MR. KOJO NNAMDIFrom WAMU 88.5, at American University in Washington, welcome to "The Politics Hour," starring Tom Sherwood. I'm Kojo Nnamdi. Tom Sherwood is our resident analyst. He's a reporter for NBC 4 and a columnist for the Current Newspapers. Tom Sherwood, welcome.

MR. TOM SHERWOODAnd good afternoon.

NNAMDIYou should know, Tom, that today's "Politics Hour" is being streamed live at kojoshow.org, so you're not the only one on television here.

SHERWOODWell, you know, and I didn't wear a tie. I would have -- if I was going to be streamed, I would have been streamlined.

NNAMDIPeople are used to seeing you every day on NBC 4 wearing a tie. They're not used to seeing you casual like this.

SHERWOODThis is the real me.

NNAMDIYeah, this comes across a whole lot better. Tom Sherwood, let's talk a little bit about what's been going on in the city of Washington, D.C. First, since we don't really have Washington on our agenda today, so to speak, a lawsuit. The D.C. Council has sued the mayor. We did a segment this week, went into the weeds of this. There are a lot of weeds here. But this is not necessarily a hostile lawsuit.

NNAMDIThey're trying to get a matter clarified that the citizens voted on in a referendum, that we can control our own budget and that we don't have to send it to the president or the Congress for approval. And the mayor, however, seems to disagree.

SHERWOODWell, there is a complicated dispute over or not the city government requires Congressional approval of its annual budget. And it always has since home rule began in 1973, '74. But Phil Mendelson, the council chairman, and others have now said, "Well, you know, when the Congress back then created the city government and created a District of Columbia fund, it meant that in perpetuity beyond that, and all the monies that went into that fund had been approved by Congress. So therefore, we don't need to send the city's budget to the Hill.

SHERWOODThe key thing here is that the city has about $11 billion a year for its budget. And of that, about 6 billion, with a "B," 6 billion is raised from local taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, income taxes. And the city now -- the Council is saying that we don't have to send that money to Congress. We can spend it anyway we want to. The mayor, the attorney general and the chief financial officer say, "Well, that's a pretty expansive view of the law. We think we still have to send it to the president and to Congress." And so the Council has gone to court to see if they can satisfy it.

NNAMDIAnd in other…

SHERWOODIs that clear enough?

NNAMDIIt's clear enough. We don't want to get into any more weeds than that. In other Washington news, you remember Jeffrey Thompson. He is the businessman who plead guilty to spending more than $600,000 financing an illegal campaign for then candidate Vincent Gray in 2010. He has stuck a plea deal with the U.S. attorney. And he is going to be sentenced by a judge at some point.

NNAMDIBut last night he was apparently hanging out with two Washington football professional stars, R.G. III and DeSean Jackson. And DeSean Jackson apparently tweeted the photo. Didn't look very remorseful in the photo, did Jeffrey Thompson.

SHERWOODWell, you know, Jeffrey Thompson has -- he's plead. And now he's waiting for a sentencing, but that won't come until much later, until after all that investigation stuff is done. And incidentally, it was $668,800 that he shipped into Mayor Vincent Gray's campaign in 2010. You know, I was -- someone was at Nordstrom's over in -- it's at Pentagon City. I started to say Crystal City.

NNAMDIIt's in Virginia, where you have difficulty finding your way, yes.

SHERWOODYes. I've been there. I know how to get there. You go over the bridge and wait in traffic and turn right.

NNAMDIWe'll hear more about that shortly, yes.

GOV. TERRY MCAULIFFEOnly place to be.

SHERWOODThat's right. But…

NNAMDIWe'll hear more about that shortly.

SHERWOOD…in any event, someone was over there and they sent me three cellphone pictures of Jeffrey Thompson buying expensive shoes and suits. And I asked someone who knows Jeffrey Thompson about this, and they said, "Well, you know, it may be a long time before he actually gets sentenced. And so he still wants to look good."

NNAMDIHe's a snappy dresser.

SHERWOODSo he's out and about. People have seen him up at the opera in New York and other places.

NNAMDIHe is out…

SHERWOODBut, you know, he's a free citizen. He can -- until he gets sentenced.

NNAMDIBut judges want to see a little bit of remorse, don't they, when -- before they pass a sentence?

SHERWOODWell, he's not publicly doing this. He's not Bogarting out in public. He's just -- people are sending pictures of him. He's not making a big splash.

NNAMDITom Sherwood, he's our resident analyst and a reporter for NBC 4 and a columnist for the Current Newspapers. And he was talking about Virginia, where he once served as a reporter, but now which he routinely puts down and we'll see if he'll do that today because joining us in studio is Terry McAuliffe. He is the governor of Virginia. He is a Democrat. Governor McAuliffe, thank you so much for joining us. Congratulations. This is the first time you've joined us since becoming governor.

MCAULIFFEWell, great, Kojo, is to be back. It's great to be back with you. I've been on many times. I think of the convention we were on together and during the campaign…

NNAMDIThat's correct.

MCAULIFFE…but it feels a lot better now to be back as governor.

SHERWOODGovernor, you should -- I was in Richmond for the Washington Post in 1983 through '85, covering the state then.

NNAMDIAnd Tom actually loves the commonwealth.

SHERWOODAnd I didn't like Northern Virginia traffic then, and I don't like it now.

MCAULIFFEBut we're fixing it.

SHERWOODWe'll talk to you about the Silver Line and some other things in a moment.

NNAMDIThey returned that lack of love to…

SHERWOODBefore you ask a complicated question, can I ask him one cool question?

NNAMDIOkay. We'll see how cool it is.

SHERWOODIt is kind of cool. What do you think about Hillary Clinton becoming a grandma?

MCAULIFFESpectacular. I think Hillary has been wanting this for a couple years. So I think it's spectacular. I know that she is so excited, as is President Clinton. But they've wanted this for a couple years, so it's great news for everybody.

SHERWOODI've already heard one right-wing person say, "Well, you know, this is just a plan to soften her up for 2016."

NNAMDIYou've got a reputation as a reporter who asks tough questions and that's how you…

MCAULIFFENo. He said it was going to be a fun one, though. He did say -- he did prejudge.

NNAMDIOut, out, leave.

SHERWOODThat might be the best question we come up with.

MCAULIFFEThat's right.

SHERWOODOver to you, Kojo.

NNAMDIGov. McAuliffe, we're nearly 100 days into your term as governor, but one thing that has not happened yet is a budget. The general assembly remains locked in a dispute over the budget because of disagreements between Republicans and Democrats about expanding Medicaid.

NNAMDISome people have gone as far as to compare this standoff to the one that resulted in the government shutdown here last fall. How would you describe the situation in Richmond right now? And what do you feel is necessary to end the disagreement?

MCAULIFFEWell, as you know, I called the legislature back into special session. I said, "Let's put the partisan ideology aside." What we're talking about, Kojo, is over the next eight years Virginians will ship $26 billion across the Potomac River to Tom's place, up here in Washington. We have the right to bring that money back to Virginia. And we should do it. Twenty-seven states have done it. All our neighbors, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas have brought that money back.

MCAULIFFEWe can provide healthcare for up to 400,000 Virginians. We can create 30,000 new jobs. It's morally, socially the right thing to do. And economically it makes sense. We'll probably get 6 billion of that back automatically through the exchanges over the next eight years. We're talking about leaving $20 billion of hard-earned taxpayer money in Washington. Let's bring this money back. Let's provide healthcare.

MCAULIFFENow, I called them back into special session. Unfortunately, nothing's been done. They're the ones who have to pass a budget and submit it to me. And I have continually said to the legislature, you need to do your job. You need to pass a budget and send it to me. We have the Senate budget. I actually put a budget out, very rare for a first-term governor to do it, but I did it because it was the right thing to do.

MCAULIFFEI took the savings from the Medicaid expansion, 2 percent pay raises for our state employees, line-of-duty death, money for mental illness, all the things that we need done. The Senate took parts of my bill, added parts of their bill -- very good bill -- shipped it over to the House. The House said, "Well, we're going to refuse to hear the Senate bill." Then, of course, the Senate says, "Well, if you're not going to hear our bill, then we're not going to hear your bill." So they've gone home.

MCAULIFFEIt's their job to get me a budget. The speaker and others have said continuously, "Well, this shouldn't be in the budget." He did admit the other day on radio that, yes, indeed, this marketplace, Virginia, is germane to the budget. So their whole argument that they've been using for the last several months, the speaker has admitted was a wrong argument. So let's get to work in a bipartisan way, mainstream, let's get this thing out.

NNAMDIThe president said in his news conference yesterday that he finds this frustrating. That states that are refusing to expand Medicaid are essentially doing it just out spite.

MCAULIFFETo spite him.

NNAMDIYou can't afford to be frustrated because you've got to have a state that's run. Where do you go from here?

MCAULIFFEWell, we've got until July 1st. I remind everybody, then Governor Kaine actually went to 3:00 p.m. once June 30th. Tom probably remembers that. Listen, they're going to come back for a reconvene session this week. I am working in a bipartisan way with the Senate. We have three Republican senators. Actually one of the bills I supported was a Republican bill in the Senate.

MCAULIFFEIt is the House Republican leadership that has dug in on this issue. And I don't know whether they don't like the president or whatever -- doesn't really matter me. My job as governor is to protect the citizens of the commonwealth of Virginia. I need this money back to roll through our economy. Hospitals, Kojo, will close. Clinics will close. Not only the issue of healthcare, these are major economic drivers in counties' hospitals.

MCAULIFFEThousands of people are going to lose their job. Let's stop the partisan ideology. Let's come back this week. Let's work, but I want to remind everybody, it is the general assembly's job to pass a budget. They have failed to do their job.

NNAMDI800…

MCAULIFFEDo your job and send me a budget.

NNAMDI800-433-8850 is the number to call if you have comments or questions for Gov. McAuliffe. Tom?

SHERWOODThe Republican caucus chairman, Tim Hugo, of Fairfax, was saying on the floor that, you know, this healthcare is important, but he's concerned there will be a huge budget down the road that will cost Virginian's a great deal of money. And others have said Eric Cantor is from Virginia, that the Republicans nationwide have -- see Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, as a political wedge for the Republicans in the elections this year.

SHERWOODThere are thousands of state House seats up all across the country. And that it does not make political sense for the Republicans to cave or to give in on the Medicare funding. Is there an exit strategy? Do you have a plan B of what you would like to do that maybe will sweeten the pot for the Republicans? Because they have a lot, I mean, they keep saying they're not going to change.

MCAULIFFEAnd when you say House Republicans, remember it's the House of Delegates, because I do have a bipartisan degree in our state Senate.

SHERWOODRight. And that's a mention of the House specifically.

MCAULIFFEYeah, just the House specifically. First of all, the arguments. They have made -- the put up one roadblock after another. They say, "Let's do an audit." You know, Tom, we've had 63 audits. They say, "This will bankrupt the state." So they ordered an actuarial analysis from Price Waterhouse. They ordered it, not me. That report came back and said over the next eight years this will not cost Virginia any money, but actually will save our budget $1.1 billion because the efficiencies you'll bring in, the folks signing up.

MCAULIFFE70 percent of the households, someone is working. So it saves us 1.1 billion, which I can use on pre-K, keeping college tuitions low. All the things the people want their governor to work on, and in fairness, they want all of us to work on it together. So that argument is wrong that he made. And on the (unintelligible) years, when you look at 2022, '23, '24 outward, it's about $11 million a year.

MCAULIFFEWe've saved $1.1 billion. In those later years our budget is probably $50 billion a year. So that's a false argument. It has been an argument. But their last argument was decouple the budget. The speaker himself admitted the other day that it's germane to the budget.

SHERWOODSo what is the -- is it sheer politics, anti-Affordable Care Act?

MCAULIFFEYeah, you bet.

SHERWOODThat's it? Nothing else?

MCAULIFFEWhat else is -- we're going to forfeit billions of dollars of our taxpayer money. And I'd like to say, no matter where you may be on the healthcare bill, it's now the law of the land. You know, the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court and the Supreme Court decided it. I have to deal with the laws in front of me.

MCAULIFFEIf this were President Ronald Reagan or President George Bush and I was sitting in this chair here today, I would be saying, please, thank you for bringing this money back to Virginia, to running it through our economy. The problem is there are so many misstatements as it relates to this. All we're talking about, Tom, is this coverage gap. As you know, the medicate goes up to 100 percent and then the Affordable Care Act goes about the 130. We are talking about a segment, closing the coverage gap of these folks.

SHERWOODSo politically speaking, it seems to me you have to do some kind of -- even if it's paper covering -- some kind of political sweetener to give the Republicans in the House a chance to make a deal.

MCAULIFFEYeah, I offered a budget. I went out with a two-year budget.

NNAMDIFree food and drink, obviously, is not working.

MCAULIFFEI called Secretary Sibelius and said, "Will you give me a letter that says Virginia can get out after two years. Let's try it as a trial." 100 percent paid for, no risk to Virginia, no risk. She gave me the letter. You know what? House Republicans wouldn't even look at that. There's a reason why every Chamber of Commerce pretty much in Virginia supports this.

MCAULIFFEEvery business leader supports this. I mean, we have a coalition of the Chambers of Commerce. Almost every single editorial page…

NNAMDIHospitals.

MCAULIFFEThe Richmond Times-Dispatch, which is not known as a liberal editorial page, literally came out against the speaker yesterday and said, "Get this done. Marketplace Virginia is the right thing for Virginia." So it's -- they're off in their corner. It's time they started doing their job, representing the folks who sent them to Richmond. Let's get this job done in a bipartisan way.

NNAMDIGentlemen, don your headphones please because Annabelle, in Alexandria, Va., has a question about healthcare. Annabelle, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

ANNABELLEThank you. Good afternoon to Gov. McAuliffe.

MCAULIFFEHey, Annabelle.

ANNABELLEHow are you?

MCAULIFFEGreat, thank you. It's good to talk to you.

ANNABELLEIt's good to talk with you, too. Here's what I want to throw out to you.

MCAULIFFESure.

ANNABELLEI think you all need to think about, having worked in healthcare as a clinical social worker. Remember, Medicaid, even though they've raised the financial guidelines for more folks to be able to get on Medicaid -- we're talking Medicaid…

MCAULIFFEYes.

ANNABELLE…there's still going to be a group of people we're always going to have to take care of no matter where you live. So how can you sell this program knowing that taxpayers are going to pay for the folks who don't qualify because their income isn't high enough to qualify for Medicaid -- which needs an overhaul like Medicare -- and then you're going to have more folks whose income guidelines have been raised a bit, who might qualify for the Medicaid program?

ANNABELLEBecause I don't hear any talk about this. And I'm really sick of hearing the political talking points between the D's and the R's and I's and you and everyone else. So I don't hear this. And I think…

NNAMDIAre you talking about a specific group of people who do not make enough to be on Medicaid, but make too much for something else?

ANNABELLENo, no. There's a group -- they've raised the financial guidelines for low-income folks…

NNAMDIOkay.

ANNABELLE…be they individuals, families or whomever.

NNAMDIOkay.

ANNABELLEBut they're also is a group of people who are not making enough money under the new ACA to qualify for Medicaid. Those are the folks who are going to be going to the E.R.'s or whatever (unintelligible) already paying for it now.

MCAULIFFEThese are the people we're talking about. These are the people in the coverage gap.

NNAMDIOkay. Well, Gov. McAuliffe understands you, even if I don't.

MCAULIFFEYeah, these are the people we're talking about. It's 400,000 folks in Virginia. But what Annabelle has to understand -- she says, "How it's going to be paid for?" I go back -- that's already been decided by the Supreme Court. We are paying that money today. Whether you like it or not, my Secretary of Health, Bill Hazel, says there's about 21 new taxes that are already -- they're in effect today. Your payroll taxes. So my point is this is already paid for.

MCAULIFFEI'm not like last year's transportation bill going to the voters and saying I want to raise your taxes. I'm not. I'm going saying, you're already paying these taxes, whether you like it or not, I'm saying merely bring that money back. We have the right for the first three years, 100 percent paid for by the federal government. Years after that it goes to 90 percent federal government. I'm saying we have the right to bring this money back. Let's bring the money back. It is paid for.

NNAMDIAnnabelle, thank you very much for your call. Our guest is Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia. If you've got questions or comments for him give us a call at 800-433-8850. Send email to kojo@wamu.org. Send us a tweet @kojoshow. And you can follow us online. We're streaming video live at kojoshow.org. Tom?

SHERWOODAlan Suderman is the Associated Press reporter in Richmond. Before that he was up here as a columnist for the Washington City Paper. He sent me a text this morning saying that, "I would love if you'd pin him down," you, the governor, "on his exit strategy."

MCAULIFFEWhy doesn't he do it?

SHERWOODWell, because he's not on this show. I won't let him on.

MCAULIFFEOkay.

SHERWOODWould -- "If you would pin him down on his exit strategy with a budget standoff. Few people here in Richmond think he's going to beat the Republicans because they're not going to give in." Do you think they're going to give in or do you have a plan B?

MCAULIFFEI have said from the beginning that I want to do this is a bipartisan way. I am working in a bipartisan way in the Senate. The House is dug in deeper. They have no arguments left -- the House Republicans. They have no arguments left. I've gone through all of them. There are none left. It saves our budget money. We've done 60 -- they say let's do an audit. Tom, we've done 63 audits. They have no arguments left.

MCAULIFFEThey then said, "Well, decouple the budget." The speaker himself admitted the other day that it's germane. Walter Stosch, Republican, co-chairman of Finance said, "You can't decouple it." You know who put it in our budget? Bob McDonnell, back in 2012, the ACA savings, the MERC, the Medicaid -- the reform commission, was put in the budget by the same folks who are saying decouple. It's 21 percent of our budget.

MCAULIFFELet's forget that part. Let's talk about the specifics of affects. We are going to get this done. It will get done. I do believe common sense. I have had meetings. I've had discussions with many Republicans in the House of Delegates. Let's do the right thing.

SHERWOODYou know, Julie Carey, from NBC 4 said that, you know, when you campaigned for governor you criticized the stalemates in Washington. And said you did not want that in Virginia.

MCAULIFFEI don't.

SHERWOODAnd she's worried, she said, "Some people are worried that you could have the very stalemate if you get to --" what is it June 1st or July 1st?

MCAULIFFEJuly 1st.

SHERWOOD"…July 1st and don't have a budget in place."

MCAULIFFEListen, I'm the one -- it gets to a point, too, where you get to be bargaining against yourself. I spoke to Senator Stosch yesterday, a Republican senator. He's as frustrated as I am. The House Republicans are offering nothing. You elect people to go to work, to fight for you and to help them. Right now, from the House Republicans you're getting nothing. They're not offering anything. Nothing. They set up this MERC commission, all the reforms that were requested have been done.

SHERWOODOkay.

NNAMDILet's talk…

MCAULIFFESo it's just one, you know, but, listen, we're still in the process, they're coming back. I have the reconvene. They've got to deal with the bills that I vetoed and so forth. That's coming up this week.

SHERWOODWhat day are they coming back?

MCAULIFFEYeah, they have to come back for reconvene because I vetoed bills and they have to act on them this week.

NNAMDICan we talk transportation?

MCAULIFFEYes, sir.

NNAMDIOne of the biggest transportation and public infrastructure projects in the country, the Silver Line. The person leading that project stepped down this week. They are now renewed questions about the when the first phase to Tysons Corner will be complete. What concerns do you have about what happened in the past few days and what are you doing that's in your power as governor to keep things moving ahead?

MCAULIFFEYeah, I am very concerned. Obviously, transportation's something I've talked about and I ran on. I came in, obviously, the tolls and (unintelligible) I've reduced. I've announced that I am eliminating the maintenance fee on the E-ZPass. I'm focused on 66, 95, 495. We're looking at different options over the Potomac River. Transportation's big. A huge piece of that obviously is the Silver Line. I, as much anybody, for 20 years we have been waiting for this.

MCAULIFFEI, as much as anybody else, am frustrated. I called Jack Potter yesterday and I'm going to be up here -- I'm coming back Tuesday specifically to meet with Jack and the team. I want to know what's going on. Now, safety is the top issue. We've got to get comfortable. I know there have been issues about the speakers. It's not a light issue. On evacuation issues, obviously the speakers are very important. We're rectifying that.

MCAULIFFEI've asked my Secretary of Transportation to make sure that we're involved and given the permits that we need. Jennifer Mitchell will be up with me, my number two at the Department of Transportation, who's in charge of railway. We're all going to be involved in these issues, but I will be coming up, Kojo, on Tuesday to get my own briefing on this because I agree with you, it's frustrating. I want to know what's going on. Safety is the top concern.

MCAULIFFESo we're not going to push anything, but I do want to know what's going on. I did convene a meeting the other day, as you know, with Governor O'Malley and Mayor Gray. We had a meeting in Virginia. As soon as I got elected I said let's all of us get together. We've committed money now, to get the new larger rail cars, which we need. So I'm very focused on the Metro issues.

NNAMDIGeoff McDonald, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, this week says you're dismantling your predecessor's legacy on transportation. One of the specifics he cites is the project for toll-financed improvements to the Elizabeth River Tunnel and Lincoln, Portsmouth and Norfolk, that you've put that $1.5 billion project on hold. Why?

MCAULIFFEThis is Route 460. I'm very disappointed. Let me be very clear. We have spent $300 million of taxpayer money. Not a shovel has gone in the ground. As governor, I was faced with a contract to spend $35 million more per month on a road that does not have its permits. In order to complete a road and in order for that road to go through wetlands, you need a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. Guess what? They have spent all of this money and no one requested the permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.

MCAULIFFESo when I find that out as governor, I suspended construction. I will not tolerate the wasting of taxpayer dollars. Why would you begin construction on a road or do anything about a road on permitting until you have all the permits done. So let's see what we can do, but that Route 460, also the Elizabeth River crossing deal, I renegotiated that because they had tolls that were so high, Kojo, that folks in Portsmouth, Va., could not afford to go to work every day.

MCAULIFFESo we've got to bring some commonsense. Yesterday I put more five new directors on the Port. Why? Because I discovered that the Port has lost $120 million over the last five years. I just discovered for the last two years they haven't met their debt covenants. I will not tolerate that.

NNAMDII mention…

MCAULIFFESo when I find it, I stop it.

NNAMDII mean Jeff Schapiro of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

SHERWOODJeff Schapiro. I wondered who that was you were talking about.

MCAULIFFEYeah.

NNAMDIJeff Schapiro.

SHERWOODSchapiro.

MCAULIFFEBut you've got to make common sense. I've got to protect taxpayer money. People work hard for their money.

SHERWOODSchapiro has been working in Richmond at the time Times-Dispatch since I was there in the early '80s. He ought to retire.

NNAMDINo, he shouldn't.

MCAULIFFEJeff, he said that, I didn't.

SHERWOODHow about another transportation issue? I just -- I will use Dulles, again. I haven't used Dulles in 10 years or more. I will use it when I can take Metro to it. So good luck with that.

MCAULIFFEYeah.

SHERWOODHere in the District the city transportation department officials are talking about putting hot lanes on the 14th Street Bridge. Huge Virginia traffic into the District of Columbia every day. You may not even know about this. It just talked about it.

MCAULIFFEI just read it, yeah.

SHERWOODAny thoughts about whether that would be good or bad for the Virginia commuters who come into the District of Columbia?

MCAULIFFEI think anything we can do on these express lanes is a good thing. As you know, we have done that on 495. I'm happy to announce that 95 we have a 29-mile stretch what will use express lanes. We're 70 percent complete. I believe the construction will be done by the end of year. And next year folks will be able to get on these express lanes. You'll be able to go 29 miles on 95 and then hook up to the express lanes on 495.

MCAULIFFEThat's spectacular. That helps us ease congestion. Huge priority for me of getting cars off the roads and into rail, as much as we can do. But if folks are going to ride, let's encourage folks, if you ride on our express lanes, if you have three folks you don't pay. There's no toll. So everything we can do so, Tom, I would support that.

SHERWOODArlington is not very happy about the plans or talking about more lanes for 66. 66 is a parking lot many times.

MCAULIFFEYeah, and I've been very vocal on this. By the end of my four years I want to see some work done in this regard on 66. But I've always said -- I agree with the Arlington residents -- outside the Beltway. But outside the Beltway, out -- you take it out to Haymarket and so forth, whatever you need to do. We need to be doing what we need to do on bus lanes, HOV, if we need to add more lanes, but I have promised this is a top priority for me to do something about 66. It is a parking lot.

NNAMDIMarie, in McLean, Va. Marie, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

MARIEThank you so much. I'm going to turn this around a lot to talk about education, in particular, UVA. I understand, from reading in the Post today, that the tuition's gone up 4 percent. Quite frankly, I hope it goes up 50 percent. Because…

NNAMDIWhy?

MARIEWhy? I'll tell you, because it's becoming an elitist institution. It does not serve the original purposes set aside by Thomas Jefferson. I mean you have Top Ten universities, five that are the U.C. system, one that's University of Michigan that enrolls over 35,000 students. To me this is not serving the purposes of our state. There's a lot of kids that want to go there, and it's only rich kids and (unintelligible) 4.0 averages.

NNAMDIMarie, obviously, feels very passionate about the possibility of state tuition going up at the University of Virginia. But there were ideas that were being floated, one from the Public University Working Group at the University of Virginia, to have the University of Virginia operate more like a private university. Gov. McAuliffe, what do you say?

MCAULIFFEWell, I think, Marie, another big point that she was really getting at, it's hard if, you know, you're in Northern Virginia and you're applying to UVA, the odds of you getting in there are hard. I mean that's -- I hear this frustration from parents every single day in Northern Virginia. And it's something that -- I had the college of presidents in my office the other day. We had a good, open frank discussion.

MCAULIFFEI said, you know, listen, I'm going to give the autonomy to do what you need to do, but at the end of the day you need to be -- make sure you're preparing our Virginia residents for our 21st century economy. I want you to bring efficiencies. I want you to be innovative. I want you to be creative. And Marie's right, tuitions are going up. And many folks who live and pay their taxes in Virginia don't have the opportunity.

MCAULIFFESo I would like to look at different things that we can do incentivize, to make sure that our Virginia residents can go to our great, fine Virginia institutions. You know, William and Mary just did something called The Promise last year. Very creative on their tuition. Provides more money for financial support. I thought it was very creative.

MCAULIFFEAnd at the Council of Presidents meeting the other day I commended the president, Taylor Reveley, for what he had done. And I told the other presidents, let's look at some new creative things that we can do, as it relates to tuition, to keep tuition low, to bring more innovation, but trying to make sure that our Virginia residents who are paying taxes, that their children go to our schools. I mean…

SHERWOODThat's not much…

MCAULIFFE…Marie's -- her frustration is well founded.

SHERWOODI don't even know if there's a lot of room if Virginia wanted to add a lot more students if they could even handle more than what they already have.

MCAULIFFEBut it's something we ought to look at.

SHERWOODYou're going to get -- be -- give the commencement speech at Virginia Tech.

MCAULIFFEVirginia Tech.

SHERWOODEvery governor, I think, in his first term -- first year -- you only get one term -- in his first year. Anything particular you're going to say there that you've -- about?

MCAULIFFEWell, and I'm glad you brought up Tech. In fact, I was at a farewell dinner last night for Charles Steger, who has been the president. Just spectacular, been a spectacular president of Virginia Tech. He was, you know, a student, an instructor, a dean, vice president then president of the university. And you think of how he handled his demeanor, the calm and how he dealt in composure when seven years ago, April 16th, we had that horrific tragedy on the campus of Virginia Tech.

MCAULIFFEListen, my -- what I want to talk about is inspiring folks. As governor, Tom, I get out of bed every day and I believe people elected me to grow and diversify the economy. You know the head winds we face in this area. Virginia is the number one recipient of Department of Defense dollars. That's great news, but when they cut you get the hardest hit. And we're dealing with it.

MCAULIFFEWe had great news yesterday at Fort Pickett. I talked to Senator Warner and Senator Kaine yesterday. We just found out that Fort Pickett will now be used by the State Department for all the training of security personnel, which is a huge lift for us in Virginia. But we have to prepare for a new economy. That means we've got to have the best workforce for the next 10, 20, 30 years. That's at your education, that's at your higher Ed. But in fairness, Tom, I talk a lot about pre-K.

MCAULIFFEIf 80 percent of the brain is developed between birth and five years old, let's not make it dependent on someone's zip code or their parents' financial condition. Let's offer and have access to pre-K for everybody.

SHERWOODMaryland's doing that. And the city's already -- the District's already done it.

MCAULIFFEYeah, and we need to do more in Virginia on that.

SHERWOODThat's very good.

MCAULIFFEWe have a great K through 12, but our higher Ed -- and I go back to Marie's point, there is such frustration, such frustration in Northern Virginia that they can't get the slots. And I get letters with students, you know, if you're a young female student getting out of high school and with 4.0s and president of this and captain of this and there's not room for them in a lot of our different institutions. We need to focus on that.

NNAMDIHere's Pamela, in Woodbridge, Va. Pamela, you're on the air. Go ahead please.

PAMELAHi, Gov. McAuliffe. I just wanted to tell you I voted for you. And I support you on your Medicaid expansion (unintelligible).

MCAULIFFEThank you.

PAMELAAnd I just wanted to bring up an issue that I see happening with eligibility for Medicaid and Medicare. For example, you said you were steward of taxpayer dollars. I have friends and associates that qualify for Medicaid. And I noticed that they repeatedly use the emergency room. And they almost use it as a Cadillac service. Where in my healthcare plan it costs me $200 to make an emergency room visit. But in one instance I know someone who has taken her children over 20 times in the past six months.

PAMELASo all I'm saying is that people that are eligible, they should have the same copayments or some skin in the game that the rest of us do, instead of going to the front of the line and making her appointment with the healthcare provider.

NNAMDIWe don't want overuse and maybe abuse of emergency services.

MCAULIFFEI couldn't agree with Pamela more. Could not agree with her more. And you know what? That's why we talk about we can save money by bringing this money back because we can do the efficiencies, we can design a system. And we talk about marketplace Virginia, which is using the private option. We can do this in Virginia. And that's why this money will let us do it.

MCAULIFFEBut -- and this is what I want every Virginia resident who's listening to be -- listen to me very closely. If we don't bring this money back, those 400,000 Virginians are going to do exactly what Pamela just said. They're going to go to an emergency room, which is the most expensive care. And guess what? Under federal law, those hospitals have to take those patients. Guess who pays that bill? They are going to pay it. That's why the businesses are supporting this -- closing this coverage gap.

MCAULIFFESomebody's going to pay that bill. And I want every Virginia resident who's listening -- you are now going to be paying twice. You're already paying it through your taxes. That's done. That is the federal law. You cannot change it. Now, you're going to be paying again with increased premiums. And other states, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, our neighboring states are going to have lower healthcare costs and a healthier workforce.

MCAULIFFEThe same states I compete against as governor to bring businesses in because they're doing the right thing in closing the coverage gap with this federal money, which in essence is their own money.

NNAMDITom Sherwood, we only have about a minute left. You can either use it to hog the microphone and ask a question or have the governor send a message to one of your colleagues at NBC 4. Your choice.

SHERWOODWell, my camera's rolling. You know, Liz Crenshaw is leaving, 22 years as our consumer affairs reporter. You want to say something nice about her or something not nice?

MCAULIFFEWell, I'd love to. Liz Crenshaw is retiring.

SHERWOODYeah.

MCAULIFFEI mean, I have been watching her for years and years and years.

NNAMDIThat's not what you she wants to hear, Governor.

MCAULIFFEWell, I'm just telling you. And years. So I just want to wish her the best. I've lived in the area for just about 22 years so I've seen Liz Crenshaw every single day. And I just want to wish her the best. She deserves this retirement. And I just hope you folks are going to take great care of her in her retirement years.

SHERWOODI think she's going to live in Maryland.

NNAMDIYou're…

MCAULIFFEWell, I don't know why you'd want to do that and not be in Virginia. Low taxes, low regulations.

NNAMDIYou've got 30 seconds left. You're announcing today, changes to Virginia's process for the restoration of rights for felons. What's going to be different?

MCAULIFFEYep, you bet. I'm bringing -- actually bringing some -- we need to put it together, the guidelines, to make it clear for individuals. The end of the day, people who have paid their debt to society, Kojo, I want them back working, I want them part of society. Part of that is being able to vote. Let them feel good about themselves. These are the folks who have done their time. They've been rehabilitated. Let's make them back productive members of society.

MCAULIFFESo we're coming out with all new guidelines. This was started with my predecessor, Governor McDonnell. We're actually taking it to the next level. It is the right thing to do. Let's treat people with dignity and respect. Let's get them back in the workforce. And that's what we need to do, and that's where I'll be announcing today.

NNAMDIHit the clock exactly right.

MCAULIFFECan I say one thing, Kojo? I'm going to Chicago in two weeks. Virginia, once again, the number one state in America to do business, Forbes Magazine. I'm going to get the award. I just want all you potential employers out there to know that.

NNAMDIWhy aren't they giving out the award in Virginia? Why you got to go to Chicago?

MCAULIFFEIt's national, 50 states.

SHERWOODIt's a national award.

NNAMDITerry McAuliffe.

MCAULIFFENumber one state by Forbes Magazine to do business, the Commonwealth of Virginia, low taxes, universities -- we got beaches.

SHERWOODRight-to-work state.

MCAULIFFEWe got mountains. We got it all, best universities in America, the place to be.

SHERWOODRight-to-work state. Right-to-work state.

MCAULIFFEI love the region, and a right-to-work state.

NNAMDITerry McAuliffe, he is the governor of Virginia. He's the Democrat Gov. McAuliffe. Thank you so much for joining us.

MCAULIFFEKojo, great to be back. Great to be with you, Tom.

SHERWOODThank you, sir. Thank you.

NNAMDITom Sherwood, he's our resident analyst. He's a reporter for NBC and a columnist of the Current Newspapers. Tom, the District of Columbia celebrated Emancipation Day this past week, the 152nd anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's signing of a bill freeing slaves in Washington. But there was some dispute over the cost of it and who would be paying the cost of it. Apparently that dispute has now been resolved by saying, instead of the council...

SHERWOODYeah. We need to be emancipated from the budget mishandlings of this...

NNAMDIThank you.

SHERWOOD...what should be a serious recognition of the freeing of the slaves in the District of Columbia. I give Vincent Orange, the councilmember, great credit for making the city pay more attention to this and making it a city holiday. But, you know, they had -- they spent all $350,000 and $18,000 or $27,000 for balloons.

SHERWOODIt just seemed to be poorly handled financially when it ought to be a reverent and emotional reminder to people of what this country was like and how it's changed. Emancipation Day could be used for any number of reasons. It shouldn't be used as a pot of money for people to make money off of.

NNAMDIAnd so in the future, it will be run by the administration out of the office of the mayor, rather than by the council.

SHERWOODRight. And, again, they closed off parts of Pennsylvania Avenue, and it ought to be run with efficiency and dignity and respect for what the whole holiday is about.

NNAMDILet's talk about Maryland for a second because Gov. Martin O'Malley there has signed a marijuana law. How it compares to the District of Columbia law is that the Maryland law only applies to -- of course they're reducing penalties for marijuana possession. In Maryland, the law applies to possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana. In D.C., it's roughly 28 grams or an ounce.

SHERWOODHow big is that? How much is 10 grams? Is that a fingernail full? I don't even know what that...

NNAMDIIf 28 grams is about an ounce, 10 grams is a little less than half an ounce of marijuana. And Maryland's law covers the use and possession of marijuana while D.C.'s law covers the possession or transfer of marijuana. Bottom line is that they're -- both jurisdictions are reducing penalties, and Gov. O'Malley has signed off on that.

SHERWOODRight. Well, there's been a documented disparity in the people who are accused and convicted of crimes involving small amounts of marijuana particularly in the city, was considerably African-Americans who were -- so -- but this is the District and this is Maryland tiptoeing into the world of legalizing marijuana.

SHERWOODThere's going to be -- if they get the signatures on the ballot, the provision to make marijuana legal like Colorado where it will be taxed, regulated, and sold without all these things, the city also is changing its law -- plans to change its law to make it easier for people who want medical marijuana to get it without jumping through hoops. So this is the wholesale change in the country on marijuana issues. And Maryland and the District are ticking right along.

NNAMDIThe president of the Senate in Maryland, Mike Miller, says he knows that in future decades how future generations are likely to treat this, that it's going to probably end up just being legalized anyway, but they're taking it one step at a time.

SHERWOODYou know, Garrett Peck, you know, who's just written a book about beer and prohibition and another book about prohibition, but he says this is a very similar argument, all the -- is this a gateway drug? Is it going to lead to ruins and more impaired driving, all these things? When it may be just like alcohol.

NNAMDIAnd there are a number of particularly basketball writers in Washington who like to refer to the Verizon Center as Tony Cheng's neighborhood. Well...

SHERWOODThought you were going to say the phone booth.

NNAMDIWell, that too. But Tony Cheng, of course referring to the owner of one of the more popular restaurants in the neighborhood that is known as D.C. Chinatown. Well, both Tony Cheng and his son pled guilty to making illegal payments to the head of the city's taxicab commission who was, at that time, working essentially undercover for the FBI, and they gave him $1,500 in cash to help obtain taxi licenses for a new business. Apparently the Chengs were hoping to get into the taxicab business but doing it, well, the wrong way.

SHERWOODAnd they -- Mr. Cheng and his son, Senior and Junior, also wanted to get into the towing business.

NNAMDISure.

SHERWOODAnd so they'd have the contract to tow the bad cabs. And they just dealt with Leon Swain who apparently played a convincing role as someone willing to be corrupted. And of course Leon Swain was working with the FBI. So that was...

NNAMDIHe couldn't play a persuasive role as someone running for election. He ran for office but couldn't get elected, Leon Swain.

SHERWOODNo, he didn't. You know, it's tough running for office. And I think that's good. But I think this was another example. You know, the Chengs initially said they would fight, and it would go to court. This did not happen, and then after further consideration, they agreed to.

NNAMDIJoining us now in studio is John Vihstadt. He is a member of the Arlington County Board. He's an independent who just won his seat in a special election. John Vihstadt, thank you so much for joining us.

MR. JOHN VIHSTADTThank you, Kojo. Appreciate it.

SHERWOODAre we pronouncing the name correctly? I've heard it Vihster, Vihster...

VIHSTADTVihstadt, but, you know, no matter how...

SHERWOODVihstadt, whatever it is.

VIHSTADTWhat I like to say is no matter how you spell it, no matter how you say it, it stands for common sense.

NNAMDIJohn Vihstadt joins us in studio. If you have questions or comments for him, call us at 800-433-8850 and spend -- or send email to kojo@wamu.org. We've spent a lot of times in the past several weeks talking about the Democratic primary that was held here in the District, its grip on local politics in D.C. But Democrats have also controlled every elected seat in Arlington County government for years, until now. You won a special election last week for a seat on the board as an independent candidate. Why did you run? Why did you run as an independent? And why do you feel voters agreed with you that it was time for something different on the council?

VIHSTADTThank you, Kojo. I really ran for three reasons, as I articulated from the very beginning when I announced my candidacy back in December, number one, to serve the community. I have been part of the fabric of Arlington County for literally over 30 years. And I wanted to put my community record of service and engagement across the county, in our public schools, and in our neighborhoods to work for all of Arlington.

VIHSTADTNumber two, to provide a fresh voice, another perspective, some checks and balances. So often I heard, when I went door to door, that people, even though we have a predominantly one-party county, that people were tired of the echo chamber down at 2100 Clarendon Blvd. They yearned for somebody to ask questions, not just nod his head.

VIHSTADTAnd, finally, there were a number of specific issues which I think crystallized in the community in recent months -- the street car, a $1.7 million dog park, an aquatic center that has been over budget before the first spade of dirt has even been turned. So it's really for all those issues that I ran.

NNAMDIWhy'd you run as an independent? You've often been described in media as a Republican running as an independent.

VIHSTADTIn fact, I am a Republican. I ran as an independent for several reasons. Number one, I'm 61 years old, going to be having my 62nd birthday. I've finally come to the realization, after all these years, that no political party alone has a monopoly on sound government stewardship, on good ideas, or wisdom.

VIHSTADTNumber two, so many people came to me from across the political spectrum who were a little uneasy with the current direction of our county and said, John, by running as an independent, you can really send a signal to folks across the political spectrum, across party lines, that you're going to be listening to everybody. And, in fact, so many Democrats, Republicans, independents, Greens, libertarians, and people of no party were yearning for that fresh perspective.

SHERWOODBut can we -- just be clear on that, though.

VIHSTADTSure.

SHERWOODYou didn't run as a Republican 'cause that would have been almost suicidal in Arlington. I mean, for all the reasons you just gave sound positive, but you couldn't have run as a Republican and probably won.

VIHSTADTWell, again, I was comfortable with the independent label. I didn't do anything to hide my Republican background. But the other point I want to make and to signal with my independent candidacy is that I'm not going to be a captive of any political party, any individual person, or any partisan agenda.

SHERWOODAre you going to remain an independent?

VIHSTADTWell, keep this in mind. You know, in Virginia, we don't register by political party.

NNAMDIThat's true.

VIHSTADTAnd, in fact, when you go to the polls on election day, there's no D, R, or I by a candidate's name for local office or other office.

SHERWOODBut you haven't forsaken the Republican Party?

VIHSTADTNo, I've not forsaken...

SHERWOODWith national issues or whatever.

VIHSTADTWell, you know, again, I campaigned on local issues. You know, my opposition tried to drag into the race national issues, but honestly I think it backfired. I mean, people are looking for practical, cost-effective solutions, regardless of party, at the local level.

SHERWOODYou won, but, you know, you have to run again.

NNAMDIIn a few months.

SHERWOODJust -- what is it? November election, you have...

VIHSTADTYou're right.

SHERWOOD...(unintelligible) house again. You have to -- Democrat again. How are you going -- I know you're on the board. And what you do on the board will say a lot about who you are and why you want to be re-elected. But that's a pretty tough race to turn around, and such a small turnout, too, in the special election.

VIHSTADTRight.

SHERWOODSome of the Democrats I've spoken to in Arlington say, look, that was an aberration, and we will vote in November. And we will fix this.

VIHSTADTWell, you know, we'll see if it's an aberration or not. You're right. There's certain advantages, you know, to incumbency. But, you know, the special election, there were about 22,000 voters turned out. It was a low turnout, about 16, 17 percent.

SHERWOODRight.

VIHSTADTBut the turnout was over 7,000 votes higher than the last special election in Arlington County. In fact, it was the highest turnout for a special election since modern record keeping has been kept in terms of number of votes. You know, the other thing I should stress here is I won with 57 percent. This was not a squeaker. Again, I had so many Democrats and independents rally to my cause, active in my organization, and I won across the county.

NNAMDISo you're saying that you energized the voters in this election?

SHERWOODI...

VIHSTADTI -- right. I think, you know, both campaigns, compared to two years ago, have energized the voters.

NNAMDIWanted to get to some specific issues for a second because you hit the county board hard over the Columbia Pike street car. It's my understanding that you tried this week to defund the street car project a week into joining the board. You were not successful. But what were you aiming to do?

VIHSTADTWell, I was aiming from two things. I was aiming to send a signal to folks that I intend to press the issues that I campaigned on and that the voters agreed with me on. Again, I won with 57 percent of the vote across the county, not just in certain geographic areas of the county. You know, some people try to say, well, the folks along Columbia Pike, who are in favor of the street car, are going to come out in droves and defeat me.

VIHSTADTIn fact, I won several precincts up and down Columbia Pike, a number of precincts in North Arlington. So it was a really a broad-based victory. You know, in terms of the specifics, Kojo, on the street car, I take mass transit. I take the metro every day, the ART bus or the bus down Washington Boulevard, so I'm a huge fan of mass transit. I just don't believe that the street car is the way to go, not just for Columbia Pike but for other corridors in Arlington.

SHERWOODWell, if -- the governor was just on, McAuliffe, and he was saying that one of his goals is to get more people out of their cars and into transit. If a street car, which is multi-passenger carrier, isn't the answer, what is?

VIHSTADTWell, I'm on record in favor of an enhanced form of bus rapid transit along Columbia Pike. We can implement a so-called BRT system along the pike or elsewhere if the decisions were made.

SHERWOODDedicated lanes?

VIHSTADTWell, you don't need dedicated lanes. And actually that's another fallacy that folks who are jawboning for the street car bring up. In fact, the Federal Transit Administration, FTA, part of the Federal Department of Transportation, their specifications for a BRT system don't require a dedicated lane. Now, in point of fact, along Columbia Pike, there's not going to be a dedicated lane for the street car for any other mode. You're going to have a street car, buses, cars, you know, all in the same lane.

SHERWOODCyclists.

VIHSTADTCyclists, right. And cyclists we're very concerned about the street car and apprehensive about it. So, you know, if they...

SHERWOODWell, a dedicated bus lane, just to be clear, that would be limited stops. Is that how a bus lane or a rapid bus works?

VIHSTADTWell, I mean, there's -- sure, I mean, you know, there's limited stops now. But the point of the matter is, you know, we're not talking here. It's not a stark presentation of, OK, do you want either a street car or buses? In fact, the street car would run in a non-dedicated lane with buses and cars. So, you know, if a street car breaks down, a car or bus can go around it. But if a car or a bus break down, the street car's dead in its tracks. It stops.

NNAMDIPlease...

SHERWOODAnd street cars don't fit in your scheme.

VIHSTADTNo. (unintelligible) not a good value.

SHERWOODOK.

NNAMDIDon your headphones, gentlemen, because Linda in Arlington, Va. would like to speak with you. Linda, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

LINDAHello. I'd like to ask the candidate if what he intends to do, if anything, about affordable housing in Arlington in light of all the multi-million dollar infill. Thank you. Can take the answer off the line.

SHERWOODIs there any affordable housing in Arlington?

NNAMDIFirst and foremost, Linda, he's not a candidate right now. He is in...

SHERWOODNo. He is a candidate for November. He is a...

NNAMDI...in office. He will be a candidate in November. Go ahead, please.

VIHSTADTWell, I am absolutely in favor of affordable housing. In fact, that's one of the biggest challenges that Arlington faces, is the affordable housing crisis. You know, we're actually, even though we're spending a significant part of Arlington County's budget, about 5 percent -- a little over 5 percent on the various affordable housing programs, which, by and large, I support, we're still losing units to development, to economic trends, and so forth. So I think we need to be more creative in the way we deliver affordable housing. We may need to look at new delivery vehicles.

SHERWOODNew delivery vehicles. What does that?

VIHSTADTWell, we have several nonprofits now...

NNAMDIYou thought he was thinking about drones, huh?

SHERWOODWell, I -- no, FedEx.

VIHSTADTYou know, we need to look at perhaps at additional providers, maybe some more creative specifications. You know, we do have now a variety of affordable housing funds, which I think is a good thing. But we just need to be more creative and also make sure that affordable housing is not concentrated in any one particular area...

NNAMDIWanted to...

VIHSTADT...of the county. And that's a concern for some Columbia Pike residents.

NNAMDIGet back to your political affiliation for a while, please. You've said you want to reinvigorate a centrism in Northern Virginia that follows what Republicans, like John Warner and Tom Davis, subscribe to. Where do you feel those particular values went with Republicans in particular? Where have they gone?

VIHSTADTThat's a very challenging question. You know, I think sometimes, you know, the loudest voices on both sides, if you will, of the political spectrum get the biggest attention. I mean, you've got -- you know, you've got the Rush Limbaugh's on the right. You've got the Keith Olbermann's and others on the left.

VIHSTADTAnd there's this bellicosity, this lack of civility, I think, that permeates our political culture too much on the far left and on the far right. And I think it would behoove both political parties actually to get back into the political center and take the best ideas from each other, regardless of whether you have a D or an R or a G or any other party stamped on your forehead.

SHERWOODWell, to that point, on the board itself, how have you been received as an individual? Are people being nice to you? Are you being shunned?

VIHSTADTYou know, one of the best things about Arlington, where I've lived for over 30 years, is that, you know, we may have 210-, 220,000 people, but in so many ways, it's still a small town. I have been welcomed, honestly, by my Democratic colleagues on the county board, on the school board, and across the county for the most part. I'm confident that I'll be able to work with them in a collegial, cooperative fashion. I mean, I have for 30 years. They're the very same county board members who have appointed me to some of these advisory councils in the past.

NNAMDIJohn Vihstadt is a member of the Arlington County Board. He's an independent who just won his seat in a special election. Thank you very much for joining us. Good luck to you.

VIHSTADTThat's it?

NNAMDIAnd, Tom, don't roll up your headphones yet because Carl in Washington, D.C. would like to remind us of something very important that we have not mentioned today. Carl, you only have about 30 seconds.

CARLRight. I just want to bring up the fact the Julian Dugas died this week.

SHERWOODOh, great.

CARLAnd Julian, as Tom knows, was a remarkable man of great accomplishment.

NNAMDII know that, too.

CARLAnd, Kojo, and also, you know, he was the first city administrator under Walter Washington.

NNAMDIWalter Washington. When I started in this business, Julian Dugas was (unintelligible)...

SHERWOODHe helped establish the beginning of the local government and did a good job.

NNAMDIAnd Julian Dugas passed this week.

SHERWOODAnd the ceremony for his -- the funeral service, there hasn't been. They're waiting for out of town people, but...

NNAMDIOur condolences go out to his family.

SHERWOODGood call.

NNAMDITom Sherwood is our resident analyst. He's a reporter at NBC 4 and a columnist for the Current Newspapers. We still have about 10 seconds left, John Vihstadt. You have anything else to say?

VIHSTADTI just want to strike a personal note and say I love your show. It's great. I'm a regular listener when I can squeeze it in. And I would just love it if you would devote even more programming attention to Virginia. I guess the other thing I would say is I'm looking forward to David Catania's campaign.

NNAMDIThank you all for listening. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.