McAuliffe visits UVa on 14-city tour

Terry McAuliffe stopped by the University of Virginia on Tuesday to listen to the Charlottesville region’s ideas for creating jobs and boosting the state’s economy.

McAuliffe, one of three Democrats running for governor, is on a 14-city roundtable discussion tour focused on the economy. Once it wraps up, McAuliffe will incorporate what he deems as the worthiest ideas into his economic growth platform.

“We’ll come out with a very detailed business plan for the future of Virginia,” said McAuliffe, a McLean resident and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee. “People want jobs and they feel like [government isn’t] moving fast enough.”

One of the roundtable’s participants was Jim Durand, a UVa professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering who is overseeing a project at the university to improve and promote the use of electric cars powered by alternative energy sources. The project, called RideForward, converts gas-powered vehicles into electric cars that have the ability to charge up from non-polluting, clean power.

Durand’s green engineering research, he said, could serve as the basis of a profitable business, possibly growing the economy and creating new jobs. Yet more needs to be done, he said, to help researchers find private investors and bring their technology to the marketplace.

“I’m not a businessperson,” Durand said.

Other states, Durand said, do a better job of setting up business incubators affiliated with higher education institutions that aim to commercialize research.

McAuliffe agreed that Virginia can do more to create new economic opportunities out of research conducted at the state’s universities. For example, he said, onerous regulation is causing headaches for a Virginia Tech professor who has created the technology to convert chicken waste into a viable energy source. The state’s Department of Environmental Quality, he said, has decided that the technology is an “incinerator,” thereby requiring extra levels of permission. The researcher, on the other hand, is apparently so fed up with the regulations, he is considering moving to West Virginia to further develop — and possibly commercialize — the technology, McAuliffe said.

“We ought to do a lot of changes with regard to the regulation of new technology,” he said.

Jay Willer, executive director of the Blue Ridge Home Builders Association, said Virginia needs to get serious about investing in its aging roads and water and sewer systems. Congested roads, he said, are making it increasingly difficult for businesses to ship goods back and forth. A lack of water and sewer hook-ups are preventing further development in many areas around the state, leading to a major hurdle to economic growth.

“A lot of what we see as an underlying problem is infrastructure throughout the state,” Willer said.

McAuliffe also agreed with Willer’s view. If elected governor, he said, he would work to have an “honest discussion” about transportation funding.

McAuliffe asked Willer how much business has dropped for the Charlottesville-area homebuilding industry. Willer replied: “Is there a number below zero?”

Piedmont Virginia Community College President Frank Friedman also pitched a few ideas.

He told McAuliffe that Virginia is trailing states such as North Carolina and South Carolina when it comes to workforce development. If Virginia wants its economy to grow, he said, the community college system must be given the authority and funding to coordinate the state’s workforce development efforts.

Friedman also said that Virginia could do more to encourage government buildings to be energy efficient. When considering the cost of constructing new buildings, he said, Virginia only weighs the design and construction price tag. Making a building energy efficient might add a bit to the building’s initial cost, but might save money over the lifespan of the building. As it is now, he said, Virginia does not consider the long-term energy cost savings into its calculation, leading to fewer energy-efficient government buildings.

“For us, as soon as the cost goes up at all [because of energy efficiency], it’s a done deal,” he said. “We can’t do it.”

McAuliffe will face two opponents in the June 9 Democratic primary for governor. One candidate is Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, a Democrat who represents much of the Charlottesville area, and the other is former Del. Brian Moran of Alexandria. The winner of the Democratic nomination is likely to face GOP candidate Bob McDonnell, who recently stepped down as attorney general to run full-time for governor.