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Everyone
has strong feelings about what Virginia is and who
Virginians are. This is a state with history and
traditions in every direction. It often is
possible, in fact, to predict current political
loyalties by determining whether the Revolutionary
War or the War Between the States had the greater
influence on a decision-maker's family. At the
same time, Virginia is a state that assimilates
people and leaders who were born somewhere else.
Some
of these
strong feelings about traditions on the one
hand and change on the other can be triggered
by the simple words, "Northern
Virginia." In much of the Commonwealth,
Northern Virginia and its strong economy are seen
either as not real, or not that important, or just
not right. In discussions with Virginians who feel
that way, one hears comments such as, "The
tail is wagging the dog."
One
might dismiss those kind of sentiments as
characteristic of those unaccustomed to changing
with the times. Former Speaker Vance Wilkins, for
example, oddly liked to refer to the Northern
Virginia economy as "a fortunate
accident," even in front of the executives
and educators who built it purposefully over the
last two decades -- largely without special
attention from state government.
For his part, the last governor felt
compelled to refer to the "northern part of
Virginia." Others, less kindly inclined,
write off the entire region as "the People's
Republic of Northern Virginia."
Shibboleths,
unfortunately don't go away on their own. Even
young leaders who were born somewhere else soak
them up. Freshman Del. William R. Janis,
R-Goochland, for example, a 39-year old whose
district is west of Richmond, recently commented
on the prospects of Del. William Howell,
R-Stafford, becoming Speaker of the House by
offering that Howell sits "where Virginia
ends and Northern Virginia begins." Meant as
praise for Howell, the words reflect a vision that
splits the state along an imaginary line
corresponding roughly to the Rappahannock River.
So,
which parts of our state are dogs, which are
tails, and which should do the wagging seems to be
a continuing topic for discussion. We have to be
careful here. As Lincoln warned Douglas in their
great debates in Illinois a century and a half
ago, just because you call a tail a leg doesn't
make it a leg. Let's go with a few facts.
Northern
Virginia by the last Census, more or less, has
over two million of Virginia's more than seven
million people. Thirty percent percent sounds like
part of the dog. The Northern Virginia economy is
about 42 percent of the gross state product of the
Commonwealth. That sounds like part of the dog.
Northern Virginia has about two-thirds of the
high-wage, high skill jobs in the state connected
to the
growing technology sector. That sounds like
a whole lotta dog.
The
challenge in Virginia comes in trying to
understand how a stronger dog works for everyone.
The economy is not a zero sum game. Neither is the
state budget, although by refusing to raise
revenues to meet rising demands for services,
General Assembly members make it into one. The
economic development and educational successes of
one region can provide great links and best
practices for all. Strong leaders and pragmatic
problem-solvers in elective office from any region
make Commonwealth government more effective.
For
their part, Northern Virginians spent the 1990s
wagging like a tail even though they had become a
large part of the dog. Other regions, fearing
relegation to tail status with no wagging power,
hope Northern Virginia will keep playing the tail.
But it's too late for that.
State
leaders, such as Governor Mark Warner
(Alexandria), House Appropriations Chairman Vince
Callahan (McLean), House Transportation Chairman
Jack Rollison (Woodbridge), House Science &
Technology Chairman Joe May (Leesburg), House
Education Chairman Jim Dillard (Fairfax), Senate
Finance Chairman John Chichester (Fredericksburg)
and Speaker-Designate Bill Howell
(Fredericksburg), signal that there is only one
Virginia dog sitting on the porch in 2002. And if
we use our heads as Virginians, we'll understand
that a healthy dog doesn't tuck its tail between
its legs when it's ready to work, play or hunt –
it wags.
July
29, 2002
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