McLean Neighbor A Potential Gubernatorial Candidate?

It's 7 a.m. on a hot morning last month and McLean neighbor Terry McAuliffe jumps into the passenger seat of his hybrid Chevy Tahoe. On this Saturday in McLean, the heat index will reach 110 degrees. McAuliffe, 54, wide-eyed and grinning, pulls a map of Virginia from the glove box. It's peppered with magic marker circles.*

"Love the map!" McAuliffe says, almost shouts, then sips coffee from a travel mug, ready for the drive to Nelson County south of Charlottesville. "It's fun going to these tiny towns. To them I'm the former chair of the DNC, and it's fun for coal miners to get to know you, to get rid of the labels, the stereotypes."

To ask, "What stereotypes?" almost seems silly. He's the fundraising mastermind who headed the Democratic National Committee during George W. Bush's first term; he's Bill Clinton's best friend and co-chair of his successful 1996 re-election campaign; chair of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign; he hunts pheasant with the king of Spain; listens to Jack Nicholson tell stories until 5 a.m. and once wrestled a 280-pound alligator for a $15,000 political contribution from the Seminole Indian Tribe.

He's a risk-taker and a salesman, who in 2009 lost a three-way Democratic primary for governor. The question is, why is he driving around Virginia meeting folks and showing up at large and small political events. Is he running for governor again?

Since losing the Democratic primary to Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath), McAuliffe has given more than $90,000 to Virginia politicians and organizations. He's spoken at 295 events across the commonwealth, with 40 events confirmed between now and Election Day this Nov. 8. He quietly shows up at Fairfax Democratic events like the Jefferson Jackson dinner and John Foust's announcement that he's running for re-election as Dranesville supervisor.

His $1.5 million home on Old Dominion Drive in McLean is often the address of Democratic fundraisers, like the upcoming Dranesville Democratic Annual Fall Festival. At some Democratic events, he's introduced as the next governor of Virginia.

What are McAuliffe's chances? "It all depends on who runs. I haven’t heard many names mentioned," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, with extensive knowledge of Virginia politics, said, "Terry McAuliffe is probably the most prominent. Occasionally Virginia Delegate Ward Armstrong (D-Martinsville and Henry County) is mentioned.”

A lot also depends on 2012, and whether President Obama is re-elected, Sabato said. “If Obama wins, it actually hurts Democratic chances at the Virginia governor’s seat in 2013. It’s going to be difficult for Democrats to win in Southern states until the Obama administration is over. If Obama loses in 2012, Democrats might have a better chance. Since 1977, Virginia has voted for the gubernatorial candidate of the party opposite the White House. This has occurred every four years over that period of time."

The Drive

Levar Stoney, McAuliffe's public relations chief and the former executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, is in the driver's seat, and turns onto I-66 West.

McAuliffe won’t say if he’s really running for governor in 2013. "I don't know, honestly, what I'm going to be doing in two years, I really don't. But is it a possibility? Yes. And if it is indeed a possibility, then I'm going to put myself in the best possible position for when I make that decision. I do that with everything I do," McAuliffe says.

Can Virginia voters accept McAuliffe as their leader?

"Sure, I think that everyone now knows I'm a Virginian, that Dorothy and I have lived here the last 25 years and are raising five children," he says. "It really depends if we can shake it up. That means lots of jobs, lots of new industries. Fix our Medicaid system so we're not 49th, fix our education system so that we're a leader in the nation and in the world in sciences, technology and math, because if we don't do it it's going to have a ripple effect down the road. ... One thing about me — I love big ideas and am very results-oriented. You have a lot of big talkers in politics. I've done it. I've met payrolls.”

In other words, yes, McAuliffe is laying the groundwork for a gubernatorial campaign —  though he always says this kind of stuff. He's publicly chummy with Deeds and former Del. Brian Moran, his Democratic rivals in 2009. He's also courting their constituents and donating to their campaigns and causes. He donated $25,000 to Deeds' campaign after losing the primary, and gave the Democratic Party of Virginia $13,200 after Moran was elected Democratic State Party chair.

"I've been so impressed with Terry's commitment to creating jobs and helping Virginia's middle class working families," Moran said in an email to Patch. "... I don't think there is any doubt that he would be a serious competitor for the Gubernatorial nomination, or any other office in the Commonwealth, though from what I understand right now he is focused on helping Democrats win in 2011, and building a new business based on Green Technology."  

Wrestling an Alligator

McAuliffe was born and raised Roman Catholic in Syracuse, N.Y., and was exposed to politics at an early age. His father, Jack, was a local Democratic Party treasurer.

At 14, the former golf caddy started McAuliffe Driveway Maintenance, and eventually had company trucks driven by a staff of friends. "I was the youngest of four boys, and I could fix everything," he said. "My father wouldn't know a lawnmower if it fell on him. I was always industrious, loved to work. My mother figured I would be great in hotel/motel management."

At 22, McAuliffe left law school at Georgetown for President Jimmy Carter's re-election campaign. Soon the kid from Syracuse was the finance director. "God, I used to wear clear glasses just to look a little older. I was the president's finance chair and I looked like I was 15," he says. "I left Georgetown Law School for a guy who never had a chance at winning. My mother cried when I told her. But it was the best decision of my life. That's what I tell people all the time — take chances while you're young. Do what you want to do and opportunities will come along. Take them. You'll make mistakes and you'll learn from them."

On the hunt for Carter campaign dollars, McAuliffe asked for $15,000 from Chief James Billie of the Seminole Indian tribe in Florida. "I always teach people when they're out raising money, what's the worst they can say? No. Big deal. I wouldn't have gotten a date in high school if I ever took 'No' for an answer. You go back. So, he said: 'OK, Terry. I'll give you the 15 grand, but you have to take part in an ancient tribal custom.' I thought we were going to smoke a peace pipe or something. But he wanted me to wrestle an alligator."

The story made national news, and McAuliffe was on the cover of Newsweek. Prior to the three-minute match, Billie, who now wears one of his thumbs on a necklace around his neck (alligator incident), gave McAuliffe a tutorial on best practices.

"Had to do it," McAuliffe says. "No question. I made a commitment and couldn't walk away from it — couldn't do it. It's not my nature. Once I say I'm going to do something I do it. If you don't have your word, you've got nothing.”

An alligator's tail is very powerful. "The tail can snap your vertebrae. But (an alligator) also has very weak muscles to open their mouths, so you straddle it and hold his mouth shut as he's trying to twist you off so he can bite you," McAuliffe says.

Three minutes later: "Did that, got the $15,000, went out and had a great time in Miami. I'll do anything once, not twice," McAuliffe said.

After Reagan defeated Carter in the general election, McAuliffe returned to law school, but not before meeting Bill Clinton for the first time. "I’m now in charge of finances for the party, the election has just happened, and I'm going to go back to Georgetown and they had a governors’ meeting in Maryland. I get a call that a former governor of Arkansas would like to meet with me. He was going to run for the DNC Chairman."

The relationship would become strong.

McAuliffe, who was a millionaire before turning 30, was also chair of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. "I am very big on loyalty," he says. "If you are my friend, you are my friend. Everybody's with you when you're winning. I want to know who's with me when I'm losing, when I'm down. We had a great primary, but it was only when Hillary Clinton said, 'Terry, it's time to step down. You fought to the end. I'm proud of you,' that we moved our full support to President Obama and his campaign."

How close are the McAuliffes and Clintons, aside from the fact they vacation together? "We hung out three days ago," he says. "I see him all the time. We golfed twice in the last two weeks.”

Hillary Clinton's popularity has not waned like that of President Obama, which could bolster McAuliffe's potential gubernatorial campaign. "It would be a plus," said Sabato. "It would help McAuliffe raise money, and the image of the Clintons has moved up in Virginia as it has in most places. Hillary Clinton could be of even greater help than Bill Clinton. Her approval ratings have not taken a hit during the bad economic times."

Questions and Answers

The following are excerpts from Patch’s interview with Terry McAuliffe.

Patch: What do you think are Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential aspirations?

McAuliffe: My personal opinion is that she is really looking forward to getting back to Chappaqua, enjoying life, hopefully being a grandmother and running a foundation for women and children. She has been first lady, a U.S. senator, secretary of state. She hasn't stopped in 20 years. I think she's looking forward to enjoying life, to relaxing and not having to get in a plane every single day and going to three countries.

Patch: Have you ever done drugs?

McAuliffe: Never touched a drug in my life, never smoked pot. Can you imagine me on drugs? I'd be jumping off skyscrapers!

Patch: You're always talking about competition and China…

McAuliffe: China recently announced an $800 billion investment in alternative energy. They want to own the electric car market. That's frightening to a guy like me. I'm on the board with the Clinton Foundation — we travel all over the world. Ten years ago, no China. Today, they're everywhere with hydroelectric plants. They're putting a footprint, a flag up all over the world. Listen, we designed the Kindle here in America. It's the hottest thing going, and we can't make it in America. It's made in Indonesia and Singapore. Thousands of jobs. We've got idle plants, the idle Ford factory in Hampton Roads. Fill these plants up with people.

China owns $1.2 trillion of our debt. In five years they're going to be a bigger economy than ours. The thing that bothers me the most is that we're not creating the manufacturing jobs, not creating the manufacturing to go with it to make it competitive. You have to create 150,000 jobs a month in America just to keep up with population growth. We did 18,000 last month.

Patch: And competition...

McAuliffe: I believe we should be competitive on everything. If they're number one, I want to be number one. Think you'll be number one, try to be number one and you'll be a lot closer than you were. Shoot for the moon. You may only get to the stars, but it's a whole lot better than being stuck here on the earth. If you don't you'll never be anywhere close. Always think big and then do it.

Patch: What's your opinion of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cucinelli?

McAuliffe: I'm just not a big fan of extreme politics either way. The way these guys went after that guy (a former climate scientist) at UVA on climate change — they don't understand the ramifications of that. A scientist never wants to open themselves to attacks and harassment, and they'll just as readily go to Maryland, to North Carolina.

Patch: Would you ever go back to the DNC?

McAuliffe: No. I loved it, and they wanted me to run again. I left with a 96 percent approval rate. I rebuilt the national headquarters, built the first national voter file (known as Demzilla), changed the election calendar, raised more money in the history as chair of any party — $556 million. I loved it. But four years is a long time, and I was the most traveled chairman ever.

Patch: What do you do to relax?

McAuliffe: Action flicks before bed. It relaxes me. It drives Dorothy crazy, but that's what I have to do to get my mind off of it. It calms me down.

*(You can see a digital version of the map on his campaign-like website).

McLean Patch editor Bobbi Bowman contributed to this story.