Gov. Kaine's track record speaks for itself

After his term ended as the 70th governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine continued his lifelong dedication to education as a professor at University of Richmond. Before graduating last May from Richmond Law, I had the privilege of having Gov. Kaine as a professor. Anyone who has had the privilege of meeting him can appreciate that he is a true public servant. As a new lawyer, I am inspired by his work early in his career as a civil rights attorney, especially his work representing plaintiffs in cases of housing discrimination.

Kaine taught a law class called "The Future of Equality Under the Constitution." As the name suggests, the class focused on the evolution of constitutional protections. We had classes focusing on the founding of our country and drafting of the Constitution and evolution of the Constitution to promote equality based on factors like race, gender, and nationality. As a professor, Kaine was personable and engaging. He was very knowledgeable about the material and sincerely passionate about teaching us. He kept his politics completely out of his class, unless a student asked him a specific question during the open Q&A he held at the start of every class.

As his student, I always found Kaine and his aide, Ms. Sherrie Harrington very accessible and eager to help with any of my concerns. He openly invited students to meet with him for career counseling or to talk outside of class. He had a busy schedule, but carved out all day Monday every week to be available to students. Kaine and Harrington have become part of the Richmond Law community, chatting with students and faculty in the halls, and joining us for school social events.

Virginia and the Richmond community have been fortunate to benefit from the public service of Kaine since he held his first public office as a member of the Richmond City Council in 1994. After a successful tenure as mayor of Richmond celebrated for advances in education and crime prevention, Kaine served the state as lieutenant governor and then governor.

Despite the fact that he served during the biggest recession since the Great Depression, he is remembered for his fiscal responsibility and bipartisan work with the Republican-controlled General Assembly to balance a budget during difficult times. He led by example, making $5 billion in cuts to spending, including his own pay. Thanks to Kaine's hard work, Virginia weathered the recession and was recognized above other states with honors like "Best Managed State" and "Best State for Business." Under tight budget constraints, Kaine also made education a priority and expanded pre-K programs to help give youngest Virginians important educational opportunities.

During tough times, he cut taxes for Virginians, removing 140,000 low-income Virginians from state income tax rolls and eliminating the estate tax to keep the Commonwealth competitive. And Kaine also made investments in technical programs and higher education that kept Virginia competitive in the long run.

Kaine is truly a tough-times leader. In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy, he immediately joined the community to support victims' friends and families, and launched a task force and new reforms to increase campus support. Kaine received national, bipartisan praise for his leadership following the crisis.

Last spring, after finishing his class, I decided to join his Senate campaign as an intern. At his campaign headquarters, I was treated with the same kindness and respect I had experienced at University of Richmond. All of his campaign staff emulated his friendly, approachable demeanor, and I think it speaks to his character that he hired such a great team of people.

Kaine has a track record for working across party lines to help Virginians. I have no doubt that he will continue to do so as senator. In light of his record of service and dedication to our school and community, University of Richmond should rally behind him to help him continue serving our state as the next U.S. Senator for the Commonwealth of Virginia.