steps towards a candidacy, he announced in October 2006 that he would not run citing a desire not to disrupt his family life.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Governor of Virginia 3 Political standing 4 Future political career 5 References 5.1 Numbered 5.2 General 6 External links

[edit] Early life and career

Warner was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is the son of Robert and Marge Warner, and the older brother of Lisa Warner. He grew up in Illinois, and later in Vernon, Connecticut where he graduated from Rockville High School. He attended The George Washington University and in 1977 became the first person in his family to graduate from college. Warner went on to graduate from Harvard Law School in 1980.

In the early 1980s, Warner served as a Senate staff member to Senator Christopher Dodd. He used his knowledge of federal telecommunications policies as a broker of cellular phone franchise licenses, making a large fortune. As managing director of Columbia Capital Corporation he helped found or was an early investor in a number of technology companies. He was one of the early investors in Nextel, co-founded Capital Cellular Corporation, and built up an estimated fortune of over $200 million. He married Lisa Collis in 1989, and has three daughters, Madison, Gillian, and Eliza. During her husband's tenure as Governor, Ms. Collis was the first Virginia First Lady to use her maiden name.

Warner involved himself in public efforts related to health care, telecommunications, information technology, and education. He managed Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder's successful 1989 gubernatorial campaign, served as state chairman of the state Democratic Party and ultimately made his own bid for public office, unsuccessfully running for the United States Senate in 1996 against Republican Senator John Warner (no relation) in a "Warner vs. Warner" election. John Warner was unpopular with many conservative Republicans (especially those from rural Virginia) for refusing to support Mike Farris, the 1993 state GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, and for opposing the 1994 Senate candidacy of controversial Republican Oliver North. Mark Warner seized on this discontent within the state Republican ranks (actually garnering some Republican protest votes) to perform impressively in the state's rural areas, making the contest much closer than many pundits expected.

[edit] Governor of Virginia

In 2001, Warner campaigned for Governor as a moderate Democrat after years of slowly building up a power base in rural Virginia. He defeated the Republican candidate, then-State Attorney General Mark Earley with 52.16% of the vote which was a margin of 96,943 votes. Warner again benefited from dissension in Republican ranks after a heated battle for the nomination between Earley, backed by religious conservatives, and then Lieutenant Governor John H. Hager, some of whose supporters later openly backed Warner. In the same election, Republican Jerry Kilgore was elected Attorney General, and Democrat Tim Kaine was elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. During the election against Earley, Warner promised not to raise taxes. After he was elected, he campaigned in favor of two regional sales tax increases (Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads) to fund transportation. Although Virginians rejected these regional referenda led by Warner to raise the sales tax in 2002, Warner worked with Democratic and liberal Republican legislators and the business community to reform the tax code in 2004, lowering food and income taxes, and increasing the sales and cigarette taxes in 2004. The action effected a net tax increase of approximately $1.5 billion and Warner credited the additional revenues with saving the state's AAA bond rating, held at the time by only 5 other states, and allowing the single largest investment in K-12 education in Virginia history.

Warner chaired the National Governors Association in 2004-2005 and led a national high school reform movement. He also chaired the Southern Governors' Association and was a member of the Democratic Governors Association.

Warner's popularity paid off for the Democrats when, in 2003 and again in 2005, the party made net gains in the Virginia House of Delegates and began to reduce the majorities built up by Republicans after they gained control in the 1990s.

In January 2005, after a two-year study,^[1] the Government Performance Project, in conjunction with Governing magazine and the Pew Charitable Trust, graded each state in four management categories: money, people, infrastructure, and information. Virginia and Utah received the highest ratings average with both states receiving an A- rating overall, prompting Warner to dub Virginia "the best managed state in the nation."

Kaine and Kilgore both sought to succeed Warner as Governor of Virginia. (The Virginia Constitution forbids any Governor from serving consecutive terms, so Warner could not have run for a second term in 2005.) On November 8, 2005, Kaine, the former Mayor of Richmond, won with 52% of the vote. Kilgore, who had resigned as Attorney General in February 2005 to campaign full-time, and who had previously served as Virginia Secretary of Public Safety, received 46% of the vote. Russ Potts, a Republican state senator, also ran for Governor as an independent, receiving 2% of the vote. Warner had supported and campaigned for Kaine, and many national pundits considered Kaine's victory to be further evidence of Warner's political clout in Virginia, as well as a signal of his viability as a presidential candidate.

On November 29, 2005, as was his prerogative as governor, Warner commuted the death sentence of Robin Lovitt to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Lovitt was convicted of murdering Clayton Dicks at an Arlington pool hall in 1999. After his trial in 2001, a court clerk illegally destroyed evidence that was used against Lovitt during his trial, but that could theoretically have exonerated him upon further DNA testing. Lovitt's death sentence would have been the 1,000th carried out in the United States since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment as permissible under the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution in 1976. In a statement, Warner said, "The actions of an agent of the commonwealth, in a manner contrary to the express direction of the law, comes at the expense of a defendant facing society's most severe and final sanction." Warner denied clemency in 11 other death penalty cases that came before him as governor.

Warner also arranged for DNA tests of evidence left from the case of Roger Keith Coleman, who was put to death by the state in 1992. Coleman was convicted in the 1981 rape and stabbing death of his 19-year-old sister-in-law, Wanda McCoy. Coleman drew national attention, even making the cover of TIME, by repeatedly claiming innocence and protesting the unfairness of the death penalty. However, DNA results announced on January 12, 2006, seemed to confirm Coleman's guilt.^[2]

[edit] Political standing

In the final year of his gubernatorial term, Warner's approval ratings reached records as high as 80 percent.^[3] Such high popularity in his relatively Republican state included support from independents and moderate Republicans. Warner is considered a New or Blue Dog Democrat. Some have compared Warner to Bill Clinton, another moderate Southern Democratic governor who had strong appeal to moderates and independents. In November 2005, Time magazine named Warner one of the five best governors in the United States.

[edit] Future political career

While on October 12, 2006, Warner ruled out a 2008 presidential bid,^[4] speculation that Warner is again considering a presidential run was confirmed^[5] by former Warner colleague Dan Conley on December 17. With Warner's fund-raising capabilities, his Forward Together PAC, and his potential as at least a Vice-Presidential nominee,^[6] indications suggest Warner may play a significant role in the 2008 election.

Some Virginia Democrats consider Warner a strong candidate for Governor in the 2009 gubernatorial election, something he has hinted at himself. While Governor, Warner worked on an initiative co-sponsored with his predecessor George Allen to end term limits on the office of Governor. He could, however, legally run again after the four year hiatus. He is the only Democrat who has won a statewide election who is vying for that run. There are several prominent Republicans who have hinted at interest in seeking the Governorship in 2009, among them former U.S. Senator George Allen, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and state Attorney General Bob McDonnell. Former Governor Jim Gilmore has also hinted at possible interest in the governorship in 2009. Although Warner's Lieutenant Governor, Tim Kaine, was elected Governor in 2005, that election resulted in the election of a Republican Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General, leaving no obvious Democratic candidate for 2009.^[7] Warner could also run in a potential rematch for Senate in 2008, for the seat currently held by Republican John Warner, who has said he will run for reelection.

[edit] References

[edit] Numbered

[edit] General

• Barnes, Lindsay (Oct. 9, 2006). "Mark him absent". The Hook weekly.

[edit] External links

• Forward Together PAC
• Follow the Money - Mark R Warner 2001 campaign contributions
• New York Times - Times Topics: Mark R. Warner collected news and commentary
• On the Issues - Mark Warner issue positions and quotes
• About.com - Mark Warner profile
• Busy funnyman: Why Mark Warner loves orange cones Lisa Provence, The Hook, June 5, 2003

Preceded by Jim Gilmore

Governor of Virginia 2002-2006

Succeeded by Tim Kaine

Governors of Virginia

Henry • Jefferson • Fleming • Nelson • Harrison • Henry • E Randolph • B Randolph • H Lee • Brooke • Wood • Monroe • Page • Cabell • Tyler Sr • G Smith • Monroe • G Smith • P Randolph • Barbour • Nicholas • Preston • T Randolph • Pleasants • J Tyler • Giles • J Floyd • Tazewell • Robertson • Campbell • Gilmer • Patton • Rutherfoord • Gregory • McDowell • W "EB" Smith • JB Floyd • Johnson • Wise • Letcher • W "EB" Smith • Pierpont • Wells • Walker • Kemper • Holliday • Cameron • F Lee • McKinney • Ferrall • JH Tyler • Montague • Swanson • Mann • Stuart • Davis • Trinkle • Byrd • Pollard • Peery • Price • Darden • Tuck • Battle • Stanley • Almond • A Harrison • Godwin • Holton • Godwin • Dalton • Robb • Baliles • Wilder • Allen • Gilmore • Warner • Kaine

Persondata
NAME	Warner, Mark Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Virginia politician
DATE OF BIRTH	December 15, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
DATE OF DEATH	living
PLACE OF DEATH