Gifts & Governors: McAuliffe, Cuccinelli Offer Different Ideas

Written by William Callahan

Gov. Bob McDonnell made headlines this spring after a donor gave his daughter a $15,000 gift toward her wedding. 

McDonnell, a Republican, said he didn’t disclose the gift because it was for his daughter, not him, and accordingly, Virginia law doesn't hold him to that standard. But as the state governor's race heats up this summer, the issue is coming back into focus as another point of contention between the two major party candidates.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the GOP candidate, released a proposal in April that would impose a mandatory 10-day reporting period for gifts exceeding $500 for any state official seeking office. It would also eliminate the family loophole.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe proposed his own law a day earlier that would ban Virginia’s governor or members of his or her family from accepting gifts of more than $100, claiming he would immediately enact the ban on himself if he were to take office.

This week, Democrats are calling on Cuccinelli to follow suit.

State Sens. Mark Herring, D-Loudoun, and Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk, the Democratic candidates for attorney general and lieutenant governor respectively, said they too would follow the ban, even if it failed to become law.

"I am joining Terry McAuliffe's pledge to apply the gift ban to myself, even if the legislature doesn't act,” Herring said. “That will provide guaranteed accountability. Ken Cuccinelli should be willing to hold himself to the same high standard."

Anna Nix, press secretary for Cuccinelli’s campaign, said Democrats were bringing up old news.

“Terry McAuliffe has zero credibility when proposing stricter gift laws considering he wrote in his autobiography, ‘It’s a lot easier to raise money for a governor. They have all kinds of business to hand out, road contracts, construction jobs, you name it,’” Nix said in a statement. “Since his days in the state senate and as Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli has made government and ethical transparency a top priority and he will continue this fight as the Commonwealth’s next governor.”

McAuliffe has been hounding Cuccinelli on the gift ban for the last two months, just as Cuccinelli has been going after him to accept a series of debates across the state. Cuccinelli has also urged McAuliffe to release his tax returns and more details about his relationship with GreenTech, a car company he used to lead.