News

Senate profiles: Herring, a 'bold' swing vote?

February 4, 2010

Note: At the time the Times-Mirror went to press last week, the makeup of the State Senate stood at 21 Democrats and 17 Republicans, with two vacancies in seats previously held by the GOP that many expected would be retained by Republicans. Special elections were held last Tuesday for the vacant seats. The Democrats won one seat, and the other was retained by the GOP, making the ratio 22 Democrats to 18 Republicans. With a stronger majority, no Democrat in the Senate can now be considered a "swing" vote. 

On a frigid winter morning, Mark Herring wastes no time over a full, steaming cup of joe at the counter of Shoes coffee shop in Leesburg.

Not ordering. But doing constituent work.

"Just let me know if I can do anything else to help out," the Democratic state senator says to a store employee, as he follows up on some red tape he helped cut for the store with the state ABC Commission.

"I just helped to move things along. I called the ABC commissioner to inquire about some licenses," he says. He adds that he did the same for La Lou Bistro around the corner, a stone's throw from his law offices on Market Street.

Helping to move things along won't be so easy in the coming months for the first-term state senator of the 33rd District, which encompasses eastern Loudoun and parts of western Fairfax.

As the General Assembly begins this week, Herring faces a session where the top three statewide offices are controlled by the GOP, plus a massive state budget deficit and a deeply divided legislature where the House is in Republican hands and the Senate is in Democratic control by one frail vote, 21-19.

That turns every Democratic senator into a potential swing vote. If just one Democrat breaks ranks, it's a 20-20 split – leaving a tiebreaker vote to Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican. In that scenario, the GOP wins the day.

This means every vote Herring takes puts him in the spotlight. He could be a bipartisan bridge, or he could be faithful to his party.

Herring leaves it as an open question: "Sometimes I am with my party, sometimes I am not."

An analysis by Project Vote Smart – an independent group – shows Herring to be a solid Democratic partisan on issues such as civil rights, abortion, environment and labor union support, with more middle-of-the-road scores on business and gun rights.

"The people elected me to work with everyone else in the legislature," he said. "My philosophy is that when the election is over, our responsibility is to work together for the good of the state."

Herring was elected in somewhat of an anomaly in a special election in January 2006, when he handily beat former Supervisor Mick Stanton (R) to fill the seat vacated by Bill Mims (R), who was named attorney general. That November, Herring beat conservative activist Patricia Phillips (R) to win a full four-year term. He's up for re-election in 2011, and says he's running.

First, he's got to get the 2010 session behind him. It won't be easy.

Herring knows that the fiscal crisis facing the commonwealth is one for the ages. He says it will "dominate the entire session," while transportation, education and his legislative niche – technology-based economic development -- also will loom large.

Herring says the legislature must create a favorable business and regulatory environment business want to come to.

In that context, he's pushing what he calls an angel investment tax credit to make the state's tax code more inclusionary. He's also been a leader in directing state dollars toward research and development in the technology sector, which is so important to the area he represents.

That last issue is one Herring takes pride in. His Virginia Innovation Investment Act would stimulate capital investment in emerging, small tech companies and offer incentives for them to locate in Virginia. His work here earned him an industry award.

On transportation, Herring remains focused on ensuring that funding for local projects remains on track. On education, he's committed to expanding Loudoun's Northern Virginia Community College campus, and seeing a permanent campus for George Mason University built here.

To do any of this, Herring will need funds or budget offsets. Not an easy task. Though he declines to offer broad ideas for budget cuts, he says, "There are going to be some things ... we can't afford, and we have to cut them or eliminate them."

Herring is forthcoming about the demands of the job he's in – and the work-life balance it entails. Like his Senate colleague, Jill Holtzman Vogel, he has an active law practice. And a family – a wife and two teenage children.

"Maybe I don't spend as much time with my family because I am a state senator," he admits. "But there are also life lessons they learn about community service that are important.

"The biggest challenge in the job is time," he laments. "You just find a way to do it." He notes that last year in Richmond, lawmakers considered no less than 3,000 bills in about 45 days.

At Shoes coffee shop in Leesburg, Herring hovers over his selection of coffee for the day. For those who read tea leaves into a person's selection of java: Herring bypassed the "House" variety, and chose "Bold" instead.

That might be instructive in a long, wakeful 2010 in Richmond.

Loudoun Times-Mirror
By Nicholas Graham