Virginia Tomorrow

Bob -

I would suggest to you that the budget process in state government is the result of the Byrd Machine’s control of it which ended in 1969, with the election of former GOP Gov. A. Linwood Holton. 

During their control of the government, the budget was less of an issue because their candidates succeeded each other from 1920’s until the 1960’s.  Their budgets reflected the product of the Machine’s control of Virginia’s government.  

I also agree with the incoming governor’s proposal to revamp our budget process.

Virginia’s government has a number of features that need to be retooled to deal with the realities of our electing governors from different parties and the partisan divisions now within the General Assembly which did not take place until GOP took control of the House of Delegates about a decade ago.

The single four year term for our governor (without sitting out a term as former GOP Gov. Mills Godwin did to be elected to a second term) that worked during the Byrd era to give the Machine’s lieutenants more opportunities to hold that post needs to be changed. 

The issues facing modern Virginia are hard to resolve during a four year term in which the governor only administers a budget for two years of the term originated by that person’s team.

I think it would be interesting to review the structure of the state government ( transportation, public school funding, etc.) to flush out elements of the Byrd Machine’s control of it and resulting policies and structure that need to be changed.

At the local level, constitutional offices (clerk of courts, treasurers, sheriffs, commissioner of revenues, etc.) were an important pillar of the Byrd Machine’s structure and a means to retain control of state politics for nearly four decades. 

In these difficult times financially, we need a review of the structure of our local governments to flush out elements of the old Byrd Machine that need to be changed.  Some of the constitutional offices jobs might be better handled in existing departments of our cities and counties.