On Sunday, the Times-Dispatch published an op-ed by Brian discussing November’s elections, and looking forward to building on the Democratic record of success in Virginia.

Election Day is but a beginning. True leadership is not about winning elections, but about providing the government Virginians deserve. And these elections were a clear and ringing affirmation of the commonsense approach that Virginia Democrats have provided.

Solutions Don’t Come With Party Label

Sunday, Nov 18, 2007

By BRIAN J. MORAN

ALEXANDRIA Elections themselves do not bring change – leadership brings change.

On Nov. 7, families across Virginia returned home to face the same challenges as they did the day before this year’s election. Energy and health care costs continue to rise, and the housing market continues to fall. The economy remains uncertain, and the safety of our families and indeed our nation remains in doubt. Our commonwealth and our country face true challenges, yet we also have the opportunity to exercise real leadership on some of the most important issues in a generation.

Election Day is but a beginning. True leadership is not about winning elections, but about providing the government Virginians deserve. And these elections were a clear and ringing affirmation of the commonsense approach that Virginia Democrats have provided.

Virginia Democrats have been successful because the promises we make and the solutions we offer are in sync—our rhetoric matches our governance. Since the turn of this new century, Virginia Democrats have combined a strong record of success with a forward-looking and hopeful agenda for the future. The people of Virginia, residents of the oldest of the world’s democracies, have grown wise to the sloganeering and sound bites of election-focused spin doctors. In their place, Democrats have championed practical solutions and Virginia values.

Under Democratic leadership, Virginia has been names the best-managed state in the nation, the best state to do business, and the best state for a child to have a chance for success in life. We achieved these rewards because we found common ground and moved our commonwealth forward. Yet Democrats have succeeded not simply by being Democrats; we do not rest on this progress alone.

The history of our democracy teaches us that success on Election Day is closely tied to successfully embracing challenges and turning them into opportunities. The problems of the commonwealth are not faced only by Democrats or only by Republicans—but by all Virginians. Problems do not come with a party label, and neither do solutions.

I hope that as we move forward, Democrats and Republicans will continue to roll up their sleeves and work side by side for the people of our commonwealth, because we face great and growing challenges. Indeed we face, in many instances, some of the most pressing and most difficult challenges in generations: equipping our children to compete in a difficult and uncertain world; protecting our environment while growing our economy; and facing the difficult challenges and tremendous opportunity of an increasingly diverse society. It would be foolhardy for me to pretend that one person – or one column in a newspaper – could present all of the practical solutions to these difficulties. But let me explain where I believe we must begin.

It starts with investing in education. When I traveled to India on a trade mission this summer, I saw firsthand that Virginia is not competing against Maryland and North Carolina for high-paying jobs – we are competing against India and China.

If the key to success in the 19th century economy was financial capital, the key to the 21st-century’s global economy is the development of human capital. Yet since 1995, China, Ireland, Israel, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan collectively increased their research and development investments five times more than American investment. An overwhelming three quarters of new R&D sites planned for the next three years will be located in either India or China.

In Virginia this means we need to prepare our children for careers in math, science, engineering, and technology professions. This year, America will graduate 70,000 engineers while India graduates 350,000 and China hands out diplomas to more than half a million. Virginia, with its first-rate colleges and universities and strong business community, is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this growing national need for a modern workforce. My stake is personal: My two children need quality teachers and a challenging curriculum to make it in the broad new world they face.

To be competitive we must commit to investing in early childhood education. Research tells us that the brain develops well before the first grade. Our children deserve every chance to learn. Other states and other nations give their kids a head start—we can’t fall behind. The cost of inaction is too high. We can’t aim to compete in a global economy but fail to give our kids the tools they need to win.

With an investment in education we must also commit to new 21st-century sciences as well. We stand on the brink of new solutions in environmentally friendly energy at our research universities and private laboratories. Imagine providing energy security and protecting our environment for generations to come. Whether it’s the new switch grass facility in Chatham, new biofuels facilities in Hampton Roads, or the recent breakthrough in new fuel-cell technology at the UVa, we have a real chance to create critical energy solutions.

It’s not only right for our environment, good for our energy costs, and important for our national security, but alternative and renewable energy is projected to be worth, at minimum, $600 billion annually worldwide.

Virginia has been a place of leadership for centuries – from our founding to today – with leaders such as Sens. Jim Webb and John Warner. Yet leadership is not about restoring past successes or watching history in the rearview mirror – it is about having a forward looking agenda to provide results for people.

If Democrats, and Virginians, are to succeed now and in the future it will be because we dare to tackle the challenges and solve the problems that matter to real people. Our success will come from offering a forward looking vision for Virginia’s future. I believe we can do this, and we will do this.

We have done it before and we can do it again. Brian J. Moran is chairman of the Virginia House’s Democratic Caucus, and a delegate representing parts of Alexandria and Fairfax County.