What industries must Virginia develop to stay competitive and how will you promote them?

Virginia Business
October 2005

Kaine: Over the past four years, Virginians have created a thriving economy producing thousands of jobs and unprecedented growth. The key to this growth is the hard work of Virginians coupled with the leadership to create an economic climate conducive to investment. When the Warner-Kaine Administra-tion entered office, our budget was in shambles, and our AAA bond rating was at risk. Through budget reform, we saved our bond rating and created an environment under which business thrived. We must continue to move forward and build on this success.

I have proposed detailed plans to keep the IT and real estate sectors moving forward, including increased investment in research and development and tax relief. I have also proposed detailed plans to help all Virginia small businesses pay for their biggest cost — health care — through pooling and direct tax relief. I will also work to grow the small-business incubator program, allowing small firms to share resources. I will build on the success of the Warner-Kaine Administra-tion's efforts to open foreign markets to Virginia goods.

Kilgore: The com-monwealth has a tremendous opportunity to further leverage the knowledge being developed at our research universities and turn that into new innovations and investment by the private sector. 

To advance the potential of Virginia's research universities and to harness this expansion for economic growth, as governor, I will create a Governor's Research Partnership Fund to attract new businesses willing to partner with universities on research initiatives and co-locate their operations on or near the university campus. I will establish a comprehensive policy to address technology transfer and commercialization of intellectual property through performance grants for private-sector research investment, intellectual property ownership, and expanded state support for copyright offices within universities. I will leverage the deployment of VORTEX (a broadband fiber-optic network linking Virginia's universities with each other and national and international research networks) to link research-driven business ventures with our universities and spread the cyber infrastructure to rural parts of the state so that private-sector researchers could be located in areas such as Sussex, Danville or Wise and work side-by-side with their public-sector counterparts at any of the doctoral universities. And I will create a defined tax exemption for private investors rather than the current unpredictable tax credit program.

Potts: I believe that we should not focus our efforts on one industry alone. Instead, we must target our commercial growth policies toward larger areas of industry, defined by the skill sets, training and education of employees. For example, creating jobs for skilled laborers is just as vital to our economy as promoting Virginia's growing high-tech industry. Concentrating our efforts on only one sector will not provide job opportunities for all Virginians who seek work and will do little to address overall commercial growth. Improving our public education system will also produce a better educated work force with a wide range of skill sets that will continue to attract major industries to the commonwealth.