Bill Bolling

Bill Bolling
39th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
In office January 14, 2006 – January 11, 2014
Governor	Tim Kaine Bob McDonnell
Preceded by	Tim Kaine
Succeeded by	Ralph Northam
Member of the Virginia Senate from the 4th district
In office January 10, 1996 – November 29, 2005
Preceded by	Elmo Cross
Succeeded by	Ryan McDougle
Personal details
Born	William Troy Bolling June 15, 1957 Sistersville, West Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jean Ann Kincaid
Alma mater	University of Charleston
Religion	United Methodism
Signature

William Troy "Bill" Bolling (born June 15, 1957) is an American politician. He was the 39th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Running as a Republican, he was elected twice to the position by defeating his Democratic opponent in both the 2005 and 2009 general elections. He was the first Lieutenant Governor in the Commonwealth of Virginia to serve two consecutive terms since Don Beyer. He was succeeded by Democrat Ralph Northam after the 2013 general election.

Early life, education, and early career

Bolling was born on June 15, 1957 in Sistersville, West Virginia. He was raised in the coal fields of southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia. His father was a surface coal miner, and his mother was a homemaker. As a 15-year-old, he volunteered to work on the re-election campaign of Governor Arch Moore. He graduated from the University of Charleston (West Virginia) in 1978 with a B.S. degree in Political Science and was the first member of his family to graduate from college. He moved to Mechanicsville, Virginia in 1981 when he accepted a job with a Virginia insurance company.

Political career

Hanover County Board of Supervisors

Bolling first ran for elected office in 1991 for a position on the Hanover County Board of Supervisors. Bolling won that office and served as a member of the Board until 1995. While a member, Bolling also served as the Chairman of the Board of supervisors.

Virginia Senate

In 1995, Bolling was elected to the Senate of Virginia in a highly contested race against twenty year Democratic incumbent Elmo G. Cross, Jr. for the 4th Senate District seat. Bolling defeated Cross by 574 votes out of 50,000 cast.^[1] The district then included Caroline, Essex, Hanover, King and Queen, King William, Middlesex, counties, as well as a part of Spotsylvania County. However, this district had been trending Republican for some time at the national level. Proving this, Bolling was unopposed for reelection in 1999 and 2003.

As a member of the General Assembly, Bolling served as Chairman of the Joint Republican Caucus, the Virginia Republican Senatorial Committee, Chairman of the Senate's sub-committee on Health Care, the Commission on the Future of Virginia's Environment, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission.

Lieutenant Governor of Virginia

Elections

In 2005, Bolling ran for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. In the Republican primary, he defeated Sean Connaughton with 58% of the vote.^[2] In the general election, he defeated Democratic nominee and state Senator Leslie Larkin Byrne 50%-49%.^[3] He won even though the Republican nominee for governor Jerry Kilgore lost the gubernatorial election.

In 2009, Bolling ran for re-election. He defeated Democratic nominee Jody Wagner with 57% of the vote.^[4] He underperformed Republican nominee for governor Bob McDonnell, who won the 2009 gubernatorial election with 59% of the vote.

Tenure

Kaine administration

He was inaugurated as Lieutenant Governor on January 14, 2006 in Williamsburg, Virginia, along with the other Executive Branch officers, including Democratic Governor Tim Kaine and Attorney General Bob McDonnell. Upon his re-election in 2009, Bolling became the first Virginia lieutenant governor since Don Beyer to be elected to two consecutive terms.^[5]

As lieutenant governor, Bolling promoted multiple programs including his September program focused on encouraging a healthy and active life, his Ending Cervical Cancer in our Lifetime program focused on raising awareness about Cervical Cancer and HPV, and his Helping Virginians Breathe Easier campaign focused on asthma awareness.

Also as Lieutenant Governor, Bolling put forth a statewide initiative, "100 Ideas for the Future of Virginia". This two-year program focused on reaching out to the public for feedback and ideas through a series of town hall meetings, mailings, and an integrated web site. This program focused on promoting feedback from the people of Virginia to develop a long term strategy for addressing issues like education, transportation, public safety, health care, protecting the environment, reforming government, and more.

McDonnell administration

He was one of newly elected Governor McDonnell's first cabinet members, and was appointed as Chief Jobs Creation Officer; the first job czar. Regarding creation of the position, McDonnell stated, "I'm going to turn him into the busiest lieutenant governor in the nation."^[6]

In March 2010, Bolling announced, on behalf of Governor McDonnell, $10 million in rebates for home owners and small businesses to reduce energy costs and to increase usage of solar and wind energy.^[7] In June 2010, Bolling announced $800,000 from the Virginia government to James Madison University to further research in wind energy, including "turbine testing, research and curriculum"^[8]

2013 gubernatorial campaign

In early 2008, Bolling and then-Attorney General McDonnell struck a deal in which Bolling agreed to run for re-election as Lieutenant Governor to allow McDonnell to run unopposed for Governor in 2009, in exchange for McDonnell's support for Bolling for Governor in 2013.^[9] The deal was widely known and as such, Bolling was effectively running for Governor since 2009,^[10] and in April 2010, Bolling filed the necessary paperwork to run in 2013.^[11] Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, elected alongside McDonnell and Bolling in 2009, stated that he intended to run for re-election as attorney general in 2013, but did not rule out running for Governor.^[12] In December 2011, Cuccinelli announced to his staff that he would run against Bolling for governor in 2013; the news went public, and in response, Bolling issued a statement accusing Cuccinelli of putting "his own personal ambition ahead of the best interests of the commonwealth and the Republican Party."^[13] Cuccinelli's announcement came two days before the annual statewide conference of Virginia Republicans, at which Bolling and his staff expressed being upset with Cuccinelli's decision.^[14]

In 2012, Bolling was the Virginia state Chairman of Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign,^[15] a position he hoped to use to curry favor from a potential Romney administration and increase his own name recognition among state Republicans.^[9] Through the second quarter of 2012, Bolling had a significant edge in fundraising over Cuccinelli.^[16] However, Cuccinelli had a wide lead in early polling - a June 2012 poll of Virginia Republicans showed 51% supported Cuccinelli for governor compared to just 15% for Bolling.^[17] Further diminishing Bolling's hopes was a June 2012 decision by the Republican Party of Virginia's State Central Committee to determine the nominee for Governor at a statewide convention of Republicans rather than an open primary. A convention was thought to favor Cuccinelli because state Republican conventions in Virginia are typically dominated by conservatives, who overwhelmingly backed Cuccinelli. In contrast, Bolling's support came mostly from moderates.^[18][19]

On November 28, 2012, Bolling announced that he was suspending his campaign. He said that "the decision to change the method of nomination from a primary to a convention created too many obstacles for us to overcome", and that he didn't want to "create deep divisions within our party."^[20] He refused to endorse Cuccinelli, saying, "I have serious reservations about his ability to effectively and responsibly lead our state."^[21]

After suspending his campaign for the Republican nomination, Bolling considered running as an independent, but decided against it.^[22] Bolling also rejected the possibility of a write-in effort, citing an inability to raise enough money to run a successful campaign.^[23] However, Bolling continued to comment on the race and the policy proposals of both the Democratic nominee, Terry McAuliffe, and the Republican nominee, Ken Cuccinelli. McAuliffe informally offered Bolling a position in his administration, although, as of September 2014, he has not been appointed to any position since McAuliffe's election.^[24]

Electoral history

Virginia Lieutenant Governor Election, 2009

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Bolling	1,106,793	56.51
	Democratic	Jody Wagner	850,111	43.40
	Independent	Write-in candidates	1,569	0.08
Total votes			1,958,473	100

Virginia Lieutenant Governor Election, 2005

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Bolling	979,265	50.47
	Democratic	Leslie L. Byrne	956,906	49.32
	Independent	Write-in candidates	4,065	0.21
Total votes			1,940,236	100

Virginia Senate General Election, 2003

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Bolling	27,646	99.44
	Independent	Write-in candidates	155	0.66
Total votes			27,801	100

Virginia Senate General Election, 1999

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Bolling	38,136	99.69
	Independent	Write-in candidates	117	0.31
Total votes			38,253	100

Virginia Senate General Election, 1995

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Bolling	26,957	50.54
	Democratic	Elmo G. Cross, Jr.	26,383	49.46
	Independent	Write-in candidates	2	0.00
Total votes			53,342	100

Business career

Bolling is a Vice President with Riggs, Counselman, Michaels and Downes, a large independent insurance agency.

Personal life

He is married to Jean Ann Kincaid, whom he met in college. They have two children. Matthew Bolling graduated from Virginia Tech in Computer Engineering and Computer Science. Kevin graduated from James Madison University.

References

1. "November 7, 1995 General Elections". Sbe.virginia.gov. 1995-11-07. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
2. "VA Lt. Governor - R Primary Race - Jun 14, 2005". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
3. "VA Lt. Governor Race - Nov 08, 2005". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
4. "VA Lt. Governor Race - Nov 03, 2009". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
5. "Bill Bolling Re-Elected Lt. Governor of Virginia". newsplex.com. The Charlottesville Newsplex. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
6. Bob Lewis, "McDonnel Names 3 to Cabinet-Level Posts," Associated Press, December 10, 2009, http://www.ltgov.virginia.gov/news/viewArticle.aspx?articleID=579&articleType=A.
7. "Virginia to use $10 million in rebates to improve energy efficiency". Roanoke, Virginia: WSLS 10. March 22, 2010. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
8. Bearing Drift (June 17, 2010). "Bolling announces 800K to JMU for wind energy research". Retrieved September 16, 2010.
9. "Bolling ties 2013 hopes to Romney". Washingtontimes.com. 2011-12-20. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
10. Kumar, Anita (2012-06-07). "Rep. Eric Cantor to endorse Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling over Atty. Gen. Ken Cuccinelli in governor's race". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
11. Kumar, Anita. "Bolling forms committee to run for governor in 2013". Voices.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
12. Barnes, Fred (2011-08-16). "Cuccinelli denies plans for Senate run". Washingtonexaminer.com. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
13. Kumar, Anita (2011-12-01). "Ken Cuccinelli announces he will run for Va. governor in 2013". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
14. "Cuccinelli's bid for Va. governor upsets Bolling and his backers". Washingtontimes.com. 2011-12-04. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
15. Kunkle, Fredrick (2011-08-01). "Va. Lt. Gov. Bolling selected as Romney's state campaign chair". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
16. Vozzella, Laura (2012-07-17). "Ken Cuccinelli's fundraising lags behind Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling's". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
17. "Polling Institute". Quinnipiac.edu. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
18. The Associated Press (2012-06-16). "Virginia GOP picks closed convention for 2013". Hamptonroads.com. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
19. "Bolling to exit Va. gov race". Politico.com. 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
20. "Bolling dropping out of race for Va. governor". The Virginian-Pilot. 2012-11-28.
21. Haines, Errin & Laura Vozzella (2012-11-28). "Narrowing field could leave stark choice in Va. governor's race". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
22. Burns, Alexander (March 12, 2013). "Bill Bolling rejects run as independent in Virginia governor's race". Politico. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
23. Delesline, Nate (August 19, 2013). "Bolling: Race for governor could discourage moderate and independent voters". The Daily Progress. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
24. Contorno, Steve (2013-05-07). "Bill Billing rips into Ken Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe tax plans". The Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2013-07-02.

External links

• Senate of Virginia: Bill Bolling
• Bolling for Governor Official website
• Bolling Sees Job Creation as Road to Top Job, Jim Nolan, Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 29, 2011