Collegiate Times

Clinton campaigns for McAuliffe

Promising to pump money into education and green energy jobs, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe appeared with close friend and former president Bill Clinton Monday, outside Fire Station #1 in downtown Roanoke.

Clinton appeared with his former fundraiser but said it was more than a personal favor.

"Terry McAuliffe sees this governor race as an opportunity to give ordinary Virginians their fair share of the economic recovery," Clinton said. "Terry McAuliffe was made for this moment in your history."

He applauded President Barack Obama's efforts to change the country's economic policies and said McAuliffe could help implement changes in Virginia.

"A governor can have an enormous impact," Clinton said.

Promoting campaign initiatives to improve education and decrease unemployment numbers in Virginia, McAuliffe said his views are unique in the race.

"In a tough economy, I think you put more money into education rather than take it out," McAuliffe said. "Because that is our future workforce."

McAuliffe said improving early education would make an impact in the future.

"You need a governor who understands creating jobs is dependent upon our education system," McAuliffe said.

Specifically, McAuliffe said Virginia "made an F on college affordability" and that he planned to funnel more money into higher education funding.

Another program McAuliffe plans to propose would cover college tuition if they served the state for two years.

"If you give us two years, we'll pay off your college loans," McAuliffe said.

Students in the program would serve in roles such as teachers or other public servants in "high need areas" of the state.

He said spending more money on schools would cut down on the money spent on prisons.

"Quit building prisons and let's start building classrooms," McAuliffe said.

McAuliffe hopes to offer pre-kindergarten to the entire population and create smaller classes in early elementary classes.

Echoing an initiative of President Barack Obama, McAuliffe said he wanted to increase pay for teachers.

"Let's pay our teachers the national average," McAuliffe said. "If you go to the District of Columbia or Maryland, they make $14,000 more than our teachers."

In addition to creating more workers, McAuliffe hopes to create jobs in Virginia by expanding the alternative energy industry.

"We could light up millions of homes with wind farms along Virginia Beach," McAuliffe said.

He said he would not accept campaign contributions from Dominion Power Company, citing their unwillingness to work on green energy.

"I am the only candidate who will not take a check from Dominion Power," McAuliffe said. "I'll make sure Virginia is the number one state in the country for green jobs."

Over 200 people braved unseasonably warm temperatures to attend the campaign event, including several Virginia Tech students actively aiding McAuliffe's campaign.

Sporting orange and maroon as they stood on the risers behind the podium, five Virginia Tech students work as interns for the McAuliffe campaign's Roanoke office.

Other points of emphasis of McAuliffe's speech included building a light rail transportation system to run between Washington D.C. and Richmond.

It was the second campaign event of the day for the gubernatorial candidate and his presidential supporter. They appeared earlier in the day in Richmond.

McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, hails from Fairfax.

He will participate in a debate Tuesday in Danville, and then in a debate at the Lyric in Blacksburg on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. that will be sponsored by the Collegiate Times, the Huffington Post and the blogs FireDogLake and Not Larry Sabato. Tickets are available at the ticket office on the first floor of Squires Student Center.