RICHMOND — Four former governors will advise Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin as the political newcomer prepares to take office, part of a transition team heavy on experienced political hands that the Republican’s campaign rolled out Wednesday.
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Three Republicans and one Democrat who previously held the Executive Mansion will serve as honorary co-chairmen: Democrat L. Douglas Wilder and Republicans Robert F. McDonnell, Jim Gilmore and George Allen.
Youngkin, a former private equity chief who ran as an outsider, announced his “transition steering committee” eight days after his Nov. 2 victory over Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
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More than a dozen others were also identified as committee leaders or members, ranging from a Treasury Department official from Northern Virginia to a town council member from rural Southwest Virginia.
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Among them are a number of current and former state legislators and cabinet officials, including Aubrey Layne, who served as McAuliffe’s transportation secretary and finance secretary for outgoing Gov. Ralph Northam (D). He left for a private-sector job in July.
“In order to change the trajectory of our great Commonwealth, we can’t operate on government time,” Youngkin said in a written statement. “We’re going to do things differently. That’s why this incredible transition team represents various backgrounds —business owners, law enforcement officers, veterans, healthcare providers, and most importantly, parents — who will bring an array of experience and fresh perspectives that will pave the way for a transformation where Virginia soars and never settles.”
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Two days after his win, Youngkin disclosed on a podcast that Jeff Goettman, a former Treasury Department official who had served as his campaign’s chief operating officer, would serve as his transition director. But his campaign did not formally announce Goettman’s role or other transition information until Wednesday.
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The campaign also announced a website where people who seek to serve the administration can apply for jobs, at YoungkinTransition.com.
Business leaders, Richmond lobbyists and others with interests before state government have been eager for any scrap of news about the transition, looking for clues as to how someone with no experience in state politics or government plans to operate.
A few crumbs emerged over the weekend, after Youngkin joined conference calls with the state House and Senate Republican caucuses. Youngkin told them that Matthew Moran, who was chief of staff to former House speaker Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights), would play a role, according to three people who were on the calls and spoke on the condition of anonymity because caucus meetings are confidential.
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The transition will be co-chaired by state Sen. Stephen D. Newman (R-Bedford) and Kay Coles James, who was Allen’s secretary of health and human resources, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under President George W. Bush, and later president of the Heritage Foundation.
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Robert Holsworth, a longtime Virginia political analyst, said he sees no contradiction in Youngkin running as a “political outsider” and then lining up establishment advisers.
“It does make sense for someone who is absolutely new to the job to at least rely on the advice of people who have recently held it,” Holsworth said.
The move also might be aimed at signaling that Youngkin isn’t already looking past Richmond with his political ambitions, he said.
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“Politically, I think he wants to reassure people that he is taking the job of Virginia governor seriously,” he said. “Because he’s had so many national advisers, I think he is trying to assure people he is going to be the governor of Virginia, not just come in with a national agenda.”
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That, he added, points to a key question as Youngkin gets his administration underway: “To what extent does he embrace a national Republican agenda and to what extent is he Virginia-specific?”
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Wilder, who served from 1990 to 1994 and has been a critic of McAuliffe, said he met or spoke with Youngkin several times during the campaign and is pleased to offer him advice now.
“I will stress the need for cooperation,” he said. “And I think that it’s vitally needed in America today. And in particular, in our states and localities.”
Allen, who succeeded Wilder, said he will advise Youngkin to fill out his administration with highly knowledgeable people, recalling how he kept on much of Wilder’s finance staff.
“Personnel is policy,” Allen said. “I wanted cabinet secretaries and leaders who knew more than I did about their area of jurisdiction.”